Management and the Technology Professional – B302

Case study answer 2

If I was supervising step 6 and had discovered that one test had been missed. I would first have to analyse the consequences of the available options. The only options available would have been to continue on with step 7 and disregard the test missed in step 6. Or to repeat the whole of step 6 and delay the step 7 and 8.

If the tests on step 6 were repeated because one was missed. Then because this step in on the critical path it would delay completion of the whole chain of steps for another four days. It would also delay the previous batches as well because they will have to wait for that batch to complete.

Since only one test was missed it would seem likely the the chance of any faulty processors low. However the probability still exists. By examining the probability of a processor failing the test I could conclude the number of chips I would expect to fail and weigh that up against the cost of holding back of the manufacturing line. One way to decide would be to calculate the number of chips that fail on the last test then determine their future value based on what Intel would receive for them fiscally. If that is greater than the cost of manufacturing then it would be worth to repeat the tests again else continue on with the next step.

However if the tests were simply disregarded then it would mean that the chance of Intel shipping faulty integrated circuits in that batch would increase. Still, this would not take into account any negative publicity or lack of future sales. Intel is a reputable company so if there products lacked the quality i.e. did not function then Intel could loose future sales and worse its reputation of quality.

Without analysing the reason for the test being missed then there is also a chance that it will happen again. Part of the decision process should be determining the cause of not completing all the tests and putting in place new measures so that it is not repeated.

In conclusion without detailed knowledge it is hard to make an wise choice. However considering that only one test was missed it would seem likely that the batch has only a minor number of defects. Hence not to progress would hold up the entire manufacturing line which is likely to cost more in lost time, than the value of that batch and so they should continue irrespective.