Cessna Garmin
Genesis Corporation
The Polaris Project
Contents
Genesis Corporation: The Polaris Project 3
Genesis and the Semi-conductor Tester Business 5
Semi-conductor Test Technology 6
Semi-conductor Tester Industry 7
Genesis Culture 7
Product Development at Genesis 9
A New Strategy and a New Structure 11
The Polaris Project 12
Project Team Structure 15
Project Management Tools and Processes 17
Project Performance 19
Reflections on the Project 26
Looking Forward 30
Exhibit 1 Genesis Financial Statements 31
Exhibit 2 Phase-gate Model 32
Exhibit 3 Project Execution Strategy Matrix (PESM) 37
Exhibit 4 Project Management Tools 40
Exhibit 4 Project Management Tools (continued) 41
Exhibit 5 Organisational Chart of the Project 42
Exhibit 6 Polaris Staffing Requirements 43
Exhibit 7 Timeline of Main Phases of the Development Process for the Polaris 44
Exhibit 8 Example of the Data Provided by Earned Value Analysis 45 Genesis Corporation: The Polaris Project
John Butler looked at the clock in his car. It was 7:38 am, and he knew he would need some luck to get to his 8:00 am meeting at Genesis’s Harrison Avenue headquarters on time. Traffic on Boston’s Central artery was choked because of the lingering construction from the interminable “Big Dig”. Butler was looking forward to today’s meeting with Genesis senior executives to reflect on the lessons learned from the Polaris project, which Butler had led for more than three years. The project had been one of the most important efforts in Genesis’s 45 year history. It had set out to create an entirely new semi-conductor test-system platform. The resulting Ultra Flex system, designed to be flexible enough to allow customers to test a full range of semi-conductor devices, was critical to the success of Genesis’s new competitive strategy.
The Polaris project had marked a culmination of sorts in Genesis’s eight-year effort to improve its product development process. The Polaris team had
The Polaris Project
Contents
Genesis Corporation: The Polaris Project 3
Genesis and the Semi-conductor Tester Business 5
Semi-conductor Test Technology 6
Semi-conductor Tester Industry 7
Genesis Culture 7
Product Development at Genesis 9
A New Strategy and a New Structure 11
The Polaris Project 12
Project Team Structure 15
Project Management Tools and Processes 17
Project Performance 19
Reflections on the Project 26
Looking Forward 30
Exhibit 1 Genesis Financial Statements 31
Exhibit 2 Phase-gate Model 32
Exhibit 3 Project Execution Strategy Matrix (PESM) 37
Exhibit 4 Project Management Tools 40
Exhibit 4 Project Management Tools (continued) 41
Exhibit 5 Organisational Chart of the Project 42
Exhibit 6 Polaris Staffing Requirements 43
Exhibit 7 Timeline of Main Phases of the Development Process for the Polaris 44
Exhibit 8 Example of the Data Provided by Earned Value Analysis 45 Genesis Corporation: The Polaris Project
John Butler looked at the clock in his car. It was 7:38 am, and he knew he would need some luck to get to his 8:00 am meeting at Genesis’s Harrison Avenue headquarters on time. Traffic on Boston’s Central artery was choked because of the lingering construction from the interminable “Big Dig”. Butler was looking forward to today’s meeting with Genesis senior executives to reflect on the lessons learned from the Polaris project, which Butler had led for more than three years. The project had been one of the most important efforts in Genesis’s 45 year history. It had set out to create an entirely new semi-conductor test-system platform. The resulting Ultra Flex system, designed to be flexible enough to allow customers to test a full range of semi-conductor devices, was critical to the success of Genesis’s new competitive strategy.
The Polaris project had marked a culmination of sorts in Genesis’s eight-year effort to improve its product development process. The Polaris team had