Point of design based implementation and evaluation of knowledge management for autonomous decentralized divisions

In a rapidly changing telecommunications market, developers and factories face the challenge of crafting a common system for knowledge management. This paper focuses on an independent division of a major Japanese firm. Most design sections had devised their own sets of regulations thirty years ago and were managed on this basis, with LSI, microcomputers, and software as their key components. Information systems had evolved separately according to the needs of each division, resulting in an unwieldy spaghetti-like database network that privileged manufacturing management over knowledge sharing. Due to the absence of a unified code structure for the entire institution, the storage and exchange of knowledge was hindered. A major step in solving these problems and fostering innovation was the establishment of a ldquokey componentsrdquo section. With the purpose of compiling product development and technological information from each business unit, the ldquokey componentsrdquo would function at the nucleus of operations. This paper focuses on the management strategies of a major Japanese electronics manufacturer in the information and telecommunications industry. It investigates systems for overseeing technology from the development and design stages through production. A key concept is point of design, a mechanism for gathering many types of information automatically, on a permanent basis, from each of the autonomous decentralized sections. After implementing the new ldquokey componentsrdquo knowledge management system, a system was created for evaluating it based on the point of design concept.