This will allow us to begin determining model sensitivities to these assumptions and decide if standard simulation packages produce reliable output. In particular, we will examine the effect on simulation reliability of ignoring dependencies and of making speculative and unconfirmed distributional assumptions. Almost every aspect of the business environment in which today's semiconductor manufacturers operate is highly dynamic and unpredictable. The market, the products, the technology used to manufacture the products, and the skills that operators, engineers, and technicians need are all in a continual state of flux. Tools and training are both extremely expensive.
Competition is often fierce.
Financial success or failure is often determined by the ability of a company to deploy the right combination of resources at the right time, and to utilize them fully. Our goal is to substantially improve the ability of today's semiconductor manufacturers to accomplish this, in a highly unpredictable, dynamic environment. The market for semiconductors is unpredictable and highly dynamic. The people who perform marketing and forecasting functions for semiconductor manufacturers understand a lot about the uncertainties in the marketplace and the different ways in which market demand might evolve over time. However the numerical forecast data that they typically provide to other groups in the corporation does not fully capture this knowledge.