## 3 Methodology
### Introduction to DCOR Processes
#### 3.3.1 Level 1 of the DCOR Model  
Level 1 of the DCOR model has five steps: plan, research, design, integrate, and amend. When building Level 1 of the DCOR model, it must verify the participating members in the design chain. During PCB R&D processes, the integrating and assembling manufacturer (the case company) plays the role of a medium connecting the customer to downstream design companies and fabrication suppliers; therefore, the major members of this design chain are customers, manufacturers, design suppliers,and fabrication suppliers. However, as fabrication suppliers follow a Gerber format to make the bare PCB, which has little influence on the R&D process, fabrication suppliers are not included in the design chain process and do not play an active role in this research. Therefore, the primary members studied in the design chain in this research are customers, manufacturers, and design suppliers. After verifying the members of the design chain for this study, the next step is to build up Level 1 of the DCOR model of the PCB R&D processes, as shown in Figure 2.  
1. P1: Determine the design chain priority and time of the PCB R&D process.
2. R1: The R&D management process includes verifying, decomposing, and clarifying the rules of the R&D project, collecting the design information, and evaluating the feedback of the R&D results. R1 also includes identifying the departments from the design information, designing the methods for using the design information, analyzing the corresponding design and parts, and ensuring that the material and the product specifications satisfy the customer's needs.
3. D1: Design process includes the definitions, productions, simulations, specifications, structures, and functions of products. D1 also contains product manufacturing standards, testing frequency verifications, and product needs.
4. I1: Integration process includes deciding the aforementioned product design definition, defining the product design process into a component modulus, releasing the aforementioned R&D process information and its definition, introducing an operating and executing mechanism of the design chain, and cooperating with the customer to provide the design rules to the organization of the downstream design suppliers.
5. A1: Track product testing results and improve their R&D process. Track the company's products to determine if they satisfy customers' needs and evaluate for future improvement.  
The case company is a PCB part assembling company with testing probes as a major product; therefore, the customers are usually wafer fabrication companies. The wafer fabrication companies take probe testing before sawing and packaging wafers to pick out defective wafers in advance, reduce the costs of back-end packaging and testing wafers, and maintain the back-end wafer packaging quality. After making a new wafer product, the wafer fabrication company (the customer) needs to collaborate with the case company on design, produce, and part assembly of the PCB.  
In Level 1 of the DCOR model in Figure 3, customers collaborate with the case company to co-organize projects. However, from the customer's perspective, the case company plays a role as a design company because the case company actually directly discusses the project and design problems with the customers in terms of the design company's behaviors. The design company does not participate in the project process in the P1 process because it receives instructions on PCB design from the case company.