The Development of a Modified Design Chain Operations Reference Model in New Product Development of the Printed Circuit Board: A Case Study

New product development (NPD) is a process of interactions among multiple parties. With stronger competition in the electronic product market, reducing NPD cycle time has become a common important subject in the information technology (IT) industry. The main topic of this research is process improvements in the research and development (R&D) department of the case company by studying how product competitiveness can be enhanced in the current rapid proceeding technology industry. The process-oriented and hierarchical structure is used to analyze the processes of a new printed circuit board (PCB) design and test, and then a modified design chain operations reference (DCOR) model is introduced to explore problems and suggest corresponding solutions. This research also specifies a clear design chain structure for the case firm and improves its R&D process by brainstorming. The goal is to increase the case firm’s PCB design chain efficiency by shortening the delivery time and reducing the problems of risks arising during the NPD. Finally, this research reviews the essence of the design chain management, draws conclusions, and points out directions for future research.