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84 DESIGN007 MAGAZINE I OCTOBER 2020 Whenever the topic of roadmaps surfaces, I frequently quote the Cheshire Cat's exchange with Alice in Lewis Carroll's classic Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. If you've never read the book or don't recall the exchange, I refer to the point where Alice encounters the cat at an intersection which leads in many directions. The exchange goes as follows: Alice: Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here? The Cheshire Cat: That depends a good deal on where you want to get to. Alice: I don't much care where. The Cheshire Cat: Then it doesn't much matter which way you go. Alice: ...So long as I get somewhere. The Cheshire Cat: Oh, you're sure to do that, if only you walk long enough. While building technology roadmaps is not quite so lacking in purpose and direction, there are often similar discussions that take place when committee members try to chart a clear and certain path into the future in a constantly changing technical environment. It is not an easy task, and it is not always accurate, but having something to refer to (as opposed to nothing) provides a measure of comfort and a sense of future direction regarding where tech- nology might be heading. Over the last quarter-century, I have been per- sonally involved with several electronics indus- try roadmaps focused on electronic intercon- nections with an emphasis on printed circuits, rigid and flexible, as well as assembly technol- ogy and connectors. To a fair extent, I have, on my own and with colleagues, tried to shape the road ahead of the roadmaps by developing new technologies that caused the roadmap to make an adjustment to its course. The development Technology Roadmaps in the Electronics Industry Flexible Thinking by Joe Fjelstad, VERDANT ELECTRONICS