Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1285883
76 DESIGN007 MAGAZINE I SEPTEMBER 2020 Interview by the I-Connect007 Editorial Team We recently spoke with Monsoon's Jennifer Kolar, vice president of engineering, and Dan Warren, principal PCB designer and director of designer development, about some of the com- mon problems that they see in designers' fab notes, the impact that bad data can have on the fab process, and the steps that designers and design engineers can take to ensure that they are creating complete, accurate fab notes every time. This is the second half of the conversa- tion that began in the August 2020 issue of Design007 Magazine. Click here to read Part 1. Andy Shaughnessy: Do you try to educate each customer if the data is inaccurate or incomplete? Jen Kolar: We try to silently help for the first few designs if they have poor data. When we see a trend, or if the data is unbuildable, we start pushing back. We try to absorb and clean up as much as we can. We're pretty careful and keep track of when we are doing a new spin. We'll also track what questions and issues came up previously, so they're ready to be incorporated into the next spin. We try to make sure that the PMs will remind the designer/customer, "I had these questions last time. Can you make sure to make these changes next time?" For internal designs, we also have a policy that, in general—unless it's during weird hours— whichever designer did the work, they get to be part of answering the DFM. We get to share the love. They find out what the issues are, but they also get the pain of the late-night call. Nolan Johnson: That's part of what we've heard too. The feedback loop breaks down after you shipped the board because, by the time that job is done, there are four or five jobs down the road. Kolar: Right. That's something where, inter- nally, our folks do get that feedback—maybe not all of it, but they get a lot of it. Darin, our COO, and I are the ultimate escalation point for all DFM. Our fab vendors have our cell- phone numbers, and they know to call us and not put the job on hold on the weekend with- out trying to reach us. We have this process in place, but then our designers hear about it. It's like, "I was just up for three hours in the middle of the night. This wasn't so fun. Next Monsoon Solutions: Creating the Perfect Fab Notes, Part 2