Cross-Functional Coordination Patterns Between Process Engineering and Reliability Engineering Teams During New Solar Cell Product Introductions

Abstract

New product introduction (NPI) for solar cell architectures requires sustained coordination between process-engineering teams (focused on near-term yield and capability) and reliability-engineering teams (focused on long-term field performance and warranty risk). The two functions operate on dramatically different time-horizons and respond to dramatically different metrics, which can produce coordination failures observable in late-discovered field failures or in late-stage NPI delays. This study, drawing on structured interviews with 38 NPI program leaders across nine photovoltaic and adjacent-industry organizations, identifies six recurring coordination-pattern archetypes and assesses each pattern's effectiveness against time-to-volume and field-reliability outcomes. The findings inform NPI organizational design and provide a diagnostic instrument for program leaders.