TIDE was founded to encourage and assist small manufacturers in the adoption of commercially available software and information technology (IT). TIDE is specifically focused on small manufacturers that supply goods and services important to the national defense; however, much of the work of the TIDE program is broadly applicable to all small businesses.

TIDE was created based upon the efforts of U.S. Congressman Mike Doyle, 14th Congressional District, Pennsylvania. Congressman Doyle publicly announced the TIDE program on March 6, 2000 at the Software Engineering Institute.

See an overview briefing (PDF) of the TIDE program.

The TIDE program took three major directions.

1. Demonstration Projects illustrate the methods, challenges, and rewards of incorporating advanced software and IT into the operations of small manufacturers.
2. Workforce Development Courses
   provide to small manufacturers the training and knowledge needed for successful adoption of advanced software and IT.
3. Technology Development Projects
   adapt existing commercial software and information technologies for use by small manufacturers

Operationally Critical Threat, Asset, and Vulnerability Evaluation - Small Business (OCTAVE-S) tool

For an organization that wants to understand its information security needs, OCTAVE (Operationally Critical Threat, Asset, and Vulnerability Evaluation^SM is a risk-based strategic assessment and planning technique for security. OCTAVE-S was developed in response to the needs of smaller organizations (about 100 people or less). It meets the same OCTAVE criteria as the OCTAVE Method but is adapted to the more limited means and unique constraints of small organizations. OCTAVE-S uses a more streamlined process and different worksheets, but it produces the same type of results.

Read more about OCTAVE-S.

Advanced Engineering Environments for Small Manufacturing Enterprises

Advanced engineering environment (AEE) is a term for the computational and communications systems that can create virtual and/or distributed environments linking researchers, technologists, designers, manufacturers, suppliers, and customers. An AEE provides for the orderly integration of tools used and data developed in the design phase of a product. It provides connectivity between this data and downstream production activities (e.g., procurement, manufacturing, test, support). AEEs for small manufacturing enterprises SMEs) are most often constructed through the integration of commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) information technology tools such as CAD, CAE, PDM, ERP, etc.

To learn more view this presentation. (PDF)

Pittsburgh Regional Delphi Study - Software and Corporate Technology

One of the objectives of this survey was to enhance research related to Small Manufacturing Enterprises sponsored by the Doyle/TIDE program by examining the IT departments of local (Pittsburgh region) business and the technology businesses (in the same region) that support them.

View the Survey results (PDF).

Advanced Engineering Environment Tools

The TIDE program has released preliminary versions of Self-Assessment Tools for Advanced Engineering Environments (AEEs) to help small manufacturers improve their engineering and design capabilities through the adoption and integration of interoperable COTS tools.

Comments regarding the usefulness and functionality of these tools are welcomed; send email to tide-info@sei.cmu.edu.

Publications

Material was added in the Publications section of this site to include information about published reports and articles.

For More Information

For more information about TIDE, send email to tide-info@sei.cmu.edu.

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