Integrated project development teams: another fad … or a permanent change

Abstract This paper candidly discusses both the positive and the negative aspects of an increasingly popular approach towards project management called integrated project development teams. The concept has been around for years and has gone by other names, most notably concurrent engineering, but at other times it is simply referred to as project teams. The use of teams has had wide acceptance in the US in both the private and government sectors. The attraction of the project teams concept is quite straightforward: the distinct possibility of shortening the cycle time necessary to take a new product idea from its creator to the ultimate consumer, while maintaining or improving the quality of the final design. Whereas managements often understand the general nature of employing project teams, not all firms are willing to make the necessary commitments to make them work successfully. There are also certain drawbacks in the use of teams which not everyone discusses, or quite possibly understands.