Product development resource allocation with foresight

Shortening project duration is critical to product development project success in many industries. As a primary driver of progress and an effective management tool, resource allocation among development activities can strongly influence project duration. Effective allocation is difficult due to the inherent closed loop flow of development work and the dynamic demand patterns of work backlogs. The Resource Allocation Policy Matrix is proposed as a means of describing resource allocation policies in dynamic systems. Simple system dynamics and control theoretic models of resource allocation in a product development context are developed. The control theory model is used to specify a foresighted policy, which is tested with the system dynamics model. The benefits of foresight are found to reduce with increasing complexity. Process concurrence is found to potentially reverse the impact of foresight on project duration. The model structure is used to explain these results and future research topics are discussed. 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

[1]  Albert Jones,et al.  Survey of Job Shop Scheduling Techniques , 1999 .

[2]  Christopher D. McDaniel,et al.  A linear system framework for analyzing the automotive appearance design process , 1996 .

[3]  Robert P. Smith,et al.  A predictive model of sequential iteration in engineering design , 1997 .

[4]  Daniel E. Whitney,et al.  Concurrent Design of Products and Processes: A Strategy for the Next Generation in Manufacturing , 1989 .

[5]  Stuart E. Madnick,et al.  Software Project Dynamics: An Integrated Approach , 1991 .

[6]  Terry Williams,et al.  System dynamics in project management: assessing the impacts of client behaviour on project performance , 1998, J. Oper. Res. Soc..

[7]  Edward G. Anderson,et al.  The Nonstationary Staff-Planning Problem with Business Cycle and Learning Effects , 2001, Manag. Sci..

[8]  C. C. Holt,et al.  A Linear Decision Rule for Production and Employment Scheduling , 1955 .

[9]  Linda Moffat,et al.  Tools and teams: competing models of integrated product development project performance , 1998 .

[10]  Reza H. Ahmadi,et al.  Time-Cost Trade-Offs in Overlapped Product Development , 2000, Oper. Res..

[11]  Alan K. Graham,et al.  Beyond PM 101: Lessons for Managing Large Development Programs , 2000 .

[12]  David N. Ford,et al.  Dynamic modeling of product development processes , 1998 .

[13]  Christopher Meyer,et al.  Fast Cycle Time: How to Align Purpose, Strategy, and Structure for Speed , 1993 .

[14]  David N. Ford,et al.  D-4672 2 / 2 Dynamic Modeling of Product Development Processes , 2022 .

[15]  Stephen C. Graves,et al.  A Tactical Planning Model for a Job Shop , 1986, Oper. Res..

[16]  H. Belloc.  The Free Press , 2002 .

[17]  Cheryl Gaimon,et al.  Planning Information Technology-Knowledge Worker Systems , 1997 .

[18]  Steven D. Eppinger,et al.  Performance of Coupled Product Development Activities with a Deadline , 2001, Manag. Sci..

[19]  Daniel E. Whitney,et al.  Automation Usage Pattern During Complex Electro Mechanical Product Development , 1999 .

[20]  John D. Sterman,et al.  Business dynamics : systems thinking and modelling for acomplex world , 2002 .

[21]  Stephen R. Rosenthal.  Effective Product Design and Development: How to Cut Lead Time and Increase Customer Satisfaction , 1992 .

[22]  William K. Holstein,et al.  The Labor Assignment Decision and Application of Work Flow Structure Information , 1972 .

[23]  Samuel B. Graves.  The time-cost tradeoff in research and development: A review , 1989 .

[24]  David N. Ford.  Achieving Multiple Project Objectives through Contingency Management , 2002 .

[25]  David N. Ford,et al.  Expert knowledge elicitation to improve formal and mental models , 1998 .

[26]  Kenneth Cooper.  Naval Ship Production: A Claim Settled and a Framework Built , 1980 .

[27]  Robert P. Smith,et al.  A model-based method for organizing tasks in product development , 1994 .

[28]  Viswanathan V Krishnan,et al.  Managing the simultaneous execution of coupled phases in concurrent product development , 1996 .

[29]  K. L. Edwards.  Concurrent engineering: What's working where , 1996 .

[30]  Michael Burda,et al.  Revolutionizing product development , 1993 .

[31]  Steffen Bayer,et al.  Business dynamics: Systems thinking and modeling for a complex world , 2004 .

[32]  M. L. Patterson,et al.  Accelerating Innovation: Improving the Process of Product Development , 1992 .

[33]  Steven D. Eppinger,et al.  A Model-Based Framework to Overlap Product Development Activities , 1997 .

[34]  C. Jones.  An Economic Evaluation of Job Shop Dispatching Rules , 1973 .

[35]  J. Forrester.  Industrial Dynamics , 1997 .