Organisational analysis: A process-based model for concurrent engineering environments

Organisational issues present the main barriers to the implementation of concurrent engineering (CE) to new product development (NPD) processes in manufacturing organisations. Both research and practice have demonstrated that companies that invest in improving organisational development issues fare better than those that rely purely on tools and technology alone. The key issues are improving cross‐functional integration and developing social mechanisms that facilitate a collaborative environment. Organisational analysis represents the first step an organisation can take in order to improvement its effectiveness. Organisational analysis techniques have been a field of study for many years, resulting in the development of a number of different methodologies ranging from purely mathematical models of analysis to heuristic models using simulation. This paper presents a methodology that draws upon traditional organisational theory and combines it with the more recent business process re‐engineering approaches for the analysis of organisational issues in a CE environment. The methodology is based on the hierarchical modelling and analysis of the business process. A detailed case study of its application in industry is presented. The paper concludes by summarising the key features of the methodology and issues emerging from its implementation.