Analysing organisational issues in concurrent new product development

Organisation analysis and improvement techniques have been a field of study for many years with the result that there are a number of different methodologies ranging from purely mathematical models of analysis to heuristic models using simulation. This paper presents an overview of research carried out towards the development of a methodology and tool aimed at assisting in the reengineering of the processes and organisation deployed in Concurrent New Product Development (CNPD) (NPD within a Concurrent Engineering (CE) environment). The focus is on the analysis of the operation of multifunctional project teams throughout the NPD process lifecycle, using process modelling and analysis techniques. The methodology and tools developed identify low value adding tasks and poor value adding ability of the performers, using both quantitative as well as qualitative information. This enables the company managers to reduce lead times, remove weak functions or links, move towards a more flatter organisation, and improve performance of the process and consequently organisation. The methodology and tool were originally developed within the European BRITE-EURAM (No. BE-8037-93) project PACE - a Practical Approach to Concurrent Engineering. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.