Creating project plans to focus product development教程.pdfVIP

Creating Project Plans to Focus Product Development by Steven C. Wheelwright and Kim B. Clark Harvard Business Review Reprint 92210 With an “aggregate project plan,” companies map out and manage a set Creating Project Plans to Focus by Steven C. Wheelwright and Kim B. Clark The long-term competitiveness of any manufac- cause it had believed its annual business plan pro- turing company depends ultimately on the success vided the guidance that the marketing and engi- of its product development capabilities. New prod- neering departments needed to generate and sched- uct development holds hope for improving market ule projects. position and financial performance, creating new To get to the root of the problem, the chief execu- industry standards and new niche markets, and tive first asked senior managers to compile a list of even renewing the organization. Yet few develop- all the current development projects. They discov- ment projects fully deliver on their early promises. ered that 30 projects were under way–far more than The fact is, much can and does go wrong during de- anticipated, and, they suspected, far more than the velopment. In some instances, poor leadership or organization could support. Further analysis re- the absence of essential skills is to blame. But often vealed that the company had two to three times problems arise from the way companies approach more development work than it was capable of the development process. They lack what we call completing over its three-year development plan- an “aggregate project plan.” ning horizon. (See the chart “PreQuip’s Develop- Consider the case of a large scientific instru- ment Predicament: Overcommitted Resources.”) ments company we will call PreQuip. In mid-1989, With su