Archive for April 2022
Design for Lean
In this article series, we covered several topics in the area of product development and project management. We will now begin to explore process improvement with the topic “Design for Lean”. While design for lean may be a subtopic within product development, it helps us understand operational risks, operational costs, enables operational planning and process…
Read MoreWhy an owner of a task or deliverable doesn’t really exist…
When it comes to ensuring a task or deliverable is accomplished, we often see the word “owner” used. Perhaps surprisingly, there really is no true ‘owner’ of anything in the context of program or project management. We can begin explaining this with two adjectives: responsible and accountable. “Responsible” is simply the person responsible for completing…
Read MoreWhat is Design for Assembly?
The objective of DFSS/DFA is to model and improve design performance before manufacturing the part, even before creating a prototype.
Read MoreWhy Excellence May Not Be the Best
Productivity ties to leaderships vision and purpose, the organizational structure, and motivates the right behaviors.
Read MoreIs a Task a Deliverable?
a final deliverable is the completed action, not simply the list or schedule of actions…
Read MoreWhy DMAIC Endures as a Robust Thought Process
The tried-and-true Define-Measure-Analyze-Improve-Control (DMAIC) thought process endures as a fundamentally robust problem-solving thought process.
Read MoreSimplified Project Management (Part 1)
Project management can be effectively taught and applied using the following simplified phases and review gates
Read MoreSimplified Project Management (Part 2)
In Part 1 of this article series, we explored a simplified project management process using a phase/gate structure that enables a robust project planning and execution thought process. Now let’s identify some deliverables within each of the phases. These deliverables would be required and reviewed at each of the gates. Below is a brief description of each:…
Read MoreBenefits of Comparing Agile with Waterfall
Previous articles have covered a proposed waterfall product development phase/gate process. This article will compare and contrast waterfall with Agile product development, especially with respect to the front-end of the process. Let’s start with a proposed waterfall product development phase/gate process. (The process below implies a hardware product, however, it can be considered any waterfall process…
Read MoreBenefits of Comparing DMAIC with Project Management
Our previous article covered the benefits of comparing waterfall with agile, emphasizing the benefit of planning the agile process and product backlog content. In this article we’ll compare the Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve and Control (DMAIC) thought process, with a project management thought process. DMAIC is a problem-solving thought process applies critical thinking to ensure robust…
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