1 Thinking Beyond Lean Reviewed by Alexander Kuhne Kwakye Oppong Adekunle Okunoye

2 Introduction From Lean Management to Multiproject Concept Typology of various strategy Relationship of Organisation to Business Process reengineering Description of traditional approches towards organisation Center Organisation

3 Organisation in Reengineering Processes(I) Organisation is sensitive to a set of variables –Business Processes –Infromation Technology Use –Orgnisational Form –People Skills All the elements are interdependent –El Sawy focuses on Business Processes while Cusumano and Nobeoka concentrated on Organisational form –Restructuring of any of the elements has effect on the performance of the Organisation

4 Organisation in Reengineering Processes(II) Leavitt Diamond Cusumano & Nobeoka El Sawy Omar

5 Overview of Traditional Approaches towards Organisation Matrix Organisation –Combines projects with functional engineering department Differential Matrix –Characteristics of Matrix Row/Column –Engineers reports to two different heads »Projects Head »Functional Head

6 MATRIX ORGANISATION

7 Product Team Organisation Organisation that create independent projects that focus on building one project at a time –Duplication of many functional activities and component development efforts –Integration of functional departments of product –Encourages lean practices

8 PRODUCT TEAM ORGANISATION

9 Key Features of Product Development Process(I) Complex and Multiple components Simultaneous projects –Lead Time –Engineering hours Functional Activities –Concept generation –Product Planning –Advanced Engineering –Product Engineering –Pilot Production

10 Challenges –Organisation of Project around Functional Activities Scale and Scope economies –Whole Product development Process Best result is derived from balancing of the two options Company performance is directly propotional to efficeint management of projects –Global and high competition –Adoption of Common Platform Key Features of Product Development Process(II)

11 Platforms –it defines the basic structure and performance charateristics of the product and incorporates critical aspects of design and manufacturing know-how –Technology and Knowledge transfer between projects –Platform component is most expensive part of product development, hence sharing platform is considered as extremely cost effective –Quick response to market changes Key Features of Product Development Process(III)

12 Typology of Multiproject Strategy New Design Concurrent TechnologyTransfer Sequential Technology Transfer Design Modification

13 New Design Subsumes Projects starting to develop a platform from scratch No technology transfer between projects Most appropriate for project that requires latest technology or totally new design

14 Concurrent Technology Transfer Targeted towards technology sharing between projects Sharing of platforms between projects before completion of the preceding or base project Encourages Collaboration, Coordination and Communication in design phase Cost effective and flexible

15 Sequential Technology Transfer Reuse base platforms but not concurrently Inherit the relatively old platforms of completed projects Risk of too many design compromise and poor integration of product features and subsystems

16 Design Modification Takes over the base platform of the existing product Platform is not inherited from another product but from its predecessor

17 Concurrent Technology Transfer and Knowledge Transfer Most efficient –Engineering Hours Reuse of technology Mutual Adjustments Conduct Joint design work –Shorter Time lag Feasibility and Efficiency of Communication depends on several factors

18 These Factors can be broken down into 5 different area: –Advance Planning –Mutual Adjustment, task sharing, and joint design –Transfer of fresh vs dated design –Problems of anonymous designs –Role of a General Manager for Multi-project management Concurrent Technology Transfer and Knowledge Transfer(II)

19 Advance Planning for Technology Transfer Platform transfer requires base platform’s design adjustment to fit the new architecture and specifications Factors responsible for changes in platform design includes: –Target Market –Performance requirement –Changes in Fashion

20 The other two strategies has a long time lags bewteen base projects –Due to lack of planning to transfer it to future projects Difficulty in problem of predicting when there is a long time lag bewteen two projects Advance Planning for Technology Transfer(II)

21 Multi-Project Strategies and Average Lead Time

22 Mutual Adjustment, Task Sharing, and Joint Design Adjustment processes are complicated –Requires multiple iterations of feedback between two projects –Advance planning has no effect –Possible in Concurrent technology transfer Task Sharing Joint Design

23 Mutual Adjustment, Task Sharing, and Joint Design(II)

24 Transfer of Fresh Designs vs Dated Designs Dated Design used in Sequential technology transfer and design modification Problem with linking the old platform with new components Design changes causes increase in Engineering hours

25 Problem of Anonymous Designs Problem of continuity in transfering the design from base projects –Engineer movements Drawings and Written specification It is difficult to transfer intangible or tacit understanding without chronological overlap and direct interactions

26 Role of GM for Multi-Project Management Executives can take quick decision on resources allocation that will enable a product to be reusable for more than one projects

27 Center Organisation

28 Center Organisation Center Organsation –Clusters of similar projects –Duplication of some funtional departments for groups of similar projects Semi Center –Clusters of similar projects –Centralised Functional departments Largest firms use Centers or Semi Center structure while smaller firms use Matrix Organisation

29 It simplify project management and promote component sharing Encourages frequent development of quick products with lower costs Ideal organisation that supports knowledge transfer Center Organisation(II)

30 Functional vs Project-Centered Organisations Project-centered –Breaks wall between functional departments. –Engineers gain from cross-group meetings and interactions with other engineers Functional organisations –Engineers up-to-date –Better position to produce radical innovation Project Centered vs Functional Organisation –Rate of technical Changes –Length of Development project –Degree of Interdependency

31 Organisational Requirements for Multiple Projects Communication and Coordination Mechanisms –Engineers has to communicate well and coordinate their work properly Component transfer is related to its interdependency on other components Knowledge Retention and Transfer Mechanisms –Local Knowledge –System or Integrative Knowledge

32 Conclusion Changes in project organisational structures affects product development processes Concurrent technology transfer is the best strategy that supports Knowledge transfer and sharing Organisation form and Business processes as elements of organisation when adjusted has effect on the performance of the organisation.

33 References Cusumano et al(1998) “Thinking Beyond Lean- How Multi-Project Management Is Transforming Product Development at Toyota and Other Companies” New York The Free Press El Sawy Omar (2000) “Redesigning Enterprise Processes for e-Business” McGraw-Hill Nonaka, I(1994) “Dynamic Theory of Organisational Knowledge Creation” Organisation Sceince/ Vol. 5 No 1,14-37