Managing the Design Process
Engineering Design
GE121
Managing
The Design Process
Lecture 11A
GE 121 – Engineering Design - 2008
Managing the Design Process
Managing the Design Process
Introduction of several tools for managing
the design process
Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)
Linear Responsibility Chart (LRC)
Scheduling Tools
Percent Complete Matrix
GE 121 – Engineering Design - 2008
Managing the Design Process
Managing Design Activities
Creating and controlling the design
environment is part of managing design
A project can be characterized as ‘a onetime activity with a well-defined set of
desired ends’
The three ‘S’s of projects
Scope
Spending
Scheduling
GE 121 – Engineering Design - 2008
Managing the Design Process
Design Projects are Different than
Other Projects
Scope/Scheduling of Design Projects (compared
to, say, a construction project) are not often fully
known at the outset
Uncertainties / External Impacts associated with
Design Projects make some of the Management
Tools even more useful and necessary
Project Management Tools can be useful for
gaining consensus by the team about
What must be done
Who will do it
When things must be done
GE 121 – Engineering Design - 2008
Managing the Design Process
Summary of the Three ‘S’s
Scope
Clearly understand what must be done for the
project to succeed
Schedule
Determine when each activity must be
completed for the entire project to be
completed on time
Spending
Managing all the resources that can be spent
on a project
Industry – Usually translated into $
Students – Time is most closely managed resource
GE 121 – Engineering Design - 2008
Managing the Design Process
Project Management Tools Overview
 Management consists of 4 functions (Ch 1)
 Planning – 3 S’s. Must know:
 Scope, Schedule and Resources (Spending)
 Organizing – Determining:
 who is responsible for each task
 which other resources can be called upon
 Leading – Using tools to motivate team by showing:
 understandable tasks
 fair distribution of work
 progress toward goals
 * Leadership cannot be provided by tools alone
 Controlling – Done in context of tools/plans that have been created
 Tracking progress is only meaningful against stated goals
 Corrective action or plan changes only effective if team is confident
that plans they have helped create are going to be used
GE 121 – Engineering Design - 2008
Managing the Design Process
Project Management Tools Overview (cont’d)
Scope Tools
Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)
 Hierarchical representation of all tasks that must be completed
for project
 Break down into pieces small enough that resources/time can
be estimated with confidence
Linear Responsibility Chart (LRC)
 Identifies which team member has primary responsibility for
each task in WBS
 Matrix form with tasks matched to team members, client, users,
stakeholders
 Particularly important for team-based activities, to clearly
identify who is responsible for each task, and who else will be
involved
GE 121 – Engineering Design - 2008
Managing the Design Process
Project Management Tools Overview (cont’d)
Schedule Tools
Team Calendar
Shows all of the time available to the team
Highlights deadlines and timelines
Gantt Chart
Horizontal bar graph
Maps various activities against a time line
Activity Network
Graphs activities and events
Shows logical ordering
GE 121 – Engineering Design - 2008
Managing the Design Process
Project Management Tools Overview (cont’d)
Spending Tool
Budget
List of all items that will incur an economic cost
Organized into logically related categories (labor,
materials)
Important to distinguish between the budget to do
the design, and the budget to build the product!
Other Control Methods
Percent Complete Matrix (PCM)
Relates Extent of Work Done to Total Level of All
Work to be Done
GE 121 – Engineering Design - 2008