Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Project Design Management'
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Allen, Shamon A. "Project Management in Instructional Design." Franklin University / OhioLINK, 2020. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=frank1608218964814976.
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Sanchez, Marcos A. (Marcos Ariel) 1965. "Lean project management framework for the entrepreneur : traditional projects management, critical chain, and systems dynamics." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1999. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/29151.
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Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design & Management Program, 1999.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 75-77).
The thesis presents a lean and efficient project management framework that addresses many of the project management challenges found in an entrepreneurial environment. The framework contains an optimal and practical combination of the most critical and successful elements of traditional project management and concepts from critical chain management and system dynamics. The project management approach focuses on improving management efficiency within an entrepreneurial setting. The proposed project management framework does this by accomplishing the following: 1) establishes the over-arching objective of project management, 2) identifies the fundamentally, critical elements and value-added elements of project management, and 3) proposes an appropriate set of approaches, methods and tools. An important value-added element in the proposed project management framework is the ability to quantify the cost and quality implications that occur when new requirements or significant changes are forced on the product and project. The framework is developed from an entrepreneurial perspective and therefore emphasizes a project management approach that is effective (intuitive framework that captures essential, value added elements), efficient (requires low maintenance and does not become a project in itself), and flexible (approaches and methods proposed are responsive to change). The framework also emphasizes the importance of viewing and managing the project from a systems perspective so that better decisions about the tradeoffs can be accomplished. The combination of traditional project management, critical chain management and system dynamics helps to produce a robust and holistic representation of the project that provides idealistic, realistic and pessimistic views of the project. The proposed framework offers a consolidated project management method to help managers in an entrepreneurial environment in the following three key areas: 1) effectively plan and manage the development effort, 2) understand and communicate the effects of changes to the project, and 3) develop better contingency plans.
by Marcos A. Sanchez.
S.M.
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Zahnan, Lena. "Computer aided design-based project management model." Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 2001. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk3/ftp04/MQ59300.pdf.
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Dvorkin, William Nathan. "Applying the Principles of Project Management to a Collegiate Automotive Engineering Design Project." Thesis, Virginia Tech, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/71328.
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The Hybrid Electric Vehicle Team of Virginia Tech is a collegiate automotive engineering design team that reengineers production vehicles to reduce environmental impact while maintaining vehicle marketability. The team Project Manager is responsible for coordinating high-level management and planning activities with the goal of better aligning the team with business and automotive industry practices. Project management responsibilities within the Hybrid Electric Vehicle Team are divided into four categories: human resource management, schedule management, cost management, and risk management. This document outlines how project management strategies were researched and adapted from industry practices for use by the Hybrid Electric Vehicle Team in achieving its goals.
The human resource management strategy adopts onboarding principles that better prepare new students to become effective team members. By restructuring the organization and incorporating onboarding strategies, annual turnover is reduced from 71% to 44%. The decrease in turnover is enabled by the successful creation of an independent study program which trains newcomers to become effective team members. The program can be improved for the future by further developing the curriculum.
The employed schedule management strategy develops the project schedule iteratively as technical information reveals itself through task progress. Utilizing this process makes schedule management possible in an environment with incomplete information and pressing deadlines. This strategy experienced limited success due to the lack of team and project scheduling experience on behalf of several key members of the process.
The cost management strategy is designed to gather detailed financial data to perform an earned-value analysis and create improved budgets. By understanding income and expense patterns, the Project Manager can create economic forecasts to determine the economic viability of the team. The strategy was successfully implemented and allowed the team to gather valuable financial data.
The risk management strategy identifies and quantifies technical risks associated with vehicle development. By focusing more resources on high-risk activities, the team can improve preparation for competition where the vehicle is judged according engineering quality and build progress. The strategy was successful because it identified critical hazards to the project schedule and scope, but can be improved by broadening the process to account for a wider variety of risks.Master of Science
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Mulekezi, Luke. "The design of project estimating systems." Thesis, University of Birmingham, 1990. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.273936.
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Arwe, John E. (John Elliott) 1964. "Reducing system software project risk through choice of project architecture." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1999. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/9744.
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Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design and Management Program, 1999.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 83-86).
The choice of project architecture - the structure of and interrelationships between product, processes, and organization - alters the project's risk profile. While most analyses take project scope as an input, I propose the examination of multiple project decompositions take place as part of project planning and project monitoring. The subprojects created by each decomposition will have unique risk profiles, suggesting different process and organizational adaptations that lower overall project risk. By selecting project decompositions that partition risk and then adapting the structure of each sub-project to mitigate its particular risks, the probability of risk occurrence is reduced and the severity of consequences may be reduced. Case studies of four IBM mainframe system software projects illustrate lessons regarding project architecture, some general and some project- or process-specific. These projects employ both waterfall and iterative process models, managed using varying degrees of functional, lightweight, and heavyweight organizations.
by John E. Arwe.
S.M.
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Jiang, Yibin. "On-line multimedia management system." CSUSB ScholarWorks, 2007. https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/etd-project/3221.
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Online Multimedia Management System (OMMS) is a project to provide users to store and share their mutimedia files. The users and administrator can modify and update the multimedia files and database information from a normal web browser. The administrator and users with access have different levels of permission.
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Yllén, Johansson Mattias. "Agile project management in the construction industry : An inquiry of the oppurtunities in construction projects." Thesis, KTH, Fastigheter och byggande, 2012. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-101094.
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Project management is today a current and highly discussed area. How projects within the construction industry are managed has not changed significantly during the last decades. The construction market, the number of different actors and the way that projects are procured today has however changed. This has led to a gap between the managerial view on how construction projects should be conducted today and how they actually are executed. This is reason enough to question this conservative industry and look into what possibilities there might be in the future. The Agile project management approach evolved from the software industry where it has grown and developed through empirical progress. It is suited for large complex projects where it is difficult to specify the product in advance. It is today used in different industries but mostly in the software business where the customer detects their needs through means of repeated tests and improvements to a prototype. This thesis has researched what opportunities there might be in implementing the Agile project management approach in the design phase of construction projects. The major advantages found with implementing the Agile approach is an increase in the client’s involvement. The Agile approach almost forces the client to increase their participation in the project compared to the situation today. It can also decrease uncertainty and improve risk management. By the use of time management and specific meetings it will also be beneficial for keeping track of the project’s progression and status.
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Gilani, Roshanak 1963. "A systematic approach for architecting a knowledge management system for project management." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2001. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/29178.
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Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design & Management Program, 2001.Includes bibliographical references (p. 71-73).
Project managers from varying industries face common challenges that exist in complex projects. Examples include: product and resource dependencies, poor communication of critical information within a project, lack of project control, lack of adequate tools to manage resources, etc. Best practices and industry standards (e.g. Capability Maturity Model, Total Quality Management) have been found to mitigate many of these problems when fully implemented. However, no automated tool exists that collectively implements and supports these practices. This thesis proposes a tool that automates many of the requirements management processes and project management processes across all stages of a project's lifecycle. In developing the architecture for such a tool, an industry survey was conducted among leaders from academic, government, and commercial organizations to determine common approaches and obstacles prevalent in managing projects. Based on the survey data, this thesis describes the system architecture and design of a project management tool comprised of numerous protocols. These protocols help to create an environment which minimizes the resistance to change as a result of organizational culture. This tool provides a new set of standards and practices for more mature project management. The results of following these standards and practices are: a left shift of project targets with less variation from estimates to actual results, formal defined project processes for inner and inter-project coordination, project configuration control and maintenance of requirements and historical data, risk management for dependencies and critical paths, automated tools that reduce project overhead and a project tracking and oversight mechanism. Although this thesis is based on an analysis of best practices and industry standards, the resultant framework is original. The proposed architecture can be utilized to develop a world class project and knowledge management software application.
by Roshanak Gilani.
S.M.
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Stout, Daniel S. "Project management model of a nuclear facility renovation." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1998. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/9904.
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Huang, Jianyuan. "Computer science graduate project management system." CSUSB ScholarWorks, 2007. https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/etd-project/3250.
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This project is a development and tracking system for graduate students in the Department of Computer Science of CSUSB. This project will cover front-end web site development, back-end database design and security. This website provides secure access to information about ideas for projects, status on on-going projects, and reports of finished projects using My SQL and Apache Tomcat.
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Sharma, Nidhi S. M. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. "The Good Grains Project." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2019. https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/122565.
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Thesis: S.M. in Engineering and Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design and Management Program, 2019Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 103-106).
Foodgrains (like wheat, peanuts, etc.) gain moisture when they are stored, which leads to variation in weight and deterioration in quality. These commodities are sold by weight in India, and therefore, variable weight directly impacts the economic value of the produce. In addition, the quality of foodgrains is tightly coupled to their moisture content. For instance, if the moisture content of wheat is higher than 12%, it is not purchased by the local agriculture markets at the market price. Such produce is either rejected (sent back to the farmer for drying) or purchased at a much lower (discounted) price owing to the quality depreciation because of high moisture content. The depreciation is due to the presence of unwanted moisture, which results in growth of fungi. Fungal interaction with foodgrains leads to formation of Aflatoxin, which is one of the most toxic and carcinogenic substances known. Current solutions for detecting aflatoxin or uncontrolled moisture are either time consuming and expensive lab tests, or inefficient mechanisms based on unreliable sampling, which are inaccessible to farmers, warehouse managers and consumers, and provide a poor generalisation of the grain quality at the best. I have attempted to develop an easy to use and low-cost product that helps detect the presence of uncontrolled moisture in foodgrains, which is closely correlated to the presence of Aflatoxin. The product comes in the form of a smart RFID sensor, embedded in each of the gunny bags that store commodities like wheat, rice, etc. While a usual RFID tag only detects the presence of an object, the innovation here lies in creating an RFID tag that also responds to the moisture content of the commodity in the bag. This product can be a path-breaking innovation for warehousing corporations in India, as it will help keep a track of quality of millions of tonnes of food commodities, at a much deeper level in the supply chain.
by Nidhi Sharma.
S.M. in Engineering and Management
S.M.inEngineeringandManagement Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design and Management Program
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Kürth-Landwehr, Sophie. "Reflections on YU : introducing project management tools into the design process." Thesis, Södertörns högskola, Institutionen för naturvetenskap, miljö och teknik, 2013. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:sh:diva-19955.
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This article discusses the understanding of the design process in research projects by taking specific tools from project management into account. Explorative and creative design projects often run the risk of loosing focus on project goals during the process. This article aims to provide a novel approach to the ongoing discussion of the clash between creativity and efficiency during the creation of artifacts. By discussing the self-conducted case study – project „Yu‟ – this article reflects on the design process as well as the relationship between the designer and the user. The model created and presented includes two techniques; the active user dialogue and the goal and user needs definition. Both are inspired by similar approaches in project management, which illustrate the importance of the designer's responsibility for the final design outcome. The article identifies and discusses similar approaches in design theory and is aiming to emphasize the positive possibilities for an elaborate design approach.YU project at the Mobile Life Centre
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Ekström, Axel, and Emma Pettersson. "Agile project management in the design stage – Construction projects possibilities to apply agile methods." Thesis, KTH, Fastigheter och byggande, 2016. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-190210.
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The construction industry has a clear process it follows therefore the working method within it also has become rigid. Through long time the stage-gate model has been used by the project management. Construction projects are often complex, have long stages and long decisions routes. When a stage is completed questions have been raised and lead to that change is needed to be made before moving on to next stage. This takes time, costs more than calculated and the function gets compromised. The purpose with this thesis is to investigate if the current project management approach can be performed more efficiently by applying agile project management to the design stage. This thesis is performed with a qualitative research approach. It started with a thoroughly literature review of relevant topics such as agile project management, the construction process and change management. When a solid base of knowledge was gathered about the research area an interview study was conducted and a survey was sent out. The findings are a result from the interview study and the survey. The interview questions and findings are divided into four focus areas of agile project management which are project planning, meeting structure, group collaboration and communication. The discussion connects the literature with the information from the interviews and the discussion is presented with the reflections from the authors. The conclusions present the answers on the research questions. The final chapter about further research is presenting perspectives that have not been answered in this thesis. The thesis concludes that project management methods within construction projects are not as rigid as it is described in the literature. The lack of knowledge and awareness of other working methods creates a culture of "this is how it always has been done" within the four focus areas of agile project management. All of the reference projects were time pressured and it was in those situations where ii most tendencies to adjust management method was shown. The studied projects had fixed meeting structures and when emergency occurred, extra meetings were held. The project management teams had good collaboration due to that they were co-located and not too big groups. The co-location also facilitated the communication which was compared to team members that were not co-located and struggled with the communication. The communication generally worked well vertically and was struggling horizontally. Agile project management cannot be achieved to 100% and it is difficult to apply all of its characteristics on the construction industry since it was developed from the software industry which has other traits than construction. On the other hand, agile project management is a mindset of continuously improvement and flexibility of the used working methods which can be used by the construction industry. The construction industry has to follow some specific processes such as applying for building permits and is affected by political decisions. Therefore the current project management methods are restricted to follow certain frameworks. The framework is hard to change though it leaves space for changed methods and attitudes within the framework and the design stage. All types of construction projects can use the agile mindset and it is important that the whole organization relates to the agile mindset to achieve greatest outcome. Steps towards agile can be done in current projects by emphasis more on reconciliations and let the projects progression decide the meeting structure.Byggprocessen är en väletablerad process inom byggindustrin som byggprojekt genomgår. Genom de tydliga och historiska riktlinjerna som processen följer har byggindustrin fått anseendet att vara stel och konservativ. För att hantera byggprocessen har projektledningen följt Stage-gate modellen med tydliga delmål och beslutsgrindar. Byggprojekt är ofta komplicerade och stora vilket leder till långa beslutsvägar. När ett projekt når en grind vid ett avslut av ett delmål uppstår ofta frågor som leder till förändringar av delmålet. För att behandla förändringarna så behöver processen genomgå ett omtag, att göra om delmålet innan processen kan gå vidare till nästa delmål. Omtagen tar tid, kostar pengar och det kompromissas med funktionen. Denna uppsats har som mål att undersöka om den aktuella projektledningsmetoden kan effektiviseras genom att introducera agil projektledning i projekteringen. Uppsatsen genomförs med en kvalitativ metod. Det första steget är att finna relevant litteratur om berörda ämnen som agil projektledning, byggprocessen och förändringsledning. Med fördjupad kunskap och förståelse inom ämnena genomfördes en intervjustudie och en enkät sändes ut. Resultaten identifierades från intervjuerna och svaren från enkäten. Intervjufrågorna och resultatet är uppdelat i fyra olika agila kategorier som anses gå att applicera på byggindustrin. Kategorierna är projektplanering, mötesstruktur, gruppsamarbete och kommunikation. Resultatet följs utav diskussionen som binder samman litteraturen med resultatet och författarnas reflektioner. Därefter presenteras slutsatsen och avslutningsvis rekommenderas frågeställningar till fortsatta undersökningar. Projektledningsmetoderna som används inom byggprojekt upplevdes inte lika stela som litteraturen beskriver dock fanns det lite kunskap och medvetenhet om andra typer av projektledningsmetoder. Avsaknaden är en bidragande faktor till att den upplevda kulturen anses vara konservativ. Inom de fyra kategorierna fanns det möjligheter till att arbeta mer agilt. När projekten är tidspressade visades mest benägenhet på att förändra projektledningsmetoden. Detta kunde ses tydligt på mötesstrukturen i projekten där den var fast ifrån början men blev mer rörlig då kritiska situationer uppstod. Gruppsamarbetet fungerade bra inom projektledningen för att de var samlokaliserade och inte för stora grupper. Detta underlättade även för en fungerande kommunikation då det märktes att de som inte var samlokaliserade hade svårigheter med kommunikationen. De horisontella kommunikationsvägarna hade generellt sett svårare att fungera än de vertikala kommunikationsvägarna. Eftersom agilt inte är en standard utan är ett arbetssätt som alltid strävar efter att förbättras är det svårt att uppnå ett 100 % agilt arbetssätt. Inom byggindustrin finns vissa ramverk som ska följas vilket gör att projektledningen begränsas. Med fasta ramverk finns lite utrymme för förändring men det finns möjlighet till att förändra processen och tankesättet inom ramverket. Alla typer av byggprojekt kan därför anamma delar av agil projektledning och för att uppnå största möjliga effekt gäller det att hela organisationen är engagerad. Andra enkla steg för att arbeta mer agilt inom projektledningen är att lägga mer vikt vid avstämningsmöten och låta projektets utveckling bestämma mötesstrukturen.
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McClain, Lewis R. "Design-build interoperability and conceptual design and development." Available online, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2007, 2007. http://etd.gatech.edu/theses/available/etd-04062007-132656/.
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Konursay, Sadık Yılmaz Günaydın Yılmaz. "Land readjustment process in urban design: project management approach/." [s.l.]: [s.n.], 2004. http://library.iyte.edu.tr/tezler/master/sehirplanlama/T000302.pdf.
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Clepper, Erin Grace. "Agile Project Management/Systems Engineering of an AV Interior Prototype." The Ohio State University, 2018. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1534732301197097.
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Karlsson, Marine, and Anna Richardsson. "How to merge virtual project room with a project management model." Thesis, Blekinge Tekniska Högskola, Institutionen för arbetsvetenskap och medieteknik, 2001. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:bth-1384.
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Managing a project is multitasking. For making this easier, a project mangaer has a lot of tools. Two of the tools that are often used are a project management model and a virtual project room. These two can be of different types in different compaies and in different culutres. In this thesis, we investigate it there is any neeed for these two tools to be combined. If there is a need, how should the combination be done?
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Gozluklu, Burak. "A new project management system dynamics model and simulator." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/113517.
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Thesis: S.M. in Engineering and Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design and Management Program, 2017.Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 56-57).
Simulators generated from project management system dynamics models are exercised for training the future project managers. In today's' high dynamic, vibrant and complex markets, the models should incorporate more business dynamics and also provide more tools to the players who can flexibly steer in the project games. Along with that objective, this study brings new dynamics and modeling approach to the original multi-phase project system dynamics model of Ford and Sterman, 1998. The new dynamics include the development of new features in the market growing the customer expectation, reflection of customer expectation to project economics, supersede of project concurrencies by rushing the tasks, allowing the defects delivered to customers to be compensated by lifetime repair cost and free positioning of the phase schedules while maintaining concurrencies. A new formulation for completion putthrough, option to include final downstream defect correction and elaborate project econometrics are also included. The model is built in modules that can be utilized to increase the number of phases and/or explain the model to the trainees more easily. The project model employs two options; a zero-defect policy and allowed defect policy where the latter is newly introduced by the repair cost. The system dynamics model is tested by proposed extreme project manager traits which are implemented as table function to use one or more modules to pursue an ultimate objective within a certain logic. A construction project principally mimicking the cases provided by Parvan et al. 2015 is simulated with the manager traits. The results initiate interesting tradeoffs such as the influence of project delivery time versus repair cost, accepting new tasks versus creating more defects or rescheduling the project or positioning the workforce before the ramping up of testing and defective task correction activities. The model necessitates a deeper understanding and analyses of long-term phenomenon such as the lifetime repair cost, the financial consequences of defects and lifetime earnings of products as well as the continuous feature development in the market and its economic value. It is found that the current model proposes an enhanced tool for the training of future project managers. Keywords: System dynamics, project management, simulation, defect policy, numerical modeling.
by Burak Gozluklu.
S.M. in Engineering and Management
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Exl, David. "Návrh projektu pro řízení zakázkové výroby." Master's thesis, Vysoké učení technické v Brně. Fakulta podnikatelská, 2014. http://www.nusl.cz/ntk/nusl-224314.
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The content of this master´s thesis is to design a plan for the project to management system implementation of custom manufacturing. The thesis contains the methods and procedures for project management. The thesis includes opportunities study, time analysis, ressource analysis and cost analysis. The thesis also contains risk analysis.
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Toner, Thomas J. (Thomas Joseph) 1958. "The project management function in a joint development program." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1999. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/9741.
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Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design and Management Program, 1999.Vita.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 83).
The management of large-scale system development has become increasingly difficult as the complexity of the systems has increased over time. The structure of the project team has become more complex as well with the increasing reliance on joint program structures. The helicopter industry provides two excellent examples that can be studied to understand the impact of complex program structures on project management. The RAH-66 Comanche is a new armed reconnaissance helicopter being developed jointly by Sikorsky Aircraft and Boeing Helicopter for the U.S. Anny. The S-92 Helibus is a new medium civil transport helicopter being developed by Sikorsky Aircraft and five international partners. These two programs provide the frame of reference needed to study various methods of project management in a joint development program structure. A comparison of Department of Defense versus commercial joint programs identifies the challenges that are presented to an organization confronted with supporting both types of project structure. Particular emphasis is placed on global commercial projects, as industry trends indicate that this type of development will become increasingly prevalent in the future. A system dynamics model is used to introduce the concept that project management activities can be cost effective if they improve initial quality and reduce rework discovery time. The project manager requires sophisticated methods to profitably develop new products to meet the requirements of a discerning customer. A functional decomposition is used to determine the requirements of project management. The functional decomposition identifies the highly coupled nature of the project management requirements. Current and proposed new methods are identified and compared with the functional requirements identified in the decomposition. An evaluation of the methods m performed to determine their suitability for meeting the identified project management requirements. The methods identified fail to address the coupled nature of the project management functional requirements. A dynamic business plan is proposed as the required project management method. The lack of project management method and skill development within the organization is identified as an inhibitor of the successful implementation of project management methods. A functional resource for project management is proposed as a means to overcome this limitation.
by Thomas J. Toner.
S.M.
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Tschiemer, Robert F. "Design of a web-based project tracking system." [Denver, Colo.] : Regis University, 2007. http://165.236.235.140/lib/RTschiemer2008.pdf.
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Yllén, Johansson Mattias. "Agile project management in the construction industry : An inquiry of the opportunities in construction projects." Thesis, KTH, Fastigheter och byggande, 2012. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-96670.
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Project management is today a current and highly discussed area. How projects within the construction industry are managed has not changed significantly during the last decades. The construction market, the amount of different actors and the way that projects are procured today has however changed. This has led to a gap between the managerial view on how construction projects should be conducted today and how they actually are executed. This is reason enough to question this conservative industry and look into what possibilities there might be in the future. The Agile project management approach is evolved from the software industry where it has grown and developed through empirical progress. It is suited for large complex projects where it is difficult to specify the product in advance. It is today used in different industries but mostly in the software business where the customer detects their needs through means of repeated tests and improvements to a prototype. This thesis has researched what opportunities there might be in implementing the Agile project management approach in the design phase of construction projects. The major advantages found with implementing the Agile approach is an increase in the client’s involvement. The Agile approach almost forces the client to increase their participation in the project compared to the situation today. It can also decrease the uncertainty and improve risk management. By the use of time management and specific meetings it will also be beneficial for keeping track of the project’s progression and status.Projektledning är idag ett högaktuellt ämne diskuteras intensivt. Hur projekt inom byggbranschen styrs och leds har inte förändrats nämnvärt under de senaste decennierna. Byggmarknaden, mängden av olika aktörer och hur att projekten upphandlas dag har dock förändrats. Detta har lett till ett spricka mellan ledarskapssynen på hur byggprojekt skall utföras idag och hur de faktiskt genomförs. Detta är skäl nog att ifrågasätta denna konservativa bransch och titta närmre på vilka möjligheter det kan finnas i framtiden. Den Agila projektledningsmetoden har utvecklats inom mjukvarubranschen där den har vuxit och förbättrats genom empiriska framsteg. Den är lämpad för stora komplexa projekt där det är svårt att ange och definiera produkten i förväg. Den används idag i olika branscher, men främst i mjukvaruindustrin där kunden upptäcker sina behov med hjälp av upprepade tester och förbättringar av en prototyp. Denna avhandling har undersökt vilka möjligheter det kan finnas i att använda Agila projektledningsmetoder under projekteringsfasen i byggprojekt. De största fördelarna som finns med att använda den Agila metoden är en ökning av kundens engagemang och involvering i projekten. Den Agila metoden tvingar nästan kunden att öka deras deltagande i projektet jämfört med hur situationen ser ut idag. Det kan också leda till minskad osäkerhet och förbättrad riskhantering. Genom användning av ”time management” och särskilda möten kommer de Agila metoderna också att vara till nytta för att hålla reda på projektets framåtskridande och status.
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Samulack, William S. (William Stephen) Carleton University Dissertation Information and Systems Science. "The logical design of an engineering project management support system." Ottawa, 1987.
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Procházková, Andrea. "Návrh projektu realokace vybrané firmy." Master's thesis, Vysoké učení technické v Brně. Fakulta podnikatelská, 2016. http://www.nusl.cz/ntk/nusl-240556.
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The diploma thesis deals with the management issues, specifically the proposal of the company Ferrokont, s.r.o. and their productive and warehouse areas with using methods and technique of project management. The theoretical part describes elementary knowledge, techniques and methods of project management applying in practical part of the thesis. In introductory part of thesis is performed analysis of current condition of the company with the help of the study opportunities and than created draft of project containing time, resource, cost analysis and followed with risk analysis of the project. Benefits of the project are described in the end of the diploma thesis. Part of the diploma thesis is to create project of Microsoft Project.
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Edkins, Andrew John David. "Managing the design process in construction : a cognitive approach." Thesis, University College London (University of London), 1998. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.285086.
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Botros, Mina N. M. "Human resource management in project portfolios : architecting an allocation process." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/113511.
Full textAbstract:
Thesis: S.M. in Engineering and Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design and Management Program, 2017.Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 114-117).
A review of project portfolio management (PPM) literature has shown that human resources allocation is rarely revisited beyond the initial planning cycle, and that it is often treated as a static problem. Therefore, this thesis sought to understand modern PPM practices further and to underscore variables that correlate with proficient portfolio planning, management, and execution. A survey of current practices has yielded several unexpected results. For example, the extent of employee involvement in resource allocation decisions, via active participation in the PMO, is positively correlated with highly effective PPM practices. Organizations experience schedule delays on the order of 10-20%, even though they classify their PPM practices as highly effective. Furthermore, 54% of survey participants indicated their firms do not evaluate nor model resource uncertainties, risks or interdependencies, of which 85% conceded these variables should be addressed. Given the survey results and given that PPM methods were borne of Markowitz's Modern Portfolio Theory, this thesis sought to frame the human resource allocation problem as a sociotechnical system instead. As such, nine critical system design decisions were identified and combined to yield distinct process architectures. Next, these architectures were scored and evaluated against performance metrics levied by the system stakeholders. An architectural tradespace of 11,664 feasible human resource allocation systems was generated; of which 42 architectures are nondominated. The systematic analysis in this thesis revealed that 100% of the architectures on the Pareto Front are analogous to a transparent, market-like resource allocation system as opposed to an anonymous, centralized system. Furthermore, 83% of these architectures appointed the employee as the sole decision-maker of its allocation to tasks. Roughly 70% of these architectures required agents to frequently updated task start and end times, hence reducing uncertainty and risk in planning. Future work shall re-assess the architecture scores and stakeholder requirements prior to application on a pilot portfolio.
by Mina N.M. Botros.
S.M. in Engineering and Management
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McClain, Lewis Robert. "Design-Build Interoperability and Conceptual Design and Development of a Design-Build Management Control System." Thesis, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/1853/14633.
Full textAbstract:
The design-build construction industry has recognized the advantages of a collaborative contracting method; however it has yet to create information systems that can truly support the industry. Many software applications have been created to assist the Design-Builder; however no software provider has created an application that can completely manage the design-build process from beginning to end. Although some software providers have attempted to integrate data between various project management activity modules (estimating, scheduling, accounting, etc), no software provider has resolved the need to integrate data between both project management activity modules and the various phases of the design-build life cycle. The advancements of the design-build industry method of contracting will never be fully achieved until an information system is designed to specifically support the industry. This paper details the conceptual development of a management control system designed to not only integrate data among various project management activities modules but also to integrate data between all phases of the design-build project life cycle.
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Shiimi, Mary. "Identifying design alternatives for the Windhoek municipality by applying the FAST diagram." Master's thesis, University of Cape Town, 2018. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/29478.
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Purpose - Value management has been in use for many decades, yet in Namibia most built environment professionals are vaguely familiar with the concept and are not aware of the benefits of this practice, and that it can add value for money without reducing quality. This research seeks to focus on the value management methodology and more specifically give insight into the use of the Functional Analysis Systems Technique (FAST) diagram in the built environment within a local government context.
Design/methodology/approach - To establish how a FAST model can be used as a tool to design roads and introduce alternative materials with a focus on reducing cost for municipal projects. This would address the design methods, design team composition, construction methods and availability of material taking environmental sustainability into consideration. The benefits and cost of value management are reviewed and the importance of value management as an integrated practice of the project management process of the Municipality is explored. A quantitative method is used to determine the applicability of the FAST diagram within the project team and current project environment. A likert Scale questionnaire was used to establish the current use of value management techniques, effectiveness of project implementation process and additional challenges related to availability of material in the Windhoek Municipality.
Results – The research delineated project management challenges which reduce project success rate. It also outlines the impact of FAST model and its advantages. This includes improving project cost, monitoring and successful execution of a construction project. The FAST has a positive impact on challenges as established by the research. Project risks are mitigated early during the planning, composition of the project team, efficiency is improved and scope is managed. There is a reduction in time and cost overrun resulting in improved project success.
Limitations – Given the exploratory nature of this research, the amount of data is restricted to a single municipality of Namibia.
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Williams, Brian T. (Brian Thomas). "Developing flexibility through alternative project delivery methods for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers project management business process." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2018. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/118509.
Full textAbstract:
Thesis: S.M. in Engineering and Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design and Management Program, 2018.Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 101-109).
Inflexibility, failure to adapt technology, and overly regulatory processes frustrate construction industry productivity and reduce the likelihood that large infrastructure projects will be delivered on-schedule and on-budget. Divergence from entrenched project delivery methods can provide flexibility to project managers and offers advantages for improving quality, collaboration, costs, and timeliness. The objective of this research is to provide the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) recommendations for their Project Management Business Process (PMBP). This study reviews the current state of project management in USACE, conducts a structured systems architecture analysis of the PMBP, evaluates USACE project statistics, assesses alternative project delivery methods through a literature review, and provides case studies to consider the implementation impediments of alternative methods for public and private projects. USACE serves as the nation's largest public engineering agency with responsibilities in military construction, civil works, water navigation, environmental restoration, and disaster response. This research concludes with recommendations for selecting alternative project delivery methods best-fit to meet the distinct needs of each USACE business program. Explicitly, the application of Integrated Project Delivery is best suited for highly specialized, technical projects for military construction and interagency support, but also presents contractual challenges notyet adapted for USACE. Public Private Partnerships show promise for possible future implementation in civil works projects, but require further refinement through the USACE Pilot Program. Lastly, Construction Management at Risk is the most mature alternative method for USACE, and can provide Project Managers with additional options in fast-tracking and early contractor involvement. Essentially, the flexibility of PMBP project delivery should match the vast diversity of USACE's missions.
by Brian T. Williams.
S.M. in Engineering and Management
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Herweg, Gregory M. (Gregory Michael) 1965, and Karl E. 1962 Pilon. "System dynamics modeling for the exploration of manpower project staffing decisions in the context of a multi-project enterprise." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2001. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/82695.
Full textAbstract:
Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design & Management Program, 2001.This electronic version was submitted by the student author. The certified thesis is available in the Institute Archives and Special Collections.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 297-298).
by Gregory M. Herweg [and] Karl E. Pilon.
S.M.
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Sharkey, John Patrick 1954. "A simulation environment for multiple project resource optimization." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2004. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/34810.
Full textAbstract:
Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design & Management Program, 2004.Vita.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 98-99).
This thesis develops a numerical simulation environment as a management support tool applicable to the selection and scheduling of multiple, concurrent research and development projects under conditions of constrained resources and uncertain program requirements. A prototype version of this software tool, called SEMPRO (Simulation Environment for Multiple Project Resource Optimization), is developed to capture an operational model of the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center flight and a representative research project portfolio. An attribute-driven Work Breakdown Schedule generates resource-loaded activity networks for each entry in the research project portfolio. The project selection and project coordination problems are formulated as Binary Integer Linear Programming problems, as extensions of the traditional Resource Constrained Project Scheduling Problem (RCPSP). To alleviate the computational obstacles associated with these NP Hard problems, a Lagrange Relaxation formulation is used to generate a near-optimal, time-phased sequence for execution of the selected project activity networks. Stochastic, non-linear, discrete-event simulation dynamics are then employed to validate these linear optimization solutions against a representative model of the organization's research and development project operational processes. The SEMPRO prototype is written in the Microsoft Excel Visual Basic Application language to facilitate project management visualization and knowledge transfer.
by John Patrick Sharkey.
S.M.
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Galafassi, Ana Gelsemina. "Processo de gestão de projetos de design e maturidade em gestão de projetos de empresas da indústria moveleira : estudos de casos no Vale do Taquari/RS." reponame:Biblioteca Digital de Teses e Dissertações da UFRGS, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/10183/29135.
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O gerenciamento de projetos tem sido utilizado pelas organizações como ferramenta para estruturar, organizar e aprimorar suas práticas, bem como para alinhar projetos aos seus objetivos estratégicos. Por sua vez, gerir projetos de design significa planejar a gestão do desenvolvimento de novos produtos e deve envolver conhecimentos sobre gestão, assim como das atividades do design. Com foco no setor industrial, o presente estudo tem como objetivo analisar a gestão de projetos de design na indústria moveleira no Vale do Taquari, segmento produtivo que tem relevante destaque na indústria de transformação nacional. O estudo baseia-se na proposição de Borja de Mozota, que considera que a gestão do design está inserida nos três níveis organizacionais: operacional, tático e estratégico. Utiliza, também, modelos de maturidade em gestão de projetos como evidência para análise adicional da pesquisa, uma vez que pretende verificar como as empresas estudadas lidam com a gestão de projetos. Para o desenvolvimento deste trabalho, realizou-se uma pesquisa de abordagem qualitativa, caracterizada como um estudo de casos, cuja coleta de dados ocorreu em visitas e entrevistas com gestores de duas indústrias de móveis. A relação da gestão de projetos de design e a análise do nível de maturidade em gestão de projetos possibilitaram a identificação de pontos fortes e oportunidades de melhoria das empresas estudadas. Infere-se, nesse sentido, que empresas que conhecem, planejam, gerenciam e controlam seus processos e o desenvolvimento de seus produtos estão, em geral, mais preparadas para a competitividade e a inovação. O resultado deste estudo mostrou que, mesmo sem uma sistematização e conhecimento dos conceitos, as empresas pesquisadas tratam da questão da gestão de projetos de design nos seus níveis organizacionais.Project management has been used by organizations as a tool to structure, organize and improve their practices as well as projects to align their strategic objectives. In turn, managing design projects, means planning the management of new product development and management should involve knowledge of how the activities of design. Focusing on the industrial sector, this study aims to examine the management of design projects in the furniture industry in Vale do Taquari, a productive segment that has significant prominence in the national process industry. The study was based on the proposition of Borja de Mozota, whereby the design management is inserted in the three organizational levels: operational, tactical and strategic. It is intended to apply also maturity models of project management as further evidence of the research. To develop this work, a research of qualitative study, characterized as a study of cases, whose data was collected in personal interviews with managers from two furniture manufacturers. The relation of project management design and analysis of the level of maturity in project management has enabled the identification of substantial points and improvement opportunities within the companies studied. It is inferred, in this sense, that companies that know, plan, manage and control their processes and the development of their products are, generally more prepared for competition and innovation. The result of this study has showed that, even without a systematization and knowledge of the concepts, the researched companies deal with the issue of management of design projects in their organizational levels.
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El, Reifi Mohamed Hani. "A novel lean briefing process for effective design management." Thesis, Loughborough University, 2016. https://dspace.lboro.ac.uk/2134/21141.
Full textAbstract:
Construction projects experience design changes and much time and effort is put into trying to address fluctuations in client and project requirements; however, in many cases, insufficient value is delivered to the client. The successful use of Lean Management in the construction stage has opened up the possibility of using it in the design stage – thus helping to establish a systematic approach to managing construction projects and business. Attention is turning towards Lean Design Management to address deficiencies in the design phases that many would argue should have been dealt with in the early project delivery stages. Aspects of ineffective briefing process practice have been shown to have negative consequences and implications for the efficient performance of design management. The client is asked to provide requirements without ensuring that they have established sufficient knowledge of the project to do so. These requirements, most likely, will change then over time, because in most cases the initial decision was not made based on sufficient project knowledge or a well-established vision. The client needs to be made smarter and to learn about the building early on in the project, long before the architect sketches the concept design.
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Mazur, Lukasz Maciej. "Project Task: Member Assignment Using Design Structure Matrix and Genetic Algorithm in Concurrent Engineering Project Management." Thesis, Montana State University, 2005. http://etd.lib.montana.edu/etd/2005/mazur/MazurL0505.pdf.
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In concurrent engineering, project tasks generally require the establishment of multifunctional teams to simultaneously consider various activities throughout the entire product life cycle. Team members from different functional departments of the company interact in every phase of development activities to design products and processes concurrently. This concurrent strategy increases the complexity of product development and design processes and makes teams difficult to organize. Without effective task coordination and team organization, the lack of communication and cooperation among team members in a large group of tasks could seriously delay the project completion. This research provides an integrated solution to overcome these difficulties. This research aims to model both project tasks and team members for the task-member assignments. To accomplish this, we develop an integrated framework that includes three major components: a project task model, a team member model and a task-member assignment model. The project task model optimizes the complex task structure using a Genetic Algorithm (GA), while Design Structure Matrix (DSM) identifies the three major project task types: independent, dependent, and interdependent. The team member model provides a quantitative representation for three important team member characteristics, namely functional knowledge, teamwork capability and working relationship. Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and personality profiling using Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) are used to obtain ratings of team member characteristics. According to the project task structure, quantified team member characteristics, and each member\'s workload schedule, the task-member assignment model accomplishes the ultimate goal of this research - assigning the right team members to the right tasks at the right time. The effectiveness of the developed methodology is demonstrated by an illustrative example.
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Biranis, Osman F. (Osman Ferit). "Management of design and construction processes of the Boston Harbor project." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1996. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/41339.
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Loomis, Amy E. (Amy Eleanor). "Development of a project management tool for undergraduate product design teams." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/104137.
Full textAbstract:
Thesis: S.M., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Mechanical Engineering, 2016.This electronic version was submitted by the student author. The certified thesis is available in the Institute Archives and Special Collections.
Cataloged from student-submitted PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (page 31).
A project management tool was developed for student use in a product development course, Product Engineering Processes (known as "2.009"), at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). The goal was to equip students with a management tool to support their work effectively throughout the class, and establish product development habits that will serve them professionally. Productive use of project management tools is often a challenge in industrial practice; requiring effort to learn, prescribing workflows, and is considered time spent away from actual product development efforts. Use of project management tools in an educational context presents similar challenges. It is an important issue, as good project management is shown to improve team effectiveness, and poor project management is regarded as one of the most significant influences on negative outcomes. The primary intention for a custom project management tool in the product design course was to provide a core set of features that meets critical project management needs for student teams in the context of 2.009, without the distraction of additional features seen in other tools. Those core features include: a shared calendar, shared task lists, a file repository, and chat rooms, within a structure that allows for use of these features in sub-groups of a team, as well as a whole team. The alpha prototype of this project management tool was developed and provided for student use in 2.009 during the fall of 2015, without chat functionality. Had the tool had been thoroughly integrated into a team's workflow, such that every team member would refer regularly to the tool website, it was believed that it would have helped teams more efficiently schedule meetings, assign project work, and understand the current state of the team's workload. Most teams did not use the new tool at all, while some teams used select features of the new tool with, however, only one or two team members utilizing the functionality. After the course ended, students indicated that the provided tool did not sufficiently meet specific needs of their teams; that students preferred using collections of features in tools they were familiar with prior to the course, and that the project management tool was not well integrated with other tools that students already use. The selection of familiar tools of their own choosing, rather than learning a new, recommended tool seems to be a common trend amongst students. It might be compared to the phenomenon known as the "Ikea effect", where a person finds greater value in assets that he or she influenced somehow, whether by making customization choices or contributing to the formation of the asset itself. While 2.009 students consistently choose to use project management resources other than those provided or suggested by the course, there was no evidence they enable better project management or greater team-wide adoption. Results from implementing the alpha version of this project management tool in 2015 indicate that there are several challenges in increasing adoption by 2.009 students, but that there are also multiple mechanisms through which to encourage greater use; by both design and extrinsic motivation. The design of the tool must include the chat feature in its next iteration, for the communication channels of email and apps like Group.me and Slack were perhaps the most effectively adopted elements of project management for teams. In a broader scope of design, other features that would add to the usefulness of the tool include: timesheet entry, and a budget-tracking feature that helps course administrators interact with teams and MIT's financial system more smoothly. In terms of extrinsic motivation, the tool should be marketed more forcefully; even intrinsic motivation by students to adopt alternate project management tools generally failed, so requiring teams to actually use this tool, and establish repercussions for teams who do not, might increase real adoption. This approach will more closely mimic the experience of working for a design firm, which will have certain tools and processes that employees are required to use.
by Amy E. Loomis.
S.M.
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Scanlan, James Patrick. "A network model for the management of complex design projects." Thesis, University of the West of England, Bristol, 1997. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.300917.
Full textAbstract:
A review of techniques that support Concurrent Engineering or Simultaneous Engineering (CE/SE) is presented. It is shown that the management of projects consistent with the principles of CE/SE is hampered by the lack of a suitable activity network modelling tool. The limitations of existing methods such as the Critical Path Analysis Method (CPM) and the related Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) for the management of complex design projects are demonstrated. Recent enhancements and alternatives to CPMlPERT are reviewed. A network model is proposed that supports CE/SE and is capable of representing uncertain task outcomes, partial dependencies and task iterations characteristic of complex design projects. Discrete-event simulation is used to evaluate the network and show the effect of resources constraints, communications efficiency and activity control logic on project completion timescales and product quality. The proposed model is designed so that the activity network can be derived from and directly related to a Quality Function Deployment (QFD) matrix. This allows project completion to be expressed in terms of customer requirements and priorities. The network model is illustrated by showing how it can be applied to an aerospace design project.
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Ram, Mohan Prabhakara. "Trigeiawriter: A content management system." CSUSB ScholarWorks, 2011. https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/etd-project/3331.
Full textAbstract:
The purpose of this project was to design and implement a Content Management System (CSM). TrigeiaWriter is a Content Management System for Trigeia.com, a web based magazine site. Since TrigeiaWriter is used for a web based magazine, it incorperates different roles for the users and these roles are authors, editors, and administrators.
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Pinillos, Montaño Raúl. "Platform project management : optimizing product development by actively managing commonality." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/70834.
Full textAbstract:
Thesis (S.M. in Engineering and Management)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, 2011.Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 181-183).
Product platforms have proved to be an effective strategy for designing and manufacturing products in companies that provide different products for different customer needs. By designing common parts and creating product families, these companies have increased the profitability of their product lines leveraging economies of scale by increasing the volume of common parts and by sharing the development costs and investment among different products. However, managing common designs in product family development is not a trivial task. Product commonality usually decreases over time, a phenomenon called divergence, usually present in the development of complex products like automobiles. Furthermore, all the products from the product family will be designed in a product development project; whether they are executed in a major project or in individual projects depend on the complexity and scope of the product. A usual practice has been to develop these products in different projects due to limited availability of resources, creating an additional challenge for managing these common designs because of their different lifecycles, usually contributing to increase divergence. The main focus of this work is to understand the impact of designing a product platform on its associated development project(s) that share their resources including product components, facilities and human resources. The context of the study is scoped towards the dynamic nature of the execution of the project plan, rather than the product planning itself that is well covered by existing literature. To acknowledge the dynamic nature of the project, a system dynamics model that simultaneously simulated the lead and the derivative projects was developed based on their product commonality. The model was calibrated and complemented by a case study based on the development of a product platform in the automotive industry. Divergence rates were measured and were found to range between 0.4% to 1.2% loss of product commonality every month. These typical divergence rates were included into the system dynamics model and were found to cause significant effects to the product development project which can be as high as a 22% schedule overrun or a 29% increase of the required personnel to achieve the planned project schedule. These significant effects to the development project caused by non beneficial divergence should be avoided, concluding that actively managing product commonality can be an effective method to achieve a successful execution of the development projects when the product platform approach is utilized.
by Raúl Pinillos Montaño.
S.M.in Engineering and Management
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Weston, Nicholas John. "Time estimation in mechanical engineering design." Thesis, Durham University, 1994. http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/1218/.
Full textAbstract:
This thesis describes investigations into the phenomenon of time estimation in mechanical engineering design. Time estimating in this context refers to estimating in advance the approximate duration of a new design project, for the purpose of preparing schedules. The thesis describes background to the estimation problem, including practical and theoretical aspects of design, design management and market conditions. The research presented is based on data gathered from industrial collaborators, therefore detailed descriptions of the collaborating firms are included. A quantitative study is described which demonstrates that current estimation techniques are not infallible; and that there can be a statistically significant link between the estimated and actual completion times. A process of grounded theorising, based on expert interviews, is presented. Models of the design estimation task were generated by this process, and are included. Differences were found in the models for the estimation of times in an Engineer to Order (ETO) environment, and estimation in a Volume Manufacturing environment. The models were corroborated firstly by checking if they could be recognised and endorsed by the experts from which they were generated, and. secondly by checking if they could be recognised and endorsed by an expert not involved in the original model generation. Correspondence was found to be good. A modified model of time estimation is presented, taking into account the findings of the corroboration exercise. Finally, an example of a simple tool for assisting the estimation process is included.
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Devine, Paul (Paul S. ). "Reliability improvement project decision making : water cooling system redesign." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2004. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/35114.
Full textAbstract:
Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design and Management Program, June 2006.Includes bibliographical references (p. 66).
Deciding on which reliability & performance improvement projects to launch or to reject has historically been an extremely challenging responsibility of Teradyne management. Incorrect decisions can lead to major customer dissatisfaction, which may subsequently lead to loss of market share. Teradyne Engineering and Marketing team have been trying to develop a tool that would assist in their reliability improvement project decision making. The challenge is the dynamic aspects of the reliability improvement projects. Like most engineering projects, reliability improvement projects have variables such as internal workforce, productivity, skill sets, customer expectations and many others that are in constant motion. These variables make the assessment of reliability projects extremely difficult in a static framework. This research will incorporate these key variables into a dynamic framework to help assess individual reliability improvement projects.
by Paul Devine.
S.M.
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Syed, Athar A. "A systems approach to mitigation of project failure modes." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/59268.
Full textAbstract:
Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design and Management Program, 2009.Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 177).
This thesis sets out to develop a systems approach towards the mitigation of project failure modes. The methodology used is the application of the Scope and Solution Neutrality principle to develop a general model for Project Systems using the Object- Process-Method (OPM) for systems modeling. By correlating the elements and attributes that constitute basic project artifacts with process performance enablers, a Systems Approach to Performance Improvements is developed. Systemic factors that affect a project's performance, and its ability to address issues, are identified using the Project System model, and project failure modes as well with their underlying causes are examined. The Systems Approach to Process Improvements is then applied to addressing these issues. A key insight gained from the modeling is the importance of communication and information flow as a critical function for effective project management and execution. Consequently the impact of optimizing information flow on project execution is demonstrated through systems dynamics modeling.
by Athar A. Syed.
S.M.
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Tan, Puay Siang. "Teamwork behaviors at mesoscale : meaningful explorations of tradespace during project design." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2018. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/118514.
Full textAbstract:
Thesis: S.M. in Engineering and Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design and Management Program, 2018.Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 112-113).
The increasing complexity in Systems of Systems requires Teams of Teams (TofT) from different functional domains to work together. Rather than focusing on individuals and teams (the microscale) or total projects and portfolios (the macro-scale), this research aims to better detect and understand the teamwork behaviors at the meso-scale, the behaviors and interactions amongst the team of teams. Using the Project Design approach, Design Groups representing a TofF participated in a model- based simulation experiment to reduce the cost and duration of an implementation project for an autonomous vehicle. Design Groups were provided specific instructions to either inhibit or promote communications as they worked together to make changes to the Project Model of the autonomous vehicle, after which they can perform simulation to obtain the project outcome in terms of cost and schedule. In this experiment the teamwork was instrumented, detecting attention allocation, changes, and resulting exploration of the project tradespace. A quantifiable ranking methodology was developed to evaluate the performance of the Design Groups based on the iterations made as they explored and simulated the project model. This methodology ranked the Design Group by 1) higher number of outcomes obtained at the Pareto Frontier of the tradespace and 2) outcomes in earlier Pareto Frontiers. Two indicators of Team Performance - Number of Iterations and Communications Behaviors of the Design Group - were studied where correlations were found to be weak. Tree Diagrams were generated to visualize the tradespace exploration of the Design Group by mapping the iterations performed in sequence and provided details on the changes type made to the project model. A Chunking Process dovetailed the Tree Diagrams to detect the meaningful explorations of the tradespace by each Design Group. Each Meaningful Exploration was segmented into "Chunks" which were further classified into blocks with specific number of changes. This study provided further insights on the coherence in which changes were made along the path of tradespace explorations. Information from the Chunking Process is used to determine how "focused" the Design Groups were in the decision making process. Three ratios were suggested, namely, Ratio of Focus Score to Total Iterations with Changes, Ratio of Focused Iterations to Total Iterations with Changes and Ratio of Meaningful Changes Block to Total No of Chunks. The research concludes with using these ratios as an indicator of coherence and potential sensors to detect presence of strategy in teams in future experiments. The key insights from this research is that the Project Design Approach provides the same baseline project model for all Design Groups that enables a fair and quantifiable ranking of team performance. In instrumenting the experiment, collective group responses to qualitative data is preferred over individual responses for a more representative analysis of the teamwork behaviors. Another insight is that tradespace explorations by the Design Groups do not occur in unilateral fashion. Thus, it is important to have a visual image of the changes made along the tradespace exploration to identify the meaningful exploration paths. Segmenting these meaningful exploration paths provides the means for measuring coherence of the Design Groups in their decision making process. Next steps for future experiments include embedding in the Project Design software to collect the group responses required for quantitative analysis as the experiment is on-going. The measurement of team learning effects is suggested for future research by having a two-step data collection process in which the same experiment can be conducted as a first step and having the same participants to repeat another Project Design Challenge several months later in the second step to evaluate the team performance.
by Tan Puay Siang.
S.M. in Engineering and Management
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Wu, Weizhong. "An on-line library of design patterns." CSUSB ScholarWorks, 2004. https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/etd-project/2611.
Full textAbstract:
This project is to develop an on-line library to help software engineers who utilize design patterns for developing e-commerce applications it translates generic design patterns to concrete design patterns. The graphical user interface was developed to allow the user to develop their own design patterns by modifying or changing stored design patterns.
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Song, Shanpeng. "A book management system eLibrary." CSUSB ScholarWorks, 2004. https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/etd-project/31.
Full textAbstract:
"eLibrary" is a book management software application that runs on Microsoft Windows platforms. The software incorporates a Windows Explorer like interface and XML/XSL to display book details. The purpose of this project is to build a full-featured, commerical-quality software package to help people manage their books (either printed or electronic). The goal is for eLibrary to be a complete solution for people who wish to build their own personal electronic library catalog.
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Wang, Anjia. "Apparel Companies' Management System (APLAN)." CSUSB ScholarWorks, 2004. https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/etd-project/2524.
Full textAbstract:
APLAN is a computer software system developed to aid in an apparel company's management system. APLAN is designed to improve the efficiency of production management by combining the companies' main production activities in one system. This project was designed to use MYSQL as the database system. JSP (Java Server Pages) is an interface between MySQL and the web browser and the database access scheme is JDBC (JAVA Database Connectivity).
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Reyes-Martin, Carla C. "Design-build as a project delivery system : application to Honduras." Thesis, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2002. http://hdl.handle.net/1853/23108.
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Wen, Shenning. "The study, design, and implementation of Data mart functions in Windows environments." CSUSB ScholarWorks, 1998. https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/etd-project/1374.
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Chiang, Melvin H. (Melvin Hsiang). "A system dynamics view of project management firefighting at a startup company." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/44699.
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Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design and Management Program, 2008.Includes bibliographical references.
Fire fighting in project management is the unplanned allocation of resources to either fix problems or speed completion of a project. In a startup company environment, fire fighting oftentimes becomes the norm rather than the exception despite the best efforts to eliminate it. In particular, there are frequently constrained resources, and project managers face tough allocation decisions that can lead to a fire fighting culture. This thesis develops a system dynamics model to simulate the resource allocation decisions a group of Project Managers at a startup company must face. A current state simulation is presented with a discussion of current practices, and several future alternative scenarios are tested and analyzed. Results show that current practices allow for on-time completion of projects within reasonable work hours. Hiring of additional employees may be able to reduce the gross number of hours employees work, and workforce expansion is compared versus increased project workload to identify acceptable and sustainable levels of growth. Productivity gains in the form of increased computational speed were found to be as effective as hiring new employees, and developing in-house manufacturing capabilities may be viable depending on cost and flexibility. Unexpectedly, fire fighting behavior in the system dynamics model was observed to be minimal, and the flexibility inherent in the startup environment was a major contributor to minimizing fire fighting that did occur.
by Melvin H. Chiang.
S.M.