h. carvalheira 10-27-04 chabot college / engineering 10 engineering project management, aka: “how...

H. Carvalheira 10-27-04 Chabot College / Engineering 10

Engineering Project Management, aka: “How do you get a bunch of engineers to work together to actually make a product?”

Helder Carvalheira

Engineering 10

10-27-04


Product Development

Design Engineering Mechanical Engineering Electrical Engineering Software Engineering Packaging Engineering Industrial Design Research & Development

Quality Engineering Product Assurance Engineering Software Quality Engineering Supplier Quality Engineering Reliability Engineering

Pick a product, any product Most require more than one Engineering discipline to develop. Some need many disciplines, including (but not limited to):

Manufacturing Engineering Industrial Engineering Tooling Engineering Process/Manufacturing Engineering Test Engineering


Product Development

But wait, there’s more! Also need NON-ENGINEERING groups to make a product

Financial Analysts Product Managers Marketing Managers Marketing Communications Sales, Order Entry, Account Managers Customer Service / Field Service Production Control Purchasing & Commodity Management And many more, depending on the industry . . .

Overwhelming? Yes! But there’s a solution . . .


How do you tie this mess together?

Two words:

PROJECT MANAGEMENT

Project Management is the means to coordinate, control, and drive all the individual elements required to develop a product to achieve performance, cost,

schedule, and customer satisfaction requirements.


Dissecting the Definition of Project Management Coordinate

Make sure all the disciplines are in the right place at the right time, doing the right things, and working together to achieve the product’s objectives.

Communicate project status to upper management, other divisions & locations, employees, customers

Control Ensure that all the disciplines are on track. Manage problems

and issues as they arise and help find creative solutions. Ensure that cost, schedule and performance objectives will be

met, and redirect the team immediately if any are in jeopardy. Drive

Get people to work! Convince them why they should do what you ask. Exert your influence, because that’s your main tool.

Learn from the team members. They have valuable input. Use their input to help make better products faster!


Dissecting the Definition of Project Management Performance

They key features of the product. What the customer wants from the product. How the customer interfaces with the product. What the product delivers to the customer.

Cost Unit cost

Materials, labor, overhead, and shipping costs. Development cost

Development labor cost Contractors and consultants Prototype materials and tools

Equipment cost Production test equipment Production tooling Production line equipment


Dissecting the Definition of Project Management Schedule

WHEN the product will be ready for: Design Prototype build Testing Customer samples Volume production Customer shipment

Create the schedule, then use it as a development roadmap Define all the product development tasks

Customer Satisfaction Happy, delighted customers that want to buy your product. If you do all the above, you’ll probably have happy customers!


Dissecting the Definition of Project Management

The Project Manager has the ULTIMATE RESPONSIBILITY

to develop and ship a new product.

Sounds heavy? Sometimes, it’s heavy.

Sounds exciting?

ABSOLUTELY!!


Q: How Does a Project Manager Do This?A: Using Project Teams

Finance

Product Manage-ment

Project Manager

Marketing

OperationsEngineering

TeamLeader

Quality

• New Product Introduction Manager – Subproject Leader• Manufacturing Engineering• NPD Procurement• Tooling• Test Engineering• Packaging Engineering

• Product Assurance – Subproject Leader• Production Quality• Supplier Quality Engineering• Software Quality Assurance• Technical Assistance

• Systems Engineering – Subproject Leader• Electrical Engineering• Mechanical Engineering• Software Engineering• Acoustic Engineering• Engineering Services

• Product Marketing – Subproject Leader

• Channel Marketing• Sales• PR• Advertising

• Finance – Subproject Leader• Information Technology

• Product Management – Subproject Leader• Industrial Design


Q: How Does a Project Manager Do This?A: Using a Product Development Process

ConceptDefinition &

PlanningDevelopment Pre-Production ProductionGo/

No GoGo/

No GoGo/

No GoGo/

No Go

• Evaluate the market opportunity

• Clarify the product concept

• Assessstrategic fit

• Validate the opportunity

• Clearly define the product

• Fully plan the project

• Develop the product

• Develop production and support processes

• Plan the market introduction

• Transition the product to volume production

• Begin market introduction

• Ramp-up production

• Verify distribution and support processes

• Achieve stable operations

Sta

ge

Ob

ject

ives

Does the productwarrant further definition?

Does the productmeet customerneeds, and does itwarrant investmentin full development?

Does the productmeet expectationsand remain viablewithin the requiredtime frame?

Do test results andmarket introductionpreparationsdemonstrate launchreadiness?

Have projectobjectives beenachieved, and canthe Core Team bedisbanded?

Key

Qu

est

ion

s


Real-world Example: The Korva Project

Project Objectives Develop an all-new Bluetooth

Wireless headset for a major cell phone manufacturer within 12 months.

Meet their performance, cost, and production requirements.

Match the style of their phones.



Where do we start? Assemble a worldwide “core team”: Engineering, Operations,

Marketing, Product Management, Quality, Finance. Clearly define what the customer wants. Review and agree

upon the specifications. Ongoing effort throughout the duration of the project

Define the major design elements required Example: Need wireless circuits, software, battery,

speakers and mics, ear interface, mechanical Define the tasks and timing necessary to develop the major

elements Break down the elements above into discrete tasks Define interrelationships and deliverables Define task timing. Team effort driven by project manager



Now, we actually plan the project System design elements to meet performance requirements

Product Specification Detailed tasks to design and implement the product into

production Project Schedule Resources required and timing to execute the tasks above

Resource Requirements Labor, equipment, contractors Project Budget Project budget, volumes, unit cost Profit Margin

This becomes the Project Plan. When everyone agrees, we can start designing and building!



Now, the interplay starts! Working sessions between the

core team members Project manager facilitates and

drives team to ensure the product requirements are met

Lots of tradeoffs: you NEVER get everything you want

Subproject teams are formed to tackle their own areas.

Feed data and designs to other teams and to the core team

Contractors and consultants To augment specific technical

areas Subsystem and full-system design

reviews

SoftwareEngrg

Elect. Engrg

FinanceProduct

Mgmt

Quality

Mfg

Mech Engrg

Industrial Design

Product Reqmnts



After numerous “paper” iterations, the team determines if the design is ready for prototyping

Most risks are addressed Design addresses the performance requirements First-cut design is complete First-cut manufacturing, test, and verification plans are

developed Product cost is triple-checked: is it still profitable?

When ready, prototyping begins Order components

Printed circuit boards, machined parts, plastics tooling, stamped parts, paint, speakers & mics, wires & batteries.

Order equipment Test, programming, production, tools, tables & chairs.

Assembly plan: Location, resources, timing, quantities & testing.



Then, we test the prototypes In-house verification in test labs Field & customer testing

Invariably, there will be design changes Quality, performance, or manufacturing failures Customer doesn’t like it

Now, more tradeoffs! Redesign elements contradict each other Development cost vs. budget Unit cost vs. component adders to fix problems Schedule impact because of redesigns and delays Customer getting angry ‘cause it’s late!

The Project Manager is at the CENTER of these issues. Project manager provides guidance on tradeoffs Technical background with business sense is CRITCAL here!



After tweaking the design, we build more prototypes Each one getting closer, product keeps getting better. Each one impacting the development budget Each one is compressing the schedule Product cost may also get strained here Need to obtain more resources for sticky problems

Software, Electrostatic Discharge, Mechanical Reliability More contractors and consultants

Customer is getting more satisfied, but the pressure is still on ‘cause the schedule is running out!

The Project Manager is STILL at the center of this Prototypes and design changes continue until . . .



Eventually, the product is close enough for customer acceptance

Meets nearly all requirements Might have one or two non-critical issues Customer says: “Good enough to start, but ya gotta fix the

remaining issues ASAP!” Now we can start limited production. But wait!

Are your suppliers ready to start shipping parts in volume? Is your production line ready? Test equipment in place,

production processes qualified? Line workers trained? Are the distribution warehouses ready to accept pallets of

product? Shipping methods (air, ship, truck)? Is the end user ready to accept the product: shelf space,

advertising material, etc. The Project Manager is STILL at the center of this.



Now that product is hitting the stores, go back to fix the open issues

Software updates Circuit design improvements Test equipment improvements Production yield improvements.

Submit the product for final full customer acceptance If they like it, them go to FULL production! Make sure that Sales and Production Control are fully

engaged so that orders flow straight to production and the product will ship on time.

Now the Project Manager can take a break, because

THE PRODUCT IS SHIPPING!!!!



The Glory Days . . . The product is making money for the company The product is selling very well The customer is satisfied. The team achieved what appeared to be IMPOSSIBLE at the

beginning of the program An unbelievable feeling of accomplishment for yourself, the

company, and the team.

Time for a vacation!


Career Planning for Project Management

Technical background and experience Engineering degree and/or equivalent experience Know what the team is talking about and what they are doing Understand their tasks, but DON’T DO IT FOR THEM Best to experience a few different technical disciplines

e.g. Electrical + Software, Mechanical + Manufacturing, Software + Quality, etc.

Understanding of business concepts Finance, marketing, supply chain, others Know how all the elements tie together to make a profitable

product for the company


Career Planning for Project Management

Communication and People Skills Need to drive the team, but not alienate them INFLUENCE is your most powerful tool, not authority. You need them more than they need you, but they need you

to be a leader. Need to communicate clearly and effectively to all levels in the

company. Organization and detail management

Project management requires superior organization skills to deal with all the data and decisions that must be made

Be comfortable with details.


Questions?

h. carvalheira 10-27-04 chabot college / engineering 10 engineering project management, aka: “how...

Documents

product developmentbut

engineering project

engineering discipline

nonengineering groups

project status

customer interfaces

development roadmap

upper management