Engineering Design: A Project-Based Introduction, Fourth Edition

CHAPTER 16

MANAGING A DESIGN PROJECT

What do you want? When do you want it? How much are we going to spend?

DESIGN IS an activity that can consume significant time and resources. In this chapter, we will present four tools that a small design team can use to manage and control a design project, particularly within an academic setting.

16.1 GETTING STARTED: ESTABLISHING THE MANAGERIAL NEEDS OF A PROJECT

All successful projects, whether large or small, whether on a grand scale or within an academic class, must address three essential concerns: The project team must (1) complete whatever tasks are required by the project, (2) do so within a specified time frame, and (3) work with the available resources. These three elements are summarized in terms of the “3S” model shown in Figure 16.1:

• The scope of a project sets limits on what the team must accomplish, particularly in prescribing the projects deliverables (e.g., a finished design, a working prototype, or fabrication specifications).
• Scheduling defines the time frame within which the project must be completed.
• Spending identifies and limits the available resources and how they may be applied to the project.

These project elements often compete with one another, so the project manager has to balance them in order to move the team to a successful outcome.

FIGURE 16.1 Project management can be thought of as balancing the three ...