Managing Technology and Product Development Programmes

2Engineering as a Process

2.1 Background

The word process is used widely in the world of engineering, industry, and business. It generally refers to a sequence of activities that produce a result. The dictionary defines it as ‘a series of actions or steps taken in order to achieve a particular end’. Similarly, ISO9001 talks of a ‘set of interrelated or interacting activities that use inputs to deliver an intended result’.

Examples of a process might include a manufacturing process to produce a component, an administrative process to produce an invoice, or an ‘HR’ process to recruit someone. The steps can be defined and the process can then be mapped and measured, which can, in turn, lead to improvement in the performance of that process. Above all, such processes are repetitive and happen with a relatively high frequency. Hence, the results of process improvement come through quickly and their success can be judged in days or months.

Technology and product development is also a process, albeit a complex one. It is not, as some have argued, a journey without a map. However, it is not highly repetitive – the timescale from end‐to‐end can be years or even decades – and each programme is uniquely individual. Improvement is therefore more difficult to achieve; indeed, some engineers in certain industries may only see two or three complete cycles in their working life.

2.2 The Basic Components of the Process

This is not to say, however, that considering the process of technology ...