Special
Breakfast Session
A
Question of Context—
The Promise and Peril of Applying Manufacturing Concepts to
Product Development Effort
Randall
C. Illiff
Senior Systems Engineer
Bit 7
The relatively recent
combination of rigorous process definition and collection of
detailed performance metrics has revolutionized the practice
of Management worldwide. There is no question that these
changes have produced a virtual "miracle cure" for factory
ills, and introduced a level of competitive efficiency that
cannot be ignored. There is understandably great pressure to
apply the same remedy to every other part of the business
life cycle.
The promise is obvious,
and pervasive in literature. The peril, however, is
frequently subtle, and too often an unwelcome topic among
those seeking simple change and immediate benefit. Still, a
powerful new medicine is only valuable if it can be
prescribed in such a way that it cures instead of kills the
patient, and the responsibility to "first do no harm" is as
applicable to Managers as it is Physicians.
The secret to success
lies in fundamental understanding of why these methods are
so effective within the Manufacturing subset of the
business, and then using that understanding to apply them,
in context, to other places where the same underlying
conditions are present. Instead of blindly arguing good
versus bad, we can then shift our attention to not only
actively using those methods in situations where there is
potential for benefit, but also prohibiting their
application in areas where we know only harm can result.
This understanding of
context is an essential skill every manager should master
before making process related decisions. It is the universal
principle that underlies every successful implementation,
and which can be used to confidently forecast the success or
failure of any proposed initiative. It is also your only
protection from the pervasive, but often dangerously narrow,
Manufacturing derived instincts most organizations now
exhibit.
Key
Takeaways:
-
A universal
"common-sense" basis for comparing proposed methods
based on their potential to help or hurt the
non-Manufacturing portions of your business.
-
A clear answer to the
mystery of why what seem like such good ideas are
sometimes the cause of such great harm.
-
Access to a family of
comparably powerful methods that are inherently well
suited to the task of managing creative effort
Randall
Iliff
has over 30 years experience working on developmental
projects ranging in size from a few thousand to well over a
billion dollars, and has participated in all phases of
project execution from proposal to close out. He has held
Proposal Manager, Project Manager, Systems Engineering
Manager, Engineering Manager, and other related titles in
multiple industries, and is now the Senior Systems Engineer
for BIT7 in Madison, Wisconsin.
He earned his B.S. in Engineering / Industrial Design from
Michigan State University, holds an M.S. in Systems
Management from the University of Southern California, and
received Honorary Fellow appointment at the University of
Wisconsin Antarctic Astronomy and Astrophysics Research
Institute when he served as the Systems Engineering Manager
for the ICECUBE project.
Mr. Iliff is a charter member of the International Council
On Systems Engineering (INCOSE), founder / prior Chairman of
the INCOSE Commercial Practices Working Group, and a member
of the Project Management Institute (PMI). He has published
numerous professional papers, developed / delivered Systems
Engineering and Project Management training to thousands of
individuals worldwide, and is currently working on a book.
