Simulation of new product development and engineering changes

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the interactions between new product development (NPD) and engineering change management (ECM) processes in terms of their impact on organizational performance.Design/methodology/approachA system dynamics model of the NPD and ECM processes within an organization has been built and simulated for a range of parameter values to investigate the interactions between the two processes.FindingsThe effect of various parameters on the lead‐time of the NPD process varies with different process environments. No single process management policy is advantageous for most if not all process operating conditions, thus it is important to change the critical parameters of the process every time.Research limitations/implicationsThe accuracy of the estimated effect of parameters on the lead‐time depends on the accuracy of estimated parameter values.Practical implicationsThe insights developed from the results would be useful for managers in planning their process management policies under various circumstances.Originality/valueThe study of interactions between the ECM and NPD processes has been scarce. This research would be very helpful to managers who plan the process managing strategies given various circumstances such as limited resources.

Elderly Persons and Internet Use

“…The role played by ease of use seems to be determinant in the understanding of differences in Internet use and it appears as a powerful variable to show the heterogeneity of this stratum. As a consequence, offers and programs and even new product development (NPD) processes (Reddi & Moon, 2012) may consider differences in terms of gender and age of users. Specifically, those designed for men over 50 could seek to describe an easy and enjoyable experience in order to be successful in the market and to really bring elderly persons into the Internet era.…”

Modelling engineering change management in a new product development supply chain

“…Though the numerical values are not used from an industry, realistic values (Ahmed and Kanike 2007;Langer et al 2012;Reddi 2011;Reddi and Moon 2012) were assumed to study the effect of the NPD and ECM process parameters on the supply chain performance. Future work can include expanding the number of suppliers and using industry data to access the practical use of these kinds of models.…”

“…And the processing quality in the prototyping and testing, production ramp-up, and assembly and testing phases, is defined by the percentage of processed components effected by proposed ECs. A range of realistic values (Ahmed and Kanike 2007;Langer et al 2012;Reddi 2011;Reddi and Moon 2012) are assumed to simulate the model so that the effects of the processing quality, and its interactions with other values, on the NPD lead time can be studied.…”

“…Generally, a NPD process consists of various phases (Nadia, Gatard, and Thomson 2006;Reddi and Moon 2011a;Reddi and Moon 2012) including concept development, detailed design, prototyping, production ramp-up and assembly and testing. While the project progresses, changes are inevitable but any changes have the potential of jeopardising the success of the whole project unless they are handled in a systematic manner.…”

“…However, the interactions between the NPD and ECM processes have rarely been investigated in the research community (Jarratt et al 2011;Reddi and Moon 2012). Since the ability to foresee the impact of the process managing strategies on the supply chain performance (measured by a NPD processing lead time) can also help avoiding any performance degrading issues, simulation models of the NPD and ECM processes can provide such necessary information to help foresee the supply chain performance under different conditions.…”