There’s no getting away from it, design and development
projects are a nightmare to
manage successfully, particularly
the development of software.
Nonetheless, in these days
of customers requiring ever
increasing functionality and
ever more sophisticated technology,
they are sometimes necessary.
Your company almost certainly
has procedures in place such
as Make or Buy (do you design/build
the item yourselves or do
you sub-contract) and Design
to Cost (you’ve estimated
how much it will cost, now
make sure that it doesn’t
run over budget. The Make/Buy
procedure should have been
used when compiling the bid
and the advantages and disadvantages
in terms of capability, price,
programme and risk between
procuring from internal or
external sources analysed.
The availability of required
technology should have been
ascertained. The Design to
Cost process should also have
been part of the programme
from its inception through
the bidding stage but it too
should be reviewed at this
stage. If a significant cost/risk
reduction can be achieved
by changing your approach,
it may well pay dividends
in the end. There are a number
of things to consider in respect
to design. Firstly, you don’t
have to design from scratch.
It may be that there are two
pieces of electronics out
there already which will do
the job that your project
wants and all they need is
a piece of software or hardware
to make them talk to each
other. That is far preferable
to designing the whole piece
of kit from square one and
far less risky. Make sure
that your engineering fraternity
know this. Bear in mind that,
since you compiled your bid
and did the initial technical
assessment, technology may
have moved on and something
which didn’t exist then may
well be on the market now.
It’s worth a little time and
effort to review your design
decision and confirm that
it’s still a valid one. Rule
number one for the Project
Manager is that he must never
forget that engineers are
just that. They love to tinker
and play, they love to solve
technical problems and they
will almost certainly be unaware
of how long it’s taking or
how much it’s costing. As
the Project Manager, you will
have to keep a firm eye on
what they’re doing as even
your Technical Lead may get
carried away with the excitement
of an emerging new technology.
If you really must design
hardware, or heaven forbid,
software, make sure that plenty
of checks and tests are built
into your plan along the way.
It’s very easy to fall behind
time on a design and development
job. Another important point
is to liaise with your customer
all along the way. There’s
no point finishing a stunningly
clever design only to have
your customer tell you that
he forgot to say way back
that your electronic gizmo
needs to be operational in
temperatures of 100 degrees
Centigrade. In a nutshell,
don’t reinvent the wheel,
keep things as simple as possible
and get customer approval
as you go along. Above all,
as the Project Manager, the
ultimate responsibility is
yours, so don’t sit back and
just let the techies get on
with it - manage them. This
should ensure the smooth running
of your design project. -------------------------------------------------------
Michael Russell Your Independent
guide to Project Management
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