一种芯片研发项目度量

讨论了如何对IC项目和开发团队能力进行合理的度量和分析,以准确估计IC产品的交付情况,核心度量为项目进度、交付物规模、质量和成本。     

R&D/marketing communication during the fuzzy front-end

The planning stage of an innovation project has a great effect on the commercial performance of the project. During the “fuzzy front-end”, the organization formulates a concept of the product to be developed, and determines whether or not the organization will invest resources in the concrete development of the idea. The integration of R&D and marketing activities is a necessary condition for success in innovation projects. The research question of this study is: from an information processing perspective, what role does information transfer play in integrating R&D and marketing functions during the planning stage, and what effects do project formalization and project centralization of R&D and marketing planning activities have on the efficiency of marketing and technological uncertainty reduction? The authors use an ex post facto research design to test the propositional model. The findings show that successful project teams are characterized by a maximum uncertainty reduction during planning, i.e., by a maximum decrease of R&D and marketing task variability, and a maximum increase of R&D and marketing task analyzability. Information flows between these functions help them to achieve this efficient uncertainty reduction. While project centralization has a negative effect on efficient uncertainty reduction, project formalization is curvilinearly related to the amount of uncertainty reduced during planning     

Powering Sustainable Mobility: Roadmaps of Electric, Hybrid, and Fuel Cell Vehicles

In a world where environmental protection and energy conservation are growing concerns, the development of electric, hybrid, and fuel cell vehicles has taken on an accelerated pace. The dream of having commercially viable electric and hybrid vehicles is becoming a reality. It is important that the automobile companies have both proper technical and commercialization roadmaps hand-in-hand. The company CEOs should take the lead in drawing the technical and commercialization roadmaps. This task should not just be dedicated to the R&D departments or sales departments, since this is a major project that will have major effects on the company and society. In addition to having clear objectives, the senior management should also have holistic and creative thinking to oversee the progress of the project.     

The new joint R&D

During the 1980s, a new form of collaborative research and development emerged in Europe, the US, and Japan. In this new form of joint R&D, companies that compete against one another join together for the purpose of creating new process technology in specified domains. This collaboration among competitors is justified for the development of technologies that many companies will ultimately use in a common manner. Such leaky technology typically cannot be effectively protected by patent or other means, and thus will not be developed except through collaborative means, in which those who benefit jointly incur the R&D expense. In Europe and Japan, governments typically provide 50-70% of the cost of such a joint project, while in the United States, government support for joint R&D is just now beginning to become available. The R&D collaboratives are described as being of two types: the secretariat, which is a coordinative body, and the operating entity, which operates its own R&D laboratory facilities. The conditions under which each organizational form appears, as well as the kinds of effort each form typically undertakes, are described     

Factors for success in R&D projects and new product innovation:a contextual framework

There have been many attempts to discover the critical factors that can indicate the success or failure of R&D projects and new product introductions. Because of the large number of studies that exist, the authors undertook an extensive review of the germane literature to find whether a general agreement exists about the factors leading to success or failure in new product development and R&D projects. The review shows first that even with a conservative approach to listing significant factors, the list is very long. Second, comparing the factors across studies demonstrates that different authors have found that the magnitude of significance and the direction of influence vary. Third, given the differences in context, the meaning of similar factors may also vary. The contradictory findings lead us to propose a contingency framework for the new product and R&D project models. This framework consists of a contingency cube with three contextual dimensions. Based on this framework, we propose a set of propositions. We conclude this paper with a discussion of the implications of a contingent approach for both researchers and managers in the area of management of new products and R&D projects     

Top management support of R&D projects: a strategic leadershipperspective

A study of top management support of 213 R&D projects in 21 major firms revealed significant relationships between independent informants' perceptions of top management support, project characteristics, and project performance. Testing a model based on a strategic leadership perspective, top management support was found to be directed at certain types of projects, i.e., those that were expected to make greater contributions to business goals, represented larger investments, were seeking new products and process versus incremental improvements, and had originated from business sources as opposed to R&D. In addition, even after controlling for these project characteristics, projects with top management support were less likely to be terminated. In contrast, after controlling for project characteristics, completed projects with top management support were not judged to make greater contributions to the firm's business goals suggesting top management may not be able to pick winners. Findings are discussed in terms of future research and implications for top management leadership within R&D     

Selecting R&D projects at BMW: a case study of adoptingmathematical programming models

Research and development (R&D) project selection is a critical interface between the product development strategy of an organization and the process of managing projects day-to-day. This article describes the project selection problem faced by an R&D group of BMW (Munich, Germany). The problem was structured as minimizing the gap between target performance of the technology to be developed and actual performance of the current technology along chosen criteria. A mathematical programming model helped this organization to increase the transparency of their selection process, which previously had been based on experience coupled with evaluation of individual projects in isolation. Implementation was a success in that the predevelopment group continues to use the model to make better decisions. However, the organization did not use the model for its intended purpose: constrained optimization. The traditional explanation for this partial implementation is that the analytical model did not capture all considerations relevant to optimization (e.g., uncertainty or strategic fit), and that further model refinements are required to achieve further implementation. We offer an alternative explanation, one based on the technology transfer literature     

Why are small R&D organizations more productive?

Many R&D managers believe that small R&D organizations are more productive than large ones, a view that is reflected in the popular management literature of the 1980s. The author examines theoretical arguments for the possible advantages of smallness in R&D organizations, proposes an ideal product development organization using the techniques of control theory to simulate information flows, and compares the ideal model with survey data from five R&D organizations. Although direct contact with customers has been shown to be the best source of information about new product concepts, the majority of the product development engineers and engineering managers responding to a survey reported that they speak with customers either one or twice a year, or not at all. It is concluded that merely making R&D organizations small may prove disappointing unless careful attention is paid to organizational policies affecting communications flows, direct access to customers, opportunistic planning, and financial incentives for good performance     

R&D project selection using the analytic network process

The analytic network process (ANP) is presented as a potentially valuable method to support the selection of projects in a research and development (R&D) environment. This paper first discusses the requirements of the R&D project selection problem, which requires the allocation of resources to a set of competing and often disparate project proposals. Among the factors complicating this task is the need to make the decision within the framework of an enterprise's strategic objectives and organizational structure while considering and integrating financial and strategic benefits of each project. The paper discusses the use of the ANP, a general form of Saaty's analytic hierarchy process, as a model to evaluate the value of competing R&D project proposals. A generic ANP model developed by the authors, which includes in its decision levels the actors involved in the decision, the stages of research, categories of metrics, and individual metrics, is presented. The paper concludes with a case study describing the implementation of this model at a small high-tech company, including data based on the actual use of the decision making model     

军用软件质量与可靠性管理方法研究

针对军用软件发展现状,分析了军用软件在研制过程中质量与可靠性管理存在的问题,总结了产品研制过程中软件工程化管理的要求和内容,并对软件研制周期内各个阶段的管理控制重点进行了论述。     

The R&D cycle: the influence of product and process R&D onshort-term ROI

The purposes of this paper are first to explore the relationship between the total R&D budget and two major components, product and process R&D, and second, to examine the relationship between these two types of R&D and the profitability of the business. The paper explores a cyclical pattern in the relationship between product and process R&D on the one hand and the short-term return on investment (ROI) of the business on the other hand. The total level of R&D investment plays a key role in this relationship. The foundation of this paper is based on prior work about the changing role of R&D over the life cycle of a new product or a new technology. It is also based on the notions of the S-curve response function and the limited compatibility between product and process R&D. The empirical part of the paper is derived from the PIMS database where the sampling units are strategic business units (SBUs). It is, therefore, different from studies where the focus of analysis is a single product or technology. Two forms of analysis are presented: correlation analysis of the hypothesized relationship and nonparametric tests of the stability of findings. The analysis assumes a lagged relationship between the investment in R&D and performance in terms of ROI. The primary conclusion is that product and process R&D modestly affect ROI two years later. The relationship appears to be different depending on the level of total R&D spending     

The influence of process concurrency on project outcomes in productdevelopment: an empirical study of cross-functional teams

This study examines the practice of concurrent engineering (CE) in terms of process concurrency, and the impact of concurrency on success of product development projects. The study is based on 50 cross-national projects from companies in Australia, Canada, Denmark, Finland, United Kingdom, and the United States in the aerospace, automobile, chemical, computer, electronics, shipbuilding, and telecommunications industries. Four dimensions of process and behaviors of engineering/R&D and manufacturing members of cross-functional product development teams were reliably operationalized: (1) two-way communication, (2) overlapping problem solving, (3) readiness to make decisions on the basis of uncertain and ambiguous information, and (4) readiness to release uncertain and ambiguous information. These dimensions of process concurrency were found to be reliable predictors of development projects' success, as measured by product cost and quality, project schedule and budget performance, and project team satisfaction. The paper offers implications for theory and practice and models of CE management for future research     

Integrating R&D and marketing: a comparison of practices in theJapanese and American chemical industries

The authors analyze survey information collected from R&D and marketing managers working for American and Japanese chemical manufacturers. They report three key differences in the R&D marketing relationships between Japanese and American firms. Those differences involve the procedures for allocating the tasks between the functional areas, the activities assigned to each area as a result, and the potential for conflict between the two functions. Specifically, the authors find evidence that R&D departments in Japanese firms have a larger role in new product development than do marketing departments. American firms are not characterized by the same asymmetry in their relationship. Finally, the American firms studied did exhibit a greater potential for conflict between functions     

Analysis of R&D portfolio strategies for contract competition

The authors extend earlier technology assessment methods in two ways. First, multiple attributes of product quality and a firm's innovative strength in the respective technologies are viewed in aggregate, so as to balance the R&D portfolio and to maximize the expected returns on the discretionary funds. Secondly, rational competitor strategies, are obtained through simulation based on relative technological capabilities and R&D budgets. Both discrete project portfolios and continuous capabilities and effort levels can be considered. These extensions are illustrated with an example drawn from defense contracting     

A practical R&D project-selection scoring tool

An improved scoring tool for research and development (R&D) project evaluation and selection is presented that ranks project alternatives based on the criteria of relevance, risk, reasonableness, and return. The scoring algorithm explicitly incorporates tradeoffs among the evaluation criteria and calculates a relative measure of project value by taking into account the fact that value is a function of both merit and cost. Implementation of the selection method in a federal research laboratory is discussed. A comprehensive overview of the R&D project selection literature is included     

Innovation strategy and the R&D-marketing interface in Japanesefirms: a contingency perspective

This study proposes a contingency model suggesting that a firm's strategic position will affect cross-functional involvement and information sharing between R&D and marketing departments in five major new product development stages, as well as the quality of R&D-marketing relations and organizational structure. To test the model, the authors surveyed 274 R&D managers and 264 marketing managers in 315 Japanese high-technology firms. The results indicate that, contrary to anecdotal suppositions of Japanese firm homogeneity, Japanese firms differ among themselves and among the strategic types in several important ways. The results also suggest that the level of R&D-marketing integration should be contingent on new product development strategy, making uniform promotion of cross-functional team integration questionable. Despite the differences in innovation strategy pursued by aggressive new product developers versus nonaggressive new product developers, all three strategic types rank the stages of innovation in a similar manner     

A Study on Project Selection Framework for Future ICT Technologies

As the broadcasting communication R&D subject supported by the government is diversifying gradually, it becomes more difficult to prioritize investment of limited resources. In this respect, the importance of a strict and objective evaluation index for the national R&D project is growing much bigger in using available resources to achieve the corresponding goal by the R&D project. In addition, recently, the importance of a method to effectively express and evaluate achievement of targets, selection of projects and allocation of resources etc. in the whole process of the national R&D project is being emphasized for the scientific national R&D project. To improve efficiency and effectiveness of the process to select the broadcasting communication R&D project, therefore, this study would like to investigate methodologies and models to select projects including more systematic and scientific verification systems and indexes etc. for the R&D planning suitable for the broadcasting communication field focused on major precedent studies and advanced cases and to derive a method to improve them.     

Conditional stochastic dominance in R&D portfolio selection

This paper describes a methodology for the selection of research and development (R&D) projects to add to or remove from an existing R&D portfolio. The analysis uses the criterion of conditional stochastic dominance to make selection recommendations. This criterion takes into account the effect of a given project on the risk and return of the existing portfolio. The authors use a methodology previously employed to analyze stock portfolios; however, they apply it using simulation in an R&D portfolio context. They apply the methodology to the portfolios of two actual companies and find that it generates priorities very close to those developed by internal company heuristics. They conclude that this methodology can be applied appropriately in these circumstances and that its recommendations are consistent with observed decision maker behavior. Their results suggest that an R&D manager should not consider project selection decisions in isolation, but, following this methodology, should take into account the context of the existing portfolio