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Research suggests that close relationships with internal and external partners are likely to have a significant impact on new product development (NPD). What is unclear is how the effects of internal and external relationships influence development paths for different types of innovations. Prior literature indicates that the pathways for developing incremental innovations differ considerably from those for radical innovations. Thus it is plausible that the effects of external versus internal relationships vary across these two innovation types. This paper uses the 2012 Comparative Performance Assessment Study (CPAS) data set to investigate the roles of internal and external relationship quality on the development of both incremental and radical innovations. The results find that internal and not external relationship quality is beneficial for the development of incremental innovations. When driven by internal relationships, a flexible NPD process is advantageous for the financial performance of incremental innovations. Meanwhile external and not internal relationship quality is valuable for developing radical innovations. External relationship quality results in process flexibility, leading to project execution success and subsequent financial performance for radical innovations. As expected, project execution success consistently leads to increased financial performance. These findings indicate the critical differences in types of relationship quality required when developing new products based on radical versus incremental innovations.

Earned Value Management (EVM) and Earned Schedule (ES) indexes are indicators of project execution efficiency. They are used by project managers in their efforts toward achieving project success; that is, completing within budget and delivering the product on time. This article introduces EVM and ES and discusses the statistical distribution of their respective indexes. Practical application of statistics is developed for forecasting cost and schedule. Keywords: project management; earned value; earned schedule; statistics; performance analysis; forecasting

Systems engineering is usually seen as the domain of large enterprises. However, small and medium sized (SMEs) and micro-enterprises are coming to play an ever-larger role even in industries traditionally dominated by large enterprises. In new product development projects carried out by SMEs or micro-enterprise using systems engineering, three aspects should be noted. Firstly, such enterprise wants to initiate the project independently, i.e. develop a new product/system under ISO 29110, there is some information regarding how it could do it, i.e. the stage that would involve the definition of the requirements. But enterprise should be able to understand and apply this information. Secondly, it must be underlined that project execution, is preceded by establishment of cooperation of new product development process. This process is frequently tedious, time-consuming and – especially for small organizations – troublesome. Thirdly, such cooperation should be anchored in the strategy especially in technology strategy of the company. Technology roadmapping could be considered as a tool which is helpful in technology strategy creation process.

This paper examines the US assistance for economic growth in Pakistan since 2002. Delving into the political economy of the United States Agency for International Development's (USAID) economic growth programme, this paper appraises the effectiveness of economic growth projects and their impact on the economy of Pakistan by analysing donor's project execution mechanisms and priority areas for economic development. This study finds that despite USAID's proclamation of spurring growth through their neoliberal-oriented interventions, the economy has shown a gloomy picture in recent years and hence questions the perception that foreign aid can spur economic growth in recipient countries. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

This article considers the use of property rights to structure ex post bargaining positions in client-sponsored RDE that is, greater contractor property rights are associated with more transaction-specific investments by the client. Contractor property rights are also predicted to increase as environmental uncertainty increases and as more applications of the technology fall outside the client's intended fields of use. Contract-level data from 147 RD&E agreements in technology-intensive settings provide support for these predictions. A secondary examination shows that clients who share property rights with their contractors face reduced opportunism during project execution. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Bei Konti-Anlagen treten oft dynamischen Ubergangsvorgange, wie Anfahr-, Last- oder Produktwechsel, auf, wohingegen (Semi-)Batch-Prozesse eine inharente Dynamik besitzen. Zielte die Automatisierung dieser Ubergangsvorgange bisher meist auf eine sichere und reproduzierbare Fahrweise ab, erlauben moderne Prozessfuhrungsmethoden auch wirtschaftlich optimierte Fahrweisen. Herausforderungen bei der Umsetzung sind insbesondere die hohe Komplexitat der Anlage, der oft geringe Instrumentierungs- und Automatisierungsgrad und die Notwendigkeit umfangreicher verfahrens- und automatisierungstechnischer Kenntnisse. Der Beitrag zeigt an Beispielen die Vorgehensweise in der industriellen Praxis auf und nennt innovative Losungsansatze aus der akademischen Forschung. Continuous processes show dynamics during load changes, start-up and shutdowns whereas batch processes exhibit inherent dynamics. In the past, the major concern of automating these dynamics states of process operation were safe and reproducible operation, however, today modern methods of process operation allow for the economic optimization at the same time. The automation and optimization of batch processes pose challenges in several areas: Mastering the high complexity, connecting heterogeneous components by automation, and combining extensive knowledge from both process engineering and automation during project execution. This contribution describes approaches from industrial practice and punctually academic research, which solutions for the challenges are readily available and how to implement these.

Im Zuge der Einfuhrung der vom Bundesministerium fur Verkehr, Bau- und Wohnungswesen (BMVBW) in Auftrag und vom Deutschen Institut fur Normung herausgegebenen DIN-Fachberichte wurden von der DEGES in den letzten Jahren mehrere Projekte als Pilotprojekte realisiert. Eines dieser ausgewahlten Projekte ist die im Zuge der BAB A 73 nordlich von Schleusingen errichtete 448 m lange Talbrucke St. Kilian. Mit ihrem markanten Design setzt sie ein deutliches Zeichen fur den Willen der DEGES, architektonisch gestaltete Ingenieurbauwerke zu errichten. Neben der Gestaltung spiegeln die eingesetzten Baustoffe und die Ausfuhrungsmethodik die innovativen Wege im Verkehrsbruckenbau wider, die von Bauherren, Ingenieurburos und Firmen beschritten werden sollen. Innovative ways in composite bridge building. In the course of the introduction of the technical reports (DIN-Fachberichte) commissioned by the Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Affairs and published by the committee of Deutschen Institut fur Normung (DIN), several pilot projects have been implemented by DEGES (German Unity motorway planning and construction company) in the last couple of years. One of these selected projects is the 448 m long viaduct St. Kilian in the north of Schleusingen, Germany erected as part of the A73 federal motorway (BAB) project. Its striking design is a clear symbol of DEGES intention to erect architecturally designed engineering structures. In addition to the design, the building materials used and the method used for project execution are a clear reflection of the innovative ways followed by building owner, engineering offices and companies.

This paper proposes the integration of two useful systems engineering analysis tools, the Design Structure Matrix (DSM) and Network Analysis (NA) to study task interactions in a Product Development Process (PDP) using a small engineering company as a case study. The DSM is a matrix-based systems engineering tool that enables streamlining of the PDP through task sequencing and simulation of project execution. NA techniques such as key players, centrality, influence, and brokerage provide methods to identify critical product development tasks and interactions to focus PDP improvement. Collecting interactions between product development tasks in matrix form provides opportunities to use DSM and NA techniques to identify highly central tasks and identify patterns of cross-coupling between tasks and the groups performing those tasks. One benefit is the ability to describe feedback characteristics of critical PDP tasks. This is valuable when evaluating the impact of omitting, combining, or re-sequencing task execution based on program-specific constraints.

Objectives:(1) Describe the implementation of Lean Six Sigma (LSS) training within an otolaryngology residency program. (2) Illustrate the challenges and opportunities of project execution. (3) Address the institutional considerations for a successful LSS program.Methods:(1) From July 2013, LSS training and Lean Belt Certification were offered through the IUSM Department of Otolaryngology in collaboration with VA Systems Redesign. (2) The curriculum and training were designed to maximize participant learning and engagement. (3) Resident and faculty initiated LSS projects were reviewed. (4) Participant feedback survey results were collected.Results:(1) The Lean Belt curriculum and training were completed by some of the residents and faculty to date. (2) Two medical students completed Yellow Belt Certification. (3) Salivary and thyroid gland ultrasound projects and a sterile supply project translate quality improvement and cost savings to patients and the organization. (4) Participant survey results have be...

Information is presented on the creation and routine use of training simulators for large process plants. Based on actual project experience, this article discusses questions important for industrial practice: justification of investment, availability of mature technologies, proper approach to design and project execution.

Based on actual project experiences over the past decade, execution strategies for remediation projects have varied significantly. For example, the overlap between the assessment and cleanup phases can range from none (for projects that complete assessment activities before starting the cleanup) to almost half of the assessment duration (for projects that may be under pressure to show progress at the site). This article quantifies the relationship between remediation project execution strategies, project definition components, and remediation project cost and schedule performance. By relating project outcomes to indicators that can be monitored early in the project cycle, project teams may be able to correct problems before they affect the ultimate performance of the remediation project.

Project management in plant construction. Project management is a management concept increasingly employed in project execution both by industry and administration. There are variants to this management concept allowing it to be readily adapted to individual applications. Engineering companies are typically confronted with multi-project management tasks, i. e. they handle concurrently a great variety of projects differing in size, complexity, and duration. For each project, specialists from various disciplines of the company have to be coordinated across department lines and their performance channelled under project management leadership. Matrix project management lends itself particularly well to this task, the personality of the project manager playing a central role.