Critique On Wheelwright's Product Development Plan

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Rewritten Response Paper #2 On article: Creating Project Plans to Focus Product Development by Steven C. Wheelwright and Kim B. Clark A Potential Plan Internally - Lacking to take into consideration Fundamental External Mechanisms Wheelwright and Clark’s article “Creating Project Plans to Focus Product Development” presents a systematic framework for managing the development of a project portfolio and the resource allocation process for a given portfolio. Instead of focusing on essential projects, -the authors argue-, development engineers spend their time fighting fires, instead of establishing new, demanded products for the market. Wheelwright and Clark’s solution to this major problem is the creation of an “aggregate project plan”, helping managers to allocate resources, sequence projects, and build critical development capabilities. However, while the two author’s argument perfectly summarizes crucial steps towards effective product development processes internally, within the range of the company, management and employees, I am missing the importance of external factors that have to be integrated into the whole process of product development, as well. For instance, network externalities & positive feedback or the value of standards in the field of innovative product businesses do not receive enough importance in the project planning process as described in this article. The authors predominantly focus on how manager can improve efficiency, production and enhance overall business success by restructuring production into consistent project sets, with emphasis on platform products and appropriate task contribution – according skills and experience of the engineers. However, my argument is that Wheelwright and Clark’s aggregate project plan is missing the fundamental external factors that should be included in the

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