Dynamic modeling of product development processes

Successful development projects are critical to success in many industries. To improve project performance managers must understand the dynamic concurrence relationships that constrain the sequencing of tasks as well as the effects of and interactions with resources (such as labor), project scope and targets (such as delivery dates). This article describes a multiple-phase project model which explicitly models process, resources, scope, and targets. The model explicitly portrays iteration, four distinct development activities and available work constraints to describe development processes. The model is calibrated to a semiconductor chip development project. Impacts of the dynamics of development process structures on research and practice are discussed. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.