Structuring product development processes

This paper proposes operational frameworks for structuring product development processes. The primary objective of this research is to develop procedures to minimize iterations during the development process which adversely affect development time and costs. Several procedures are introduced to restructure the development process. The computation of the corresponding product development times is facilitated by two Markov models addressing different types of learning. The methodologies are employed to identify a set of managerial concerns in restructuring the product development processes. The developed framework has become an integral part of a re-engineering project for the development of rocket engines at Rocketdyne Division of Rockwell International. Throughout the paper, the methodologies are illustrated with the help of this process. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.