DECLINING PRODUCTIVITY IN PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT: AN EXPLANATION OF “PIPELINE GRIDLOCK”
DS 36: Proceedings DESIGN 2006, the 9th International Design Conference, Dubrovnik, Croatia
Year: 2006
Editor: Marjanovic, D.
Author: Larsson, F.
Section: MODELLING AND MANAGEMENT OF ENGINEERING PROCESSES WORKSHOP
Page(s): 1533-1542
Abstract
When a company pursues too many projects compared with the resources available, and thus have to spread the scarce resources too thinly over the product development portfolio, it may result in congestion in the development pipeline. The phenomenon, often referred to as “pipeline gridlock, has serious negative implications for the productivity in product development. This research suggests that the the existing explanations for pipeline congestion can be enriched by adding a consistent mindset, which explicates a number of circumstances and their sequential linking in an overall pattern of inherent causality, which forms a explanation for the phenomenon pipeline gridlock.
Keywords: product development, portfolio management, resource management, innovation capabilities