Instructor: Dr. Hanan Anis
Office: SITE 4045, ext.2178, office hours: Monday 12:00-2:00p.m
WebCT will be extensively used in this course for course material, assignments, e-mail and discussions.
Course Objectives:
The main objectives of this course are:
- To understand the nature of product development processes.
- Highlight some of the latest trends in product development research and practices and draw upon the students work experiences.
- To gain an insight into organizational systems and structures which facilitate product development.
- To acquire understanding about product development practices in industries outside of our domain of expertise.
Course design:
- The course is designed to cover different aspects of product development. Teaching is done through a mixture of lectures, class exercises and case discussions.
- There will be a strong emphasis on self and group learning in the course, both within and outside the class.
- Each student will be expected to do a considerable amount of preparation out of class on skill development, cases and projects.
- Students are expected to attend classes, to do pre-class preparation and to be active in the learning process.
- Participation in the classroom discussions and group presentations will be tied to the learning, and therefore, to the evaluation.
Course outline:
The course is two modules:
Module 1: Classical aspects of product development
Textbook: Revolutionizing product development Quantum Leaps in speed efficiency and quality, Steven Wheelwright and Kim Clark
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Lecture2(Jan.18th):
Chapters 2 and 3
The concept of a development strategy
Maps and Mapping: Functional Strategies in Pre-Project planning
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Lecture3 (Jan.25th):
Chapter 4 and 5
The aggregate project plan
Structuring the development funnel
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Lecture4 (Feb.1st):
Chapter 6 and 7
A Framework for Development
Cross-functional Integration
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Lecture5 (Feb.8th)
Chapter 8 and 9
Organizing and Leading Project Teams
Tools and Methods
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Lecture6 (Feb.15th)
Chapter 10, 11 and 12
Prototype/Test cycles
Learning from Development Projects
Building development Capability
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Lecture7 (Feb.22nd)
Project presentations
Module 2: Recent issues in product development
No textbook will be used for this module. Just class notes and some papers.
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Lecture8 (March1st): Outsourcing/Off-shoring
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Lecture 9 (March8th): Disruptive technologies
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Lecture 10 (March 15th): Leadership and corporate organizations issues
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Lecture 11 (March 22nd): Six Sigma and Robust design
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Lecture 12 (March 29th): Project 2
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Lecture 13th (April 5th): Final exam
Case Studies:
Students are presented with real product development scenarios and asked to analyze them. Cases used are intended to complement the theory presesnted in the lectures and cover a wide range of industries. Cases include companies such as Honda, Boeing,Dell, Sun and Intel.
Marking:
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Attendance and class participation (15%)
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Individual case study assignments (15%)
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Mid-term exam (20%)
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Group assignments (30%)
Students are grouped into teams of 4 people per team. Team choices should be based on complimentary skills of the team members.
Teams will be assigned two group assignments.
Late presentations will result in 50% deductions per week
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Final exam (20%)