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Conventional project-management tools--PERT charts and Gantt charts, for example--were created to help manage sequences of discrete tasks that make up large construction projects. Yet these tools don't capture clearly the back-and-forth of information that takes place in innovative processes,such as product development. Conventional tools are designed to answer the question,"What other tasks must be completed before I begin this one?" But product development planners, especially in high-tech businesses, need tools that answer a very different question: "What information do I need from other tasks before I can complete this one?" The author describes the Design Structure Matrix (DSM), a project management tool that focuses on representing the information flows of a project rather than its work flows. He explains how the DSM works and how to use it to make development processes more efficient. A project DSM can show which information exchanges involve design iteration and how well a process anticipates the need for rework. In addition, the author suggests four ways to improve a company's information flows: rearranging the sequence of tasks, reconsidering the organization of tasks, reducing the number of information exchanges, and managing unplannable work. By stripping away the mystery around information exchange during innovation, the DSM can give managers far more control over their most risky and expensive projects. INSET: Improving Communication at General Motors' Powertrain Division. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

When management contemplates building and using a computer planning model, it must immediately decide a number of basic questions: whether it really needs a model, what kind it should be, exactly what it is supposed to do, whether it can succeed within the company's organizational climate, and if indeed it can be built with existing technology. After these questions are answered and model development moves forward, there is a host of factors within management's control that can enhance success. The author enumerates them, explaining how they must be handled if the modeling process is to be successful. To do this, he has drawn on his own extensive experience in the field and on several studies which he has supervised. Finally, he presents an example that shows the great complexity of the task. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many U.S. corporations have had much wider experience with project management in dealing with particularly demanding companywide tasks than their European counterparts. Yet a Swedish mining company examined the U.S. experience and came up with its own successful application of project management. What it learned in the process, presented here in step-by-step procedure, might provide helpful guidelines for companies both here and abroad that are either contemplating using this approach or encountering difficulties with their existing efforts. INSET: Current studies of LKAB's project management organization. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article discusses the correlation of the three key areas which include people, process and technology to the development of a strong business platform. It emphasizes that balance of the three areas can stabilize a platform and the insufficiency of any can lead to the difficulty of balancing it. This is because, each area showcases different levels of importance depending upon the situation and are equally important. With this, ways to balance them are being discussed as well as the representation for each to understand them better.

The article offers tips on how to implement effectively the enterprise integration to business. It states that there is the need to determine the integration strategy that will best achieve one's business needs such as implementing a long-term, enterprise wide model. Also, it examines several approaches for integration including the Enterprise Application Integration, the Standard Procurement System Legacy Integration, and the Enterprise Service Bus Integration.

Your crucial new product is on the fast track, when suddenly a problem develops that threatens to derail it. Time to bring in the cheetah team. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports on the dissatisfaction among many of Yahoo's top executives which has resulted in the resignation and subsequent reorganization of the company's management structure. Among the topics of internal dissent are the failure to accept Microsoft's buyout offer and the company's inefficiency when it comes to project management.

The article offers information on the move undertaken by Kiefel Extrusion to improve its factory performance in Worms, Germany. The industry experienced rapid advances in machine technology, resulting in vital improvements in quality and increased outputs. Equipment suppliers are responding to market calls for doing more with less, more strength, better optics, improved consistency, higher barrier and all with less material and reduced energy input. To augment its production performance, it introduced the Enhanced Cooling Package (ECP) aimed in making film for heavy-duty form-fill-seal (FFS) bags.

This article presents information on some of the articles published in other journals on industrial management. The features in the September/October issue of the journal "Industrial Management" focus on success. Author Fariborz Ghadar discusses sustainability on a global level in "Population: Shifting Demographics." He writes that some countries that can least afford to support a burgeoning citizenship will find their resources stretched to the limit. In "Strategy Sustains Success," James E. Cashman asserts that becoming successful isn't the end of the journey; rather, remaining successful is the goal. He discusses the staying power of simulation software provider Ansys, which credits its success to a strategic vision that focuses on customers and fuels the company drive to develop innovative technology.

Reports on the touting of Haley Systems' Haley Authority 5.0 as the industry's only BRM tool for .NET and Java environments. Ability of the product to facilitate collaboration between business and IT users; Capability of the product to offer common business rules; Capacity of the product increase revenue while also increasing customer satisfaction.

The article informs that time is an important factor in operations. With the changing economic conditions, it becomes even more essential to capture the amount of time required for activities and associated expenses. The author downloaded a trial version of Best Software's TimeSheet Professional for review. He found it to be a very useful tool for capturing time details and expense information. The software can serve as an add-on, enhancing existing financial, project management, and payroll systems, or it can function as a standalone time management tool.

The article reports that Bristol Water PLC expects to improve its productivity following the deployment of a mobile workforce management system. The company is attempting to improve its rating by 20% following the implementation of the Field Force Automation system from GE Energy. It is stated that the company chose the system because of its flexibility. According to project manager Matthew Stephenson, it was the only one they reviewed that could be easily configured to fit around them and that could be phased in gradually.

The article discusses how a database administrator and software developer of a small company can move towards management role. Working in a small company will give opportunity to understand the business and what is involved in generating a profitable and efficient workforce, which are both key elements in management. But it will be difficult to make the jump into an exclusively management role in a large corporate without any recent transferable skills and experiences of people management. One needs to adapt CV for each job application. Another possibility would be to look for project management roles, which are tasked with delivering software developments and involve a degree of matrix management. This is certainly a good stepping stone into full-time management positions.

This article presents information about a Finnish resource-based scheduling system called DynaProject. Graphisoft, the maker of the object-based design modeler ArchiCAD, is now completing purchase of the new scheduling system. This system uses construction models as a platform for balancing the day-to-day work locations of crews on jobs and across projects. The scheduler breaks jobs into physical areas where work can continue independently and then experiments with timing across the whole job to minimize crew overlap and interruptions to optimize efficiency, while maintaining the necessary order of construction. Space-critical tasks, which have to be done with no other crews present, are given priority.