Phasing
and Paralleling – Why one or the other?
We have already seen a major benefit to project phasing: the use of phase-gates
or end-of-phase reviews for formal reassessment of the project. The benefit
of paralleling is obvious from the previous graphic: it can shorten the
project timeline. However, paralleling can increase risk and more resources
are needed at the same time.
Requirements for Paralleling
- Paralleling requires a management style that permits
an iterative, dynamic process of trial and error
- Division
of labor needs to be shared across project teams,
and team members must accumulate knowledge from different
levels of the organization and across functional
specializations
and organizational boundaries
- Company must mobilize
itself for rapid change, support project teams,
and accept a sense of crisis as the
norm.
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Possible Limiting Factors
- Requires extraordinary effort on the part of all
team members
- Creates frustration and disorder in projects requiring
revolutionary innovation
- Difficult in mammoth projects
where the project scale limits extensive face-to-face
discussions
- Difficult to apply when
a product organization is structured so that an
inventor hands down well
defined specifications
for others to follow
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