Concurrent Engineering for the Management of Research and Development

The Management of Research and Development (R&D) is facing the challenges of reducing time from R&D to customer, reducing the cost of R&D, having higher accountability for results (improved quality), and increasing focus on customers. Concurrent engineering (CE) has shown great success in the automotive and technology industries resulting in significant decreases in cycle time, reduction of total cost, and increases in quality and reliability. This philosophy of concurrency can have similar implications or benefits for the management of R&D organizations. Since most studies on the application of CE have been performed in manufacturing environments, research into the benefits of CE into other environments is needed. This paper presents research conducted at the NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC) investigating the application of CE in the management of an R&D organization. In particular the paper emphasizes possible barriers and enhancers that this environment presents to the successful implementation of CE. Preliminary results and recommendations are based on a series of interviews and subsequent surveys, from which data has been gathered and analyzed as part of the GRC's Continuous Improvement Process.