Abstract effortstthattseekttotdescribetcurrenttprocessestandtpresc
Cyclettimetreductiontistantimportanttaspecttoftintegr
atedtproducttandtprocesstdevelopmentt(IPPD).tThistpa
pertoutlinestsometoftthetchallengestthattimpedeteffortst
totreducetcyclettimetfortcomplextsystemtdevelopmenttp
rojects.tSeveraltfacetstoftthesetchallengestcantbetsumm
arizedtusingtthetgeneraltconcepttoftdesigntiterations.tA
ftertreviewingtthistconcept,tthetpapertprovidestantover
viewtoftatprocesstmodelingtapproachtutilizingtdepende
ncytstructuretmatricest(DSMs—
alsotknowntastdesigntstructuretmatrices).tDSMstallowt
atsimple,tvisualtrepresentationtoftprocessestandthighlig
httpotentialtiterations.tThetpapertconcludestwithtatdisc
ussiontoftthetwaystDSM-
basedtmethodst helptmanagetsometoftthetcyclettimetred
uctiontchallenges.
1tIntroduction
Tremendoustpressuretonttoday’stcompaniesttotachi
evetandtsustaintcompetitivetadvantagethastledttotheight
enedteffortsttotreducetproducttdevelopmenttcyclettimet
andtcosttwhiletprovidingt superiort products.tIndeed,tim
provedtmanagementtoftthetproducttdevelopmenttproces
stcontributesttotsustainabletcompetitivetadvantagetfortc
ompaniest[1-
3].tManythavetrecognizedtthattthetkeyttotprocesstimpro
vementtliestintbettertprocesstunderstanding.tTowardstth
istobjective,tatcomplextdesigntprocesstcantbetviewedta
statsettoftsimpliertactivitiestwithtdiscernibletinterrelatio
nships.tChoicestasttotthetdecompositiontandt integratio
nt oftthesetactivitiesthavetramificationstfortthetcompetit
ivenesstoftthetprocesst[4].tThetrealizationtthattmanytpr
oducttdevelopmenttprocessestandtactivitiestaretprocedu
ralt andt repeatablet hast givent riset totmodeling
becomestinevitabletandtcyclettimetreductiontbeco
mestmoretdifficult.tMakingtsometdecisionstastlatet
astpossiblet(attenettoftset-
basedtdesign)tistsometimestthetrighttthingttotdo,tb
uttcertaintdecisionstneedttotbetmadetearlyttotprope
rlytsettthetscopetandtdirectiontoftatproject.
 Thetexistencetoftlongtandtvariedtactivityt“pipeline
s”tmeanstshortertdurationtactivitiestfinishtandtwaitt
fortlongertdurationtactivitiesttotproducetneededtres
ults.tWhentthesetresultstfinallytbecometavailable,tt
hetactivitiestthattfinishedtearlytoftenthavettotgotba
cktandtchangettheirtworktbasedtontthetnewtinform
ation.tMeanwhile,tiftthetactivitiestthattfinishedtearl
ythadtproceededttotmoretdetailedtdesigntworkt(perh
apstbecausetthetworktculturetdemandsttheyt“looktb
usy”)tbeforetthetlatertresultstbecametavailable,tmu
chtoftthistworktcouldtendtuptsquandered.
1
ribetappropriatetpolicytadjustments.
Thistpaperthighlightstthetcapabilitiestoftdependenc
ytstructuretmatrixt(DSM)1-
basedtmethodsttotmanagetprojectstfortreducedtschedule
trisktandtshortertcyclettime.tFollowingtatpresentationtof
tsometcyclettimetreductiontchallenges,tItprovidetovervi
ewstoftthetconcepttoftdesigntiterationstandtoftDSM-
based,tprocesstmodelingttechniques.tIntclosing,tItdiscus
sthowtDSMtmethodstmeettthetcyclettimetreductiontcha
llengestcoveredtearlier.tThistpaper’stmaintcontributiont
isttotlaytoutt severaltcyclettimetreductiontchallengestan
dtshowtthetwaystDSMtmethodsthelptmeettthem.
2tCyclet Timet Reductiont Challenges
Severaltcharacteristicstoftmosttcomplextsystemtde
velopmenttprojectstmaketcyclettimetreductiontespeciall
ytchallenging.tThesetcharacteristicstandtchallengestincl
ude:
 Inefficienttdistributiontoftpersonneltandtresources
—
includingtfacilities,ttools,tandtespeciallytinformatio
n—
resultstintpartstoftthet projecttspendingt“down”ttim
etwaitingtfortresourcestwhenttheytcouldtbetworkin
g.tWhiletthististinevitabletgiventlimitedtresources,t
appropriatetplanningtcantinsuretthattattleasttcritical
tpathtactivitiestaretnottdelayedtduettotresourcetcon
straints.tLacktoftandtfailurettotusetappropriatetplan
ningttechniquestcomplicatestcyclettimetreductionts
trategies.
 Unstabletproducttrequirementstcausetindecisivenes
standtfostertredesign.tIftrequirementstremaintuncer
taint toot latet int thet project,t extrat rework
 Lacktoftactivitytcoordinationtresultstint wastedttime,tdoi
ngtthetwrongtwork,tandtinappropriatetcommunication.tIf
tactivitiestaretnottwelltintegratedttotthetpointtoftknowin
gtwhattinformationteachtneeds,twhen,tandtintwhattform
at,ttheytwillthavettroubletreducingtthetcyclettimetoftthei
rtoveralltprocess.
 Highlytinterdependenttortcoupledtactivitiestincreasetthetc
hancestoftiterationtortrework.tThisteffecttistdiscussedtint
moretdetailtintthetsectionstthattfollow.
 Overlyt ambitioust initialt schedulest maket further
cyclettimetreductionsteventmoretdifficult.tIftantoriginalt
plantturnstoutttotbethightrisktfromtatscheduletstandpoint
,treducingtthattscheduletanytfurthertwilltcauseteventgrea
tertrisk.tIntothertwords,tonetcannottreducetcyclettimetsi
mplytbytshorteningtthetplannedtschedule;tonetmusttinsu
retatcommensuratetreductiontintscheduletrisk.
 Manytseeminglytfeasibletcyclettimetreductiontsolutionst
 havetadversetsideteffectstwhichtreducetanticipatedt
effectiveness.tThus,tsuccessfultcyclettimetreductio
ntrequirestatsystemstperspective,ttakingtintotaccou
nttthetfeedbackstthattwillttendttotdiminishtoverallt
processtefficacy.
Somethavetapproachedtthetcyclettimetreductiontpr
oblemtbytsimplyttakingtoncetserialtactivitiestandtexecu
tingtthemtintparallel.tHowever,tdoingtsotwithouttpayin
gtattentionttotthetinterdependenciestthattmaytexisttbetw
eentsuchtactivitiestcantactuallytwastetresourcestwithout
tprovidingtmuchtcyclettimet advantage.tActivitiestthatt
dependtontothertactivitiestfortinformationtwilltoftentha
vettotredotsometportiontofttheirtworktiftthosetinputstch
angetortarrivetlate.tHence,tindiscriminatelytplacingtonc
etserialtactivitiestintparalleltcant leadt totadditionalt re
workt ortiteration.t Atmore
phenomenontoftengineersttradingttechnicaltinformation
tandttherebytcreatingtreworktforteachtotherthastbeento
bservedtintseveraltcasestbytClarktandtFujimotot[1].tAls
o,twhentdownstreamtortcoupledtactivitiestcreatetrewor
ktfortupstreamtactivities,tthetresultingtchangestmaytcau
2
effectivetapproachtrequirestatsystemstviewtoftthetproce
sstandtthetcapabilityttotanalyzetthetcomplextrelationshi
pstbetweentactivities.tThetDSMtmethodologytmeetstth
esetrequirements.
Together,tthetchallengestabovetaccounttfortatlarget
portiontoftthetuncertaintytortvariancetthattleadsttotover
runstintprojecttschedules.tIncreasingt complexitytandtsc
opetoftthetsystemtundertdevelopmenttexacerbatestthese
thazards.tThesetchallengestexisttbecausettheytaretdiffic
ultttot plantfortandtmanagetontatreal-
timetbasis.tThetgoaltoftthistpapertisttotshowthowtthetco
ncepttoftdesigntiterationstandtthetDSMtmodelingtmeth
odologythelptaddresstsometoftthesetproblems.
3 Thet Conceptt oft Designt Iterations
Manytoftthetchallengestnotedtabovetaretcapturedti
ntthetconcepttoftiterationstintthetdesigntprocess.tHeretIt
providetantoverviewtoftthistconcept.tRealizingtthetrolet
oftiterationtastatscheduletrisktdrivertandtastatbarrierttot
cyclettimetreductiontmotivatestthetneedtforttractabletm
ethodstthattaccounttfortiterationtandthelptmanagerstfoc
ustresourcestappropriately.
Designtiterationtimpliestreworktortrefinement,tretu
rningttotpreviouslytworkedtactivitiesttotaccounttfortcha
nges.tThistreworktcantstemtfromtnewtinformationtand/
ortfailurettotmeettdesigntobjectivest[5].tNewtinformati
ontfortantactivitytcomestfrom:
1) Upstreamtactivitiestcausingtantactivity’st inputstt
otchanget(oftentthetresulttoftantiterationtcausingt
atsecondtpasstthroughtsometparttoftthet process,t
ortatchangetintexternallytsuppliedtrequirementsta
nd/ortassumptions),
2) Concurrent,tcoupledtactivities,tcausingtantactivit
y’stinputsttotchange,toftentastsharedtassumption
stchange,tand
3) Downstreamtactivitiestcausingtant activity’stinpu
tsttotchange,tasterrorstandtincompatibilitiestaretd
iscovered.t [6]
Worktdonetlatert(downstream)tintthetprocess—
particularlytverificationtandtvalidationtactivities—
oftentrevealstaspectstoftseeminglytcompletedt(upstream
)tactivitiestthattmusttbetreworkedt[7-
10].tReworktcantalsotbetgeneratedtbytchangestintthetin
formationtprovidedttotandtreceivedtfromtconcurrent,tint
erdependentt(coupled)tactivities.t Fortexample,tteamtAt
needsttotknowtwhattvaluestteamtBthastsettfortparamete
rstxtandty;tteamtBtneedsttotknowtwhattvaluestteamtCti
stusingtfortparameterstwtandtz;tbuttteamtCtneedsttotkn
owtthetresulttoftteamtA’stactivitiesttotdeterminetwtandt
z.tThesetdesigntissuestaretsometimestcalledt“chickenta
ndtegg”tproblems,tandtthetgroupstthattworkt totsolvetth
emtaret calledt coupledtteams.t The
setsecondtordertreworktfortinterimtactivitiest(thosetbetweentt
hetupstreamtandtdownstreamtactivitiestdirectlytinvolvedtintt
hetiteration).tHence,tinputtchangesttotactivitiestcantgeneratet
newtinformationtandtforcetiterationtintthetprocess.
Iterationtalsotresultstfromtnottmeetingtthetdesiredtdesign
tobjectives.tIterationthastbeentdefinedtast“thetrepetition
toftactivitiesttotimprovetantevolvingtdesign”t[11].tFailu
rettotconvergettotdesigntspecificationstcantrequiretrewo
rkingtupstreamtactivitiesttiedttotthetarea(s)toftshortfall.t
Notetthattsuchtinsufficiencytint thetdesigntistmoretlikel
ytwhentrequirementstandtobjectivestaretunstabletortoth
erwisetpronettotmodification.tSuchtinstabilitytresultstfr
omtchangingtemphasistontknowntobjectivestand/ortthet
additiontoftnewtobjectives.
Severaltstudiesthavetdocumentedtiterationteffectsta
stkeytdriverstoftoveralltdevelopmenttcyclettimet[2,t3,t1
2-
t18].tIntparticular,tOsbornetfoundtthatt iterationtaccoun
tedtfortbetweent13%tandt70%tofttotaltdevelopmentttim
etfortsemiconductortdevelopmenttactivitiestattIntel.t He
talsotfoundtiterationttot bet thetchieftcausetoftcyclettim
etvariabilitytattthetfirm.
Thetiterationtperspectivethelpstcapturetandtquantif
ytdriverstoftcost,tschedule,tandtperformancet(designtqu
ality)tvariabilitytintdesignt programs.t Tightlytcoupled,t
highlytiterativetproducttdevelopmenttprocessestcantexp
ecttgreatertdifficultytconvergingttotantacceptabletdesign
tundertatgiventscheduletandtbudget.tTotmovettowardst
consistenttsuccess,tproducttdevelopmenttprojectstshoul
dtstrivettotinsuretthat,ttotatgreatertextent,ttheirtdesigntit
erationstaretstrategicallytplannedtrathertthantthetresultt
oftseeminglytrandomtchance.
Intlighttoftthistobjective,tittistusefulttotdividetiterat
iontintthetproducttdevelopmenttprocesstintottwotcatego
ries:
1) Intentionaltiterations,tpurposelyt performedti
ntatcoupledtdesigntprocessttotconvergettotatdesir
abletsolutiont(i.e.,timprovetdesigntqualityttotatde
siredtlevel),tand
2) Unintentionalt iterations,tresultingtfromtnewt
informationtarrivingtlatetintthetprocesst(causedtb
ytouttoftsequencetactivities,tfluidtrequirementsto
rtdesigntgoals,tmistakes,tetc.).2
3
Thetfirsttstepttowardstreducingtproducttdevelopme
nttcyclettimetandtvariationtliestint minimizingtunintenti
onaltiterations.t Thistconsiststoftinsuringtthattthetrightti
nformationtistavailabletatt thetrightt placetattthetrighttti
me;tactivitiestaretproperlytsequenced,tgiventrelevanttco
nstraints;tresourcestaretavailablettotthetactivitiestwhent
needed;trequirementstaretfirmtastquicklytastpossible;tan
dtmistakestaretminimized.
Thetnexttstepttowardstacceleratingtthetdesigntcycle
tinvolvesttwotbasictoptionstfortmanagingtintentionaltite
rations:
1) Fastertiterations,t and
2) Fewertiterations.t [20]
Fastertiterationstcantbetachievedtby,te.g.,tCADtsyste
mstthattacceleratetindividualtactivities,tsimulationtandta
nalysisttoolstthattreducetdependencetonttime-
tconsumingtprototype/testtcycles,timprovedtintragroupt
coordinationtfortteamstassignedttotindividualtactivities,t
concurrenttengineeringtortIPPD,tintegrationtoftengineer
ingtanalysisttoolstusedtfortdisparatetactivities,tandtremo
valtoftextraneoustactivitiestfromtthetprocesst[20].tAtstu
dytbytEisenhardttandtTabrizit[18]tandtatmodeltbytGeba
latandtEppingert[13]tfindtthattadditionalt(becausettheyt
aretfaster)titerationstaretsignificantlytcorrelatedtwithtfas
tertproducttdevelopment.tFewertiterationstmaytbetpossi
bletby,te.g.,timprovedtactivitytsequencing,timprovedtint
erteamt(interactivity)tcoordination,tco-
locationtoftthosetexecutingthighlytinterdependenttactivi
ties,tandtimprovedtassumptionst(learning)tabouttotherta
ctivities.tHowever,tfewertiterationstcantmeantlesstdesig
ntquality,tortattleasttatgreatertrisktthattthetdesigntwilltn
ottconvergettotthetdesiredttargets.tFastertiterationstredu
cetthistrisk,tsincetmoretiterationstimprovetthetchancetth
attthetdesigntwilltconvergettotacceptabletmultiattributet
performancetlevelst(alltelsetbeingtequal).tIntbothtcases,
thowever,tthetquality,tgain,tortproductivitytofteachtitera
tiontistimportantt[21].tFewertiterationstmighttmaketsen
setifteachtonetistoftsufficienttproductivityttotensuretacc
eptabletoutput.tFastertiterationstwilltonlytbetadvantage
oustifteachtactivitytcantbetacceleratedtwhiletcontinuing
ttotproducetsatisfactorytoutputs.
4 IntroductionttotDSM-
BasedtProcesstModelingt Methodology
Thistsectiontprovidestantextremelytbrieftoverviewt
oftthetoriginstoftDSMstandtthetkeysttotDSMtmethodol
ogy.tDSMstcanttracettheirtdevelopmentttotseveraltsetst
oftroots.tPerhapstthetprimarytsourcet oftDSMtconceptst
growstfromteffortsttotsolvetsystemstoftequationstintthet
latet1950standt1960s.
 A

A B
A
t B
B
(a) Dependent
(b) Independent (c) Interdependent
t(Serial)
t(Parallel) t(Coupled)

A B A B A B
At A A A A A 
Bt  B B B B  B
Figuret 1:tActivityt Networkst andt DSMt Equivalents

Theseteffortstexpandedtintotareastsuchtastmatrixtm 5 Diagramstadaptedtfromt[31,t42].
athematicst[e.g.,t22].t However,tDSMtconceptstaretalso
trelatedttotnetworktprecedencetdiagramst[e.g.,t23,t24]ta
ndtnetworktrelationshiptdiagramst[e.g.,t25].tSystemsten
gineerstfamiliartwithtinterface-to-interfacet(N-to-
NtortN2)tdiagramst[26]twilltalsotrecognizettheirtsimilar
ityttotDSMs.
Formaltdefinitiontandtapplicationtoftthesetconcepts
ttotdesigntprocesstissuestcametint1981,twhentStewardt
describedtthet“designtstructuretmatrix”t[27,t28].tInt198
9,tRogerstattNASAtbuilttsoftwarettotaidt intanalyzingts
uchtmatricest[29].tActualtusetintindustrytsettingstbegan
taboutt1990,tastseveraltprofessorstandtstudentstattthet
MassachusettstInstitutetoftTechnologyt(MIT)tbuilttrese
archtaroundtthetdesigntstructuretmatrixtandtexpandedtit
stapplications,3tastsummarizedtint[39].tIntthetlasttfewty
ears,tthistworkthastexpandedtbeyondtMITttotindustryta
ndtothertuniversities,4tandt thetresultingtneedtfortatmor
etgeneraltnamethastledttotthettermtdependencytstructur
etmatrix,twhichtretainstthetinitialismt“DSM”tlefttovertf
romtSteward’stwork.
ThetDSMtistatsquaretmatrixtwithtonetrowtandtcol
umntpertactivity.tThetactivitiestaretlistedtintroughlytchr
onologicaltorder,twithtupstreamtortearlytactivitiestliste
dtintthetuppertrows.tDiagonaltelementstaretplaceholder
stintatsimpletDSM,tandtoff-
diagonaltelementstindicatetactivitytinterfaces.tFiguret1t
showstthetnetworktflowcharttandtDSMtrepresentationst
oftbasictactivitytrelationships.5tBecausetoft thet tempor
altorderingtoftthetactivities,tsubdiagonaltmatrixtelement
stshowt feedforwardt informationt (sucht ast thet flowt fr
om

3t [5,t 12,t 16,t 17,t 20,t 30-38]

4t [e.g.,t 40,t 41]

4
activitytAttotactivitytBtintthetserialt case).tSuperd
iagonaltelementstindicatetfeedback,tthetpotentialtf
ortiterationtandtreworktintthetprocess.tThus,t iftac
tivitiestintrowst(andtcorrespondingtcolumns)titand
tjtoftthetDSMthavetnotdirecttinterfaces,tentriestijt
andtjit intthetmatrixtwilltbetzerotortempty.tIf,tontt
hetotherthand,tbothtentriestijtandtjitaretfilled,tthist
indicatesttwo-
waytinterdependencytortcouplingtbetweentthetacti
vities.tUsuallytthistpointsttotsometkindtoft“chicke
ntandtegg”tproblem,toftwhichtmanytexisttintcomp
lext systemtdesign.tTraditionaltPERT/CPMtmetho
dstandtGantttchartstdotnottadequatelytrepresenttth
esettypestoftrelationshipstandttheirteffects.
Thetfollowingtistatsimpletexample,tshowingt
atDSMtfortatfamiliartprocess,tputtingtontsockstan
dtshoest(Figuret2).6tInformationtandtprecedencetr
elationshipstflowtintatcounter-
clockwisetdirectiontintthetmatrix,tsotthetmarkstbe
lowtthetdiagonaltimply,tfortinstance,tthatt“gettsoc
ks”tmusttprecedet“puttontsocks,”tandt“gettshoes”t
musttprecedet“puttontshoes”tandt“inspecttshoes.”t
ThetmarktabovetthetdiagonaltintthetDSMtindicate
stthat,toncetshoesthavetbeentinspected,ttheytmayt
betfoundtwantingt(e.g.,ttootscuffedtuptortthetwro
ngtcolortfortthetclothes),trequiringtantiteration,t“g
ett(new)tshoes.”
Now,tthetgoaltintDSMtanalysistist tot reseque
ncetthetactivitiestsotasttotminimizetiterationstandt
theirtscope.tSincetthetactivitiest“gettshoes”tandt“i
nspecttshoes”taretcoupled,thowever,ttheretistnotw
ayttotreordertthetrowst(andtcolumns)toftthetDSMt
totgettalltthetmarkstbelowtthetdiagonal.tFailingtth
is,twetchangetourtgoalt to

6 ThistfivetactivitytDSMtexampletistadaptedtfromtatpr
esentationtbytStephentDenker,t“AtNewtWayttot Thinkt
AbouttProblems,”tPresentationttotProjecttManagementt
Institutet (PMI),t Bostont Chapter,t 6/19/97.

5
 gettingtanytsuperdiagonaltmarkstastclosettotthetdiagona
ltastpossible,tminimizingtthetscopetoftthetiteration.tIntF
iguret2,toncetwet“gettshoes,”twetgotaheadtandt“puttont
socks”tandt“putt ont shoes”tbeforetwet“inspecttshoes.”t
If,tinstead,twetmovedtthetinspectiontsteptupstream,t ast
intFiguret3,twetminimizetthetimpacttoftatneedttot“gett(
new)tshoes.”t(Essentially,t thist actt oft movingtactivitie
stupstreamtdemonstratestconcurrenttengineering:twetsh
ortentthetfeedbacktlooptintthetprocesstint hopestthattwe
twilltdecreasetthetvariancetinttotaltprocesstleadttime.)t
Whiletintthistexampletwetcouldtnott eliminatetthetiterat
iontentirely,toftentittistpossiblettotreducetthetnumbertof
tpotentialtiterationstsubstantiallytbytresequencingtrowst
andtcolumns.
GETtSOCKStGE
TtSHOEStPUTt 
ONtSOCKStPUT  tperhapstbytputtingtontonet sock,tthentonetshoe,tth
tONtSHOES  
INSPECTtSHOES  
Figuret 2:tDSMtfortthetProcesstoftPu
ttingt ont Sockst andt Shoes
GETtSOCKStGETtSH
OES  netpersontavailabletfortbothtactivities,t wet maytno
INSPECTtSHOEStPUTtONtSO  ttintfacttbetablettotdotbothtattonce.
CKStPUTt ONt SHOES 
 
Figuret 3:tResequencedtDSMtShowstI
mprovedtProcess
ThetDSMtalsotindicatestwhichtactivitiestcantbetac
complishedtintparalleltwithouttcausingtadditionaltiterati
on.tFortexample,tint Figuret3,t “gettsocks”tandt“gettsho
es”tcantbetdonetsimultaneously,tastcant“inspecttshoes”t
andt“puttontsocks”t(iftwethavetenoughtresources!).tSo
metimestplannerstchoosetactivitiesttotworktintparallelt
withouttfirsttconsideringttheirtinformationtdependencies
,twhichtcantresulttintadditionaltiterationtandtthus,tmore,
tnottless,tcyclettime.
ThetDSMtintroductiontintthistsectiontist verytsimp
le.tWhilettimetandtspacetdotnottpermittatfulltdiscussion
tandtassimilationtoftalltapplicablettheorytandtpractice,tt
hetfollowingtpointstwillthelptguidetfurthertinquirytandt
moretsophisticatedtusetoftDSMtmodels:
6
 Offtdiagonaltelementstdotnotthavettotbinaryt(i.e.,tp
resenttortnot):ttheytcantbetnumberstfromt0ttot1,tfr
omt0ttot9,tetc.t Thesetnumberstcantconveytanytoft
atnumbertoftbitstoftinformationtregardingtthetinter
faces,tsuchtastprobabilitytoftiteration,tpercenttrewo
rk,tamounttoftdatatflow,ttypetoftdatatflow,tsensitiv
ityttotchangetintinputttotdownstreamtactivity,tetc.t
Fortinstance,tint thetexamplet above,tiftthetprobabi
litytofthavingttotredotthet“gettshoes”tsteptaftertthet
resultstoftthet“inspecttshoes”tsteptaretintistestimate
dttotbet0.4,tthistnumbertcouldtreplacetthetsuperdia
gonaltsquare.
 Activitiestneedtnottbetlimitedttot“finish-to-
start”ttypetrelationships;ti.e.,tactivitiestcantbetparti
allytoverlappedtintcertaintcases,talthoughtthesetdec
isionstshouldtbetbasedtontthetnaturetoftinformation
tproductiontandtusetbytthetupstreamtandtdownstre
amtactivities,trespectivelyt[43].tFortexample,t“putt
ontsocks”tandt“puttontshoes”tcouldtbetoverlapped,
entthetothertsock,tthentthetothertshoe.
Activitytdurationstmaytbetplacedtintthetdiagonaltel
ementstoftthetDSM,tandtthistalongtwithtthetknowl
edgetoftserial,tparallel,tandtcoupledtactivitiestcantl
eadttotroughtcriticaltpathtcalculations.
 Activitiestcapabletoftexecutiontintparalleltfromtant
informationtflowtperspectivetmaytyettbetheldtuptb
ytresourcetconstraints.tAtmoretcompletetanalysist
musttaccounttfortthesetconstraints.tFort example,tt
hetDSMtabovetindicatestthatt“gettsocks”tandt“gett
shoes”tcantoccurtintparallel.tButtiftwetonlythaveto
5tDSMt Capabilitiest andt Advantagestfo
rtCycletTimetReduction
Thet DSMt hast numeroust advantages,t buttperhapstt
hettwotgreatesttonestare:
 Conciset representationtoftcomplextprocesses,
providingtatsystemstview,tand
 Cleartrenderingtoftpotentialtiterationtintsuchtproce
sses.
Othertadvantagestandtcapabilitiestinclude:
 Atdescriptiontoftatprocesstthattcantbetanalyzedtand
tmodifiedttotprovidetat prescriptiontfortatprocesstw
ithtreducedtscheduletrisktandtcyclettime.
 Atmeansttot moret accuratelyt managet schedulet and
anticipatetscheduletrisk.
 Atsystemstviewtoftprojecttactivitiestandttheirtrelati
onshipstwhichtdrivetcyclettime.
 Atmodeltdemonstr s.
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7
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8