Engineering Project Management (UFMF77-15M)

Teradyne Corporation: The Jaguar Project

Thanapas Buranapichet

Student Number: 20016759

Abstract
The Jaguar project [1] determined from the start that it would expand on the existing concept from
traditional execution, as well as incorporate more comprehensive and robust up-front planning and
make use of monitoring and reporting tools. This approach to product development was supposed to
make it easier to identify and correct problems. Nevertheless, parts of the project struggled to deliver
on schedule with an effective product, and ran over budget.
This paper displays Teradyne's implementation and application of PRINCE2 to project management
and the project team during the development of a new generation tester. Significant hardware and
software systems are involved in the development.

Content Pages

Introduction ………………………………………………………………………. 2

Implementation of the Jaguar project utilising PRINCE2 …………………………….. 2

Conclusion ………………………………………………………………………. 5

Reference ………………………………………………………………………. 6

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Introduction
Teradyne's senior management decided to make a pivotal change in strategy in the critical year of
2001. Jaguar, the project's codename, symbolised how important the project is to the company's
competitive strategy and proposed the creation of a single flexible tester platform. In the case study,
it is emphasised that "from the outset, it was recognised that the project had to execute flawlessly."[1]
Accordingly, the Jaguar project is expected to be more focused on managerial strategy, which did not
occur in Teradyne's traditional project. The strategy included:
 Increasing emphasis on foreseeable planning and design.
 Reorganisation of project team structure.
 The implementation of the project management plan.
 The utilisation of project management tools to improve product development activities. 
 Managing each stage by phases.
The Jaguar project also incorporated project management tools into both the hardware and software
subsystems to help complete the project on time, with efficiency, and to the customer's satisfaction.
The project management tools consisted of:
 Work Breakdown Structure
 3-Point Estimation
 Critical Path Analysis
 Earn Value Analysis 
 Project Scheduling Program
A mixture of these tools called Primavera. As a result, the hardware was operated at the right pace
and completed on time. On the other hand, the software development was lagging behind schedule.

This paper will represent the application of the PRINCE2 to the Jaguar project, demonstrating how
different the project management strategy would have been if PRINCE2 principles [2] and processes
[3] had been used instead of the strategy used in the Jaguar project.

Implementation of the Jaguar project utilising PRINCE2

The core features of the PRINCE2 methodology are focused on Business justification, describing the
framework of an organisation. Furthermore, there is an emphasis on breaking down the project into
manageable and controllable levels. It also requires necessary control over project resources and the
effective identification of project risks. The PRINCE2 process-based [4] approach is project
management. Project management is the process of PDCA [Figure1], planning, doing, checking, and
acting on all aspects of a project.

Figure1: Project Management according to PRINCE2

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To Starting up a Project, this process requires the presence of a Project Mandate, which specifies the
basis for the project and the desired outcome in high-level terms. Furthermore, the project team's
roles and responsibilities are appointed. A project brief, which in the Jaguar project means Work
Breakdown Structure, is prepared, explaining what the project would attempt to accomplish and
detailing the business justification.

The Jaguar project was able to identify and clearly lay out the customer's requirements and scope,
outlining the proposed system architecture, design and functional specification for the critical
subsystem, target performance specification and the project execution plan. The system delivery date
was also finalised at the beginning. Despite an unfortunate situation, the customer was about to
commit to a competitor's system. Hence, the deadline was pushed back to March 30, three months
earlier, and a new requirement was added.

Otherwise, Teradyne and the customer should agree on the project initiation document that no
significant changes to the specifications or due date will be permitted. Furthermore, the document
should be signed off before beginning a project.

In the Jaguar project, each employee assigned a specific set of tasks [Figure2]. The management team
defined roles and appointed Jack O'Brian as a project leader. Each subteam manager was also formed
as a coreteam to keep track of their team's progress. Moreover, each subteam was responsible for
pivoting tasks, subtasks, or subsystems. Higher management met with lower management on a
regular basis, once a week via teleconference and once a month in person, to ensure that everyone
was on the same page.

Figure2: Organisation Chart of the Jaguar Project. [1]

Nevertheless, the Jaguar team lacked the necessary experience that would allow them to develop
FLEX upon the IG-XL operation system, as the majority of the developers had never worked with
the IG-XL. It caused the delay in which the software team output was running approximately at 50%
earn value per month, and the management did not act to fix this issue. They realised when it is too
late that there had been a massive delay in the software subsystems. The only thing they could do
was add more software engineers and resources to the project several times without analysing why
the project was behind schedule. Furthermore, proper training and providing the lesson learned did
not determine when the inclement of resources occurred.

The management team and the coreteam should scan for lessons, record the lessons as a log, and
apply the lessons throughout the project's lifespan to break through these issues. Furthermore, they
can also learn from other projects which were similar to the Jaguar project and look for their previous
lesson report to reduce project risks and avoid making the same mistake. The additional engineers
should be trained in advance on the tools and systems they will use and develop to maximise
potential and benefit.

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In addition, the overall strategy has been determined, and the next step of the project has been
prepared. Once this work is completed, the project board is asked to approve and authorise the next
step of the project's initiation.

The following stage expands on the work done during the startup process, and the project brief has
been enhanced to form a Business case. The approach is taken to ensure the project's tolerance has
been decided upon collectively by Teradyne and the customer, as has the overall plan for project
controls. As an overall plan for the project, a project plan has also been developed.

PRINCE2 suggests that projects should be divided into stages, with instructions on how each stage
should be controlled, and progress monitored and reported to the project board. This significantly
involves the way in which work packages have been approved and obtained. The Earn Value
Analysis should be applied at this stage to compare actual progress to expected resources.

The collaboration of two teams to develop IG-XL (Boston team) and FLEX (Agoura team) caused
some friction. Both of them could collaborate, which means that if one team gets stuck on
development, the other can help. Otherwise, the other team would be unable to continue processing.

On the other hand, all projects must have a minimum of two management stages, one for the project
initiation and project execution. The first stage of project initiation is project planning. The project
should then be reassessed before deciding whether or not to move forward with the execution stage.
When completing a project, avoid attempting to do everything at once. Instead, divide the process
into sections and plan out the entire thing to assign different roles to different people. Furthermore,
this lack of experience with the IG-XL system should be utilised to assist the project leader in
ensuring that the product is delivered within the tolerance agreed upon with the project board.

These project issues should be captured and reviewed, and how corrective action should be taken has
been suggested. It also defines how specific project issues should be escalated to the project board.

Teradyne could not commit to the deadline because the software subsystem was running only 50%
earn value per month. Finally, when the judgement date arrived, the system was barely operational.
Furthermore, it cannot incorporate all of the features and contains a significant number of bugs. In
addition, the estimated cost of the project development fund was exceeded [Figure3].

Schedule Varience (SV) measures as the deviation between BCWP and BCWS illustrate a negative number that mean the project is behind schedule.
Cost Varience (CV) measures as the deviation between BCWP and ACWP illustrate a negative number that mean the project is over cost.

Figure3: The Deviation of Plan and Cost of the Project. [1]

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The project management team should define the project's constraints so that the project leader can
work within allocations. Cost, time, quality, scope, benefits, and risk are all factors to consider.[5]
When the project exceeds these constraints, an exception report must be produced to assist the
project management team in determining the project's ongoing viability.

Notably, the Directing a Project should be defined for the key decision-making that the customer
decided to give Teradyne a chance but must commit to a new deadline of June 30 to March 30, 2004.
Moreover, the customer added a new requirement to the system, which should not be augmented in
any way.

In comparison to traditional execution, Teradyne concentrated on planning tools. Some of these

planning tools included RPD (Revolutionizing Product Development), APP (Aggregate Project
Planning), and After-Action reviews. As a traditional result, Jaguar decided not to concentrate on
tools but rather on the end result or goal, which is the key product specification and requirement.
They completed their deliverables on time. The utilisation of Primavera to communicate and track
project status, as well as to identify critical issues.

The Primavera and project management tools were unable to be tailored. Each subteam should
adhere to the tasks assigned to them. The software team continued to experiment with several project
management documents in order to adjust the project plan, but the tools were insufficiently practical
to be implemented successfully.

Changing the approach to ensure that the project is appropriated and supported would result in a
different outcome. Furthermore, bureaucracy should be reduced and limited.

Finally, every project, including the Jaguar project, should be evaluated after completion, providing
End Project Report and lesson report. People management in the organisation, as well as strong
resistance from the people, should have been managed professionally through human management
skills and support a change to move forward more rapidly. Furthermore, too much reliance on tools
can limit humans' ability to perform at their best. In the worst-case scenario, it can reduce people's
intelligence, so more emphasis should be placed on developing a tool or tools that are simple to use
and effective.

Conclusion
The PRINCE2 methodology is used in this paper to implement an approach for the Jaguar project to
review and monitor signs of progress of the new testing software based on a single flexible tester
platform on a daily basis. It is remarkable that the outcome should be significantly different from that
used in the Jaguar. Furthermore, there is an emphasis on distributing the project into manageable and
controllable stages. Conclusively, as Manage by Exception Principle, it has excellent control over
project resources and effectively identifies project risks.

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References
[1] Gino, F., & Pisano, G. (2006) HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL. Teradyne corporation: The jaguar
project. 606-042. [Accessed 1 April 2021]

[2] Tallyfy. How to Use Prince2 For Project Management [5+ Principles]. Available from:
https://tallyfy.com/prince2/ [Accessed 2 May 2021]

[3] Malsam, W. (2018) PRINCE2: An Introduction to the Project Management Methodology. Available from:
https://www.projectmanager.com/blog/prince2-methodology [Accessed 5 May 2021]

[4] Simion, M. (2011). Project Management is the PDCA. Tailoring PRINCE2 management methodology to
suit the research and development project environment. pp. 321-322 [Accessed 8 May 2021]
[5] ILX Portal. Projects, Principles, Themes, and Processes. PRINCE2 Foundation 6th Edition. S2-1 pp. 16
Available from: https://www.ilxportal.com/sites/bestpractice2/startproduct.asp?
first=true&pac=79b3737cEF8& [Accessed 15 April 2021]

[Figure1] Mazza, G. (2019) Managing inspections in accordance with the PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Act) method.
Available from: https://notifyme.tech/2019/06/05/inspections-pdca-plan-do-check-act/ [Accessed 10 May
2021]