Case studies in DSM : utilizing the Design Structure Matrix to improve New Product Introduction

This thesis describes a project that applies the Design Structure Matrix (DSM) in support of the Manufacturing Excellence (MX) program at Cisco Systems, Inc to reduce the cycle time of new product development initiatives (NPI). Because they are inherently iterative with interdependent tasks, NPIs are difficult to manage. Two case studies applying the DSM were performed and used to study the inputs and outputs of the process as well as the dependencies between the process steps. Both case studies indicated that defining product requirements and needs upfront helped to eliminate rework later on in the process. The DSMs also showed that cycle time and standard deviation of cycle time were especially sensitive to interactions between changes in the Bill of Materials (BOM) and other tasks. In fact there was a "tipping point" where reducing the dependency between tasks could yield significant reductions in cycle time and standard deviation of cycle time. More significantly, the case studies highlighted the large number of stakeholders involved in the process and revealed the degree to which engineering and manufacturing must work together to reduce NPI cycle times.

Department dc:contributor.department

Leaders for Manufacturing Program at MIT

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2007

Author dc:creator

• Go, Julie W

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Daniel E. Whitney and Sara L. Beckman.

• Sloan School of Management.
• Engineering Systems Division.
• Leaders for Manufacturing Program.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/39588

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/39588