This thesis describes the results of research aimed at exploring the relationship between three different practices to improve product development: Concurrent Engineering (CE), New Product Development (NPD), and Project Management (PM). The literature on each approach is abundant, yet studies explaining their inter-relationship are scanty and contradictory. Therefore, the main contribution of this thesis is explanation and clarification of contradictory theories and perspectives. In exploring this relationship four cases studies were developed in companies that were applying these practices. Principles of the grounded theory and qualitative research were applied to gather and analyse data. The results suggest that CE, NPD, and PM are relatively different in practice and purpose and therefore they can be complementary to each other. However, because of a lack of clearer definitions and boundaries they are sometimes considered competing approaches, as has been observed both in the literature and in practice. CE, NPD, and PM were difficult to perceive as a sub-component one of the other as has been suggested in the literature. Rather, inter-linked process models seemed to better explain how the inter-relationship was understood and applied. The data gathered from the case studies suggest cause-effect relationships that may guide practitioners to implement or improve their product development practices. The investigation explores the essence, purpose and the knowledge generation process of CE, NPD and PM. It is suggested that NPD has a higher level of maturity than CE and NPD. This suggestion and the corresponding discussion is thought to be a contribution of current philosophical debates on the subject areas thereby nurturing the research agenda.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:444981 |
| Date | January 2007 |
| Creators | Miranda, Adán López |
| Publisher | University College London (University of London) |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | http://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/1446455/ |
Page generated in 0.0079 seconds