The Management of Information Flow in a High Technology Development Environment
Effective management of a gas turbine development programme under commercial airline pressures demands very careful balancing of two separate cycling commodities. One is experimental engines and component parts or ‘hardware’. The other is data, information and conclusions, hereafter referred to collectively as ‘decisionware’. While techniques for hardware management are well documented, equivalent techniques for planning, monitoring and motivating decisionware activities are less developed. This paper describes experimental methods which have been evolved, and applied to some development activities within the Derby Engine Group of Rolls-Royce Limited. These methods include simulation modelling and performance monitoring of a staff organization and aim to achieve higher combined effectiveness of the two meshing cycles described. The work occupied a period of one man year and has applications in development associated departments outside the original field of study.