Concurrent engineering approach to reducing design delivery time

A common method used to reduce project delivery time is to overlap sequential activities. Evolution and sensitivity characterizations of design activities provide a practical tool for identifying overlapping opportunities. The faster the evolution of information in an activity, the less risky it is to begin a downstream activity before the upstream activity is finalized. Also, the lower the sensitivity to changes in upstream information, the less risky it is to overlap activities. A methodology for determining the evolution and sensitivity of design activities has been developed through a series of expert interviews. The evolution of an activity can be determined by evaluating the levels of design optimization, constraint satisfaction, external information exchange, and standardization. The sensitivity of an activity can be determined by evaluating activity constraints, input variables, and the level of design integration. This framework for characterizing design activities in terms of evolution and sensitivity will lead to significant reductions in project delivery times.