Mastering Complexity

6

Reducing Cycle Time

When we plan projects, we are likely to hardwire a particular ordering of tasks—what happens sequentially and what occurs concurrently. We describe the way we have always done things (which probably needs to be improved) or the way we would like things to be done (which might not be feasible).

•  If we are used to thinking only in terms of tasks rather than their underlying dependencies, we need to recast our point of view. In projects, we move from a logistics view (managing tasks) to a structural view (managing dependencies).

For example, relationships between design elements describe a product. To design that product, we undertake tasks to set final values for the elements. We carry out these tasks over time. But, ...