Engineering and Product Development Management: The Holistic Approach

Book Review

Reviewed by Gus Gillespie, P.Eng, FCMC

Book Title: Engineering and Product Development Management: The Holistic Approach
Stephen C. Armstrong, P.Eng, C.Eng, FIMechE, CMC; Cambridge University Press: 2001. (248 pages, plus 77 pages of appendices; US$55.00, available through "Books for Business" and elsewhere.)

One of the greatest challenges facing companies that develop, manufacture and sell complex products is bringing their new offerings to market on time, on budget and as specified. In spite of its importance, and the great volume of material available on different aspects of the problem, there has been little practical guidance for managing the overall process. With this book, Stephen Armstrong has made a major contribution to closing the gap.

In this tightly crafted work, Mr. Armstrong presents his condensation of twenty years experience as an engineer, an engineering manager and a management consultant focused on bringing highly complex products to market as fast and effectively as possible. Much of his experience has been gained working with aircraft companies around the world. The products of these companies are among the most technically sophisticated and complex machines devised by man, and they are sold in a highly competitive global market. The costs of developing such products is staggering, and companies are literally "betting the farm" with every new product development project. There is no tolerance for errors, omissions or delays - development projects must succeed.

The solution offered by Mr. Armstrong is "a holistic approach": one that looks at all dimensions of the product development challenge and draws on a broad set of management disciplines to ensure the challenge is met. In the first section of his book, Mr. Armstrong sets the stage by concisely describing the holistic approach and the six bodies of knowledge needed to support it: Integrated Product Development, Project/Program Management, Process Management, Organizational Change/Political Management, Product Data Management and Systems Engineering.

In the main body of the work, Mr. Armstrong explains how to apply these diverse bodies of management knowledge to the problem of product development. This section is rich with examples of techniques, tools and practical applications drawn from real product development projects. Although the context is usually that of a large project in a large company, the descriptions are readily applicable to smaller organizations with equally critical need for successful product development projects.

In his final section, Mr. Armstrong offers a blueprint for establishing the holistic approach to product development in any company, large or small. In it, he offers one of the most cogent and compelling discussions on overcoming resistance to change that I have encountered anywhere. This is, in itself, well worth the price of the book.