Communication and uncertainty in concurrent engineering
Article Abstract:
An analytical model of concurrent engineering incorporating communication and uncertainty is developed. This analysis aims to determine how much to overlap activities based on the project features and how to organize the concurrent activities. The model offers a dynamic decision rule for ascertaining the optimal meeting schedule, where the optimal meeting frequency is determined by the frequency of engineering changes over time and rises as the uncertainty and dependence levels increase. The optimal concurrency between activities when communication conforms to the aforementioned optimal pattern is derived. Concurrency becomes less desirable with uncertainty and dependence, thereby minimizing the optimal overlap. Finally, the communication-concurrency interaction may generate local optima in the problem of determining the time-cutting overlap level, which requires substantial process redesign.
Publication Name: Management Science
Subject: Business, general
ISSN: 0025-1909
Year: 1998
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A foundation for the study of group decision support systems
Article Abstract:
Group decision support systems (GDSS) aid in group formulation and solution of unstructured problems through a combination of communication, computing, and decision support technologies. Three levels of GDSS are described from an information-exchange perspective. GDSS research is in the course of evolving from simple 'shell' systems research to consideration of sophisticated rule-based systems. Three GDSS environmental design contingencies are identified: (1) member proximity, (2) group size, and (3) the task that the group confronts. Six GDSS research areas are identified: (1) design; (2) information exchange patterns; (3) mediating influences of participation; (4) effects of interpersonal attraction, group cohesion, and perceived physical proximity; (5) effects on influence and power; and (6) the tradeoff between performance and satisfaction.
Publication Name: Management Science
Subject: Business, general
ISSN: 0025-1909
Year: 1987
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