Planning for design

Carlos Andrés Miranda 1

Planning for design
The goal of project planning is to formalize the process so that a product is developed in a timely
and cost-effective manner.

2
Planning for design
Planning is the process used to develop a scheme for scheduling and committing the resources of
time, money, and people.

3
Planning for design

4
Planning for design
Planning generates a procedure for developing needed information and distributing it to the correct
people at the correct time.

Important information includes product requirements, concept sketches, system functional

diagrams, solid models, drawings, material selections, and any other representation of decisions
made during the development of the product.

Most companies have a generic process (i.e., a master plan) that they customize for specific
products: Product Development Process PDP.

5
Planning for design

6
Planning for design
Types of project plans

7
Planning for design
Types of project plans

• The stage-gate process

8
Planning for design
Types of project plans

• The waterfall model

9
Planning for design
Types of project plans

• Spiral development of
mechanical systems

10
11
Planning for design
Types of project plans

12
Planning for design
Building a plan

A project plan is a document that defines the tasks that need to be completed during the design
process.

For each task, the plan states the objectives; the personnel requirements; the time requirements;
the schedule relative to other tasks, projects, and programs; and, sometimes, cost estimates.

In essence, a project plan is a document used to keep that project under control.

13
Planning for design
Building a plan

14
Planning for design
Building a plan

• Step 1: Identify the task

As the design team gains an understanding of the design problem, the tasks needed to bring the
problem from its current state to a final product become clearer.

The tasks should be made as specific as possible, they should focus on what needs to be achieved
rather than the activities.

15
Planning for design
Building a plan

• Step 2: State the objective for each task

Each task must be characterized by a clearly stated objective. This objective takes some existing
information about the product—the input—and, through some activity, refines it for output to
other tasks.

Even though tasks are often initially conceived as activities to be performed, they need to be refined
so that the results of the activities are the stated objectives.

16
Planning for design
Building a plan

• Step 2: State the objective for each task.

Each task objective must be:

✓ Defined as information to be refined or developed and communicated to others, not as activities

to be performed. This information is contained in deliverables, such as completed drawings,
prototypes built, results of calculations, information gathered, or tests performed. If the
deliverables cannot be itemized, the objective is not clear.

✓ Presented in terms of the decisions that need to be made and who will be involved in making
them.

17
Planning for design
Building a plan

• Step 2: State the objective for each task.

Each task objective must be:

✓ Easily understood by all on the design team.

✓ Specific in terms of exactly what information is to be developed.

✓ Feasible, given the personnel, equipment, and time available.

18
Planning for design
Building a plan

• Step 3: Estimate the personnel, time, and other resources needed to meet the objectives

For each task, it is necessary to identify who on the design team will be responsible for meeting
the objectives, what percentage of their time will be required, and over what period they will
be needed.

19
Planning for design
Building a plan

• Step 3:

20
Planning for design
Building a plan

• Step 3: Estimate the personnel, time, and other resources needed to meet the objectives

The distribution of time across the phases of the design process is generally in the following ranges:

✓ Project planning: 3 to 5%
✓ Specification definition: 10 to 15%
✓ Conceptual design: 15 to 35%
✓ Product development: 50 to 70%
✓ Product support: 5 to 10%

21
Planning for design
Building a plan

• Step 4: Develop a sequence for the tasks

For each task, it is essential to identify its predecessors, which are the tasks that must be done
before it, and the successors, the tasks that can only be done after it.

By clearly identifying this information, the sequence of the tasks can be determined. A method
called the CPM (Critical Path Method) helps determine the most efficient sequence of tasks.

22
Planning for design
Building a plan

• Step 4: Develop a sequence for the tasks

23
Planning for design
Building a plan

• Step 4: Develop a sequence for the tasks

In developing the task sequence pay attention to task dependencies.

Three types of task sequences (serial, parallel coupled, and parallel uncoupled) can be discovered
by using a Design Structure Matrix (DSM).

24
Planning for design
Building a plan

• Step 4: Develop a sequence for the tasks

25
Planning for design
Building a plan

• Step 5: Estimate the product development costs

The planning document generated here can also serve as a basis for estimating the cost of designing
the new product.

The cost to the project is more than just salaries, as all companies add on a “burden” that covers
the costs of buildings, utilities, support personnel, and general equipment.

Most mechanical design projects require physical prototypes and test facilities, computer costs to
support CAD, simulation, meeting support, and other needs. Travel costs must be included in
planning.
26
Planning for design
Building a plan

27
Planning for design
Exercise

En el marco del proyecto de diseño, fabricación, instalación y puesta en marcha de un accionamiento electromecánico para una banda
trasportadora de mineral de hierro, Desarrollar una matriz de estructura de diseño para identificar el orden de las tareas, y generar un
borrador del correspondiente diagrama de Gantt. Nota: Se muestran solo algunas de las tareas o subtareas del proyecto.

• Tarea A: Cálculo de los engranajes del reductor.

• Tarea B: Pruebas en vacío del variador de frecuencia en sitio de operación.
• Tarea C: Instalación del freno.
• Tarea D: Selección de los cojinetes de los ejes del reductor.
• Tarea E: Fabricación de los ejes del reductor.
• Tarea F: Selección del motor principal.
• Tarea G: Puesta en marcha del sistema.
• Tarea H: Manufactura de la carcasa del reductor.
• Tarea I: Emisión de planos de ensamble.
• Tarea J: Adquisición de materiales y equipos.

28