اندازه گیری عملکرد پروژه های "تحقیق و توسعه" در یک پروژه چندگانه، مهندسی همزمان زیست محیطی

An R&D Project can be characterized by its life cycle with three phases of evolution, viz., Project Selection Phase (Screening, Evaluation, Selection), Project Execution Phase (Technology Development, Product Development, Performance Demonstration) and Implementation Phase (Production, Marketing, Sales). The traditional approach of performance measurement deals with each of these phases in isolation. As a result, the evaluation models and performance measurement criteria are separate for each phase. Once a project is selected, all attention is focused on its completion within the stipulated time and cost, without much consideration to either the assumptions made at the time of project selection or the requirements of the implementation phase. As a result, performance measurement system for project execution phase is totally independent of other phases. In an R&D environment with high uncertainty and complexity, coupled with multiple projects competing for limited common resources, use of different models of evaluation at different phases may lead to incorrect assessment and poor overall performance. This paper addresses this important issue and suggests a framework for an Integrated Performance Index encompassing the entire lifecycle of R&D projects. The framework identifies the key factors in each phase of the project lifecycle and integrates them through a formula to derive an Integrated Performance Index that can be used to measure the overall performance of a project at any point of time during its life cycle.

Performance measurement plays an important role in ensuring the project success and its subsequent usefulness to the sponsoring organization. In a controlled environment, the organizational and project performance is known to be sensitive to the metrics of measurement. Hence it is very important to devise appropriate performance measurement system to suite the project and organizational environment. The notion of performance measurement generally implies identification of certain performance metrics and criteria for their computation. Several metrics have been developed to evaluate R&D projects during the selection phase [1], [2] and [3]. Similarly there are well developed metrics for project performance measurement during the execution phase, mostly built around PERT/CPM and the earned value system. But there is no link between the performance metrics of the project selection phase and the project execution phase. Also, there is no explicit link between the performance factors measured during the project execution phase and the factors that may determine the project performance during the implementation phase. These missing linkages may lead to poor overall performance of the project. It is essential to bridge these gaps through an integrated performance measurement system that could be used for all phases of the project life cycle. This paper addresses this important issue and proposes a framework for integrated performance measurement.

The concept of IPI has evolved based on real life experience of the authors with number of large R&D projects. Even though a number of publications appear on the critical success factors for project success, this is probably the first time that an attempt has been made to quantify these factors and integrate them into a project performance indicator. The authors believe that the application of IPI will help the R&D organizations to monitor the performance of R&D projects in a manner that ensures better resource utilization and greater contribution of the projects towards organizational goals.