NPD project schedules-great works of fiction

This paper presents the results of a study of the planning and scheduling of NPD projects within five high technology firms. The ability of these firms to release new products according to schedule and also the most common reasons for missing schedule deadlines are examined. Particular attention is paid to the scheduling of NPD projects and the application of formal project scheduling techniques. Initial results suggest that traditional project scheduling tools and techniques are not adequate when scheduling high-risk, high-technology projects. Project managers typically do not plan accurately and fail to anticipate changing customer requirements resulting in consistently over optimistic delivery dates. A discussion on whether NPD projects are delivered behind schedule because original schedules are inaccurate or because of poor project management helps to clarify the situation.