All change at IBM

Organisations are implementing change in response to external pressures imposed by competition, customers, suppliers and the more innovative ways in which people want to work. Change aims to promote growth and this will be achieved through some combination of better products, keener prices, accelerated time to market and so on. The examination for change is very likely to offer opportunities for both new products and services. One of the many providers of high technology products is IBM. The Storage Systems Division (SSD) of IBM brings products to market using the skills of multiple sites. The Havant Development Group, which the article focuses on, develops storage subsystems and associated technology for IBM´s RISC System/6000 workstation products. The site at Havant is now owned by a newly formed company Xyratex, after a recent management buyout. However, approximately 100 development staff still remain as IBM employees who stay as tenants on the site. Change at the Havant site has included the adoption of a number of concurrent engineering tools and techniques. The article discusses some of the techniques, focusing on team working, engineering data management and project tracking during new product development.