High-technology Projects Research Articles

The Lavi: Israel's limits to weapons development

On 30 August 1987, the Israeli cabinet, after much debate and by one vote, terminated the further design and production of its advanced Lavi (Young Lion) fighter bomber. With the help of U.S. firms, the Israelis possessed the technical capability of developing and producing the aircraft. The Lavi's backers confronted opposition from some Israeli military and civilian sources and from the United States, which provided much of the financial support for this project. The United States offered Israel alternate high-technology projects to compensate for the Lavi's loss. U.S. leaders most likely would not provide such financial assistance to any other country. This episode has a lesson for other industrializing countries who harbor similar ambitions for advanced weapons development, instructing them to proceed with caution.

Strategic formulation of high technology projects using the support graph

The life cycle of technology projects comprises 10 phases: identification, conception, formulation, feasibility, evaluation, decision, realization, control, termination and post-evaluation. One of the most important phases is formulation, foar which an interdisciplinary tool, the 'support graph', was conceived and used for more than 200 high technology projects in such areas as chemicals, biotechnology, electronics, software (artificial intelligence), telecommuniocation, energy and aerospace. This paper descrones how to build an effective support graph. The general objective, the partial objectives, the tasks and the means are the principal components. The management of change during the implementation of high technology projects is largely facilitated by the use of the support graph. It also creates a common language between the technologists and the managers and gives information on when to alter the goals of a high technology project. Support graphs for an expert system and for a telecommunication proj...

The Construction Market: Japan Slams the Door

America has been fighting a bitter diplomatic and trade battle against blatant protectionism in Japan9s $380 billion per year construction market. Focusing on a new international airport project near Osaka, this article explains why the dispute and its outcome are so crucial. At stake is open U.S. access to hundreds of billions of dollars more in contracts from new Japanese high-technology public works projects that will give the nation a new social infrastructure. If the U.S. continues to be shut out of Japan while Japanese continue to aggressively invade the U.S. and third-country markets, construction could become another major strategic industry in which American corporations will have lost a significant share of the global market.

The natural history of the space shuttle

The proximate causes of the explosion of the space shuttle Challenger were thoroughly investigated by the national commission headed by William Rogers. But a more fundamental understanding of the serious institutional difficulties in which the U.S. space program currently finds itself requires an examination of the shuttle program from a larger perspective. This paper examines the origins of the program and traces later decisions made to reinforce the shuttle's primacy. The view that emerges is of attempts to shore up a bad policy decision with expedients. Implications for future decisions involving high technology projects are discussed.

Managing Creative Individuals in High-Technology Research Projects : IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management

Managing Creative Individuals in High-Technology Research Projects : IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management

European Research Coordination Agency: Communique and Declaration Concerning Cooperation on High Technology Projects

European Research Coordination Agency: Communique and Declaration Concerning Cooperation on High Technology Projects

Concepts and tools for the software life cycle

The life cycle process for large software-intensive systems is an extremely intricate and complex process involving many people performing amid a very large base of evolving computer programs, documentation and data. To be successful, the process must be well conceived, planned and conducted; however, the nature of scientific and other high-technology projects involving large-scale software is such that conceptualization, planning and implementation to the degree of detail required is so laborintensive and unmotivating as to be counter-productive and seldom cost-effective. The tools, techniques and aids needed to engineer, manage and administrate a large software-intensive task are themselves parts of a large software base, and are incurred only at great expense. This paper focuses on the needs of the software life cycle in terms of supporting tools and methodologies. The concept of a distributed network for engineering, management and administrative functions for engineering, management and administrative functions is outlined, and the key characteristics of localized subnets in high-communications-traffic areas of software activity are discussed. A formal, deliberate, structured, systems-engineered approach toward the construction of uniform, coordinated tools is proposed as a means to reduce development and maintenance costs, foster creativity, enhance reliability, promote standardization and sustain human motivation.

The benefits and dilemmas of an international space station

Serious recommendations have been made about the development and mutual manning of an international space station. The achievements of ESA show that such international organizations can work successfully in high technology projects, although with problems. However, other work on isolated and confined environments suggests that sustained cooperation in the unique quarters of a space station for long durations may have special inter-cultural difficulties that need to be examined before any long term commitment is made. Also, a careful look at international activities in general suggests that in spite of the fact that there are many potential benefits for cooperative activities, there are also many international obstacles. If such an effort is to be embarked upon, it is important to look candidly at the problems that can be generated from the multi-national social, economic, and cultural systems in order to do serious and direct analyses. Such a project might be strangled by unanticipated and complex problems of a socio-cultural nature.

Managing creative individuals in high-technology research projects

Based on observations of a unique government-industry-university research project, the authors provide prescriptions for sharpening project management skills in three critical areas: (1) conducting values analysis; (2) adopting an appropriate leadership style; and (3) avoiding or reducing demotivators. Attention to values analysis and goal setting at the outset of a project, utilizing an egalitarian participative leadership style which balances technical and interpersonal concerns, can reduce subsequent demotivation of project staff, and enhance project performance.

Computerized management and control of Mini Metro production

The computerized management of vehicle production is described with particular reference to one subsystem, namely the management of the automated painted body store. Issues that are applicable to other large, high-technology projects are also discussed.

Co-operation and Diversification

This paper is intended to illustrate some of the new features of design management which are likely to be particularly important for the large, high technology organisations.The two subjects that have been chosen for discussion are co-operation, both national and international; and diversification. The need to consider both of these subjects arises from the same cause; the general economic climate and the increasing complexity and cost of high technology projects. The complexity and more particularly cost mean that no one organisation or even country will tackle them alone—hence the need for co-operation.

The management of large high-technology projects

The design and construction of a modern commercial power station is a very large undertaking. Such projects cost between £100 million and £1000 million, and the economic pressure to reduce first costs and improve thermal efficiency and manpower utilisation has led to power stations becoming very large and extremely complex with many of their design features at the very limit of current technology. As their lead times are invariably longer than the rate of change of technology, commitment to technological advances has often to be made before significant operating experience has been obtained. This is not wrong in itself but it means that very sophisticated management is required to produce reliable plant