Failure Analysis, Stress Analysis, Field Testing, and Test Engineering

This content is still being developed! Please let me know what you think of it! Contact Us now!

---

Measuring engineering work in product development can be difficult. After all, nothing is ever the same and there is a high variety of tasks and assignment duration. The following approach has been developed over many years of exploring various methods to measure engineering work. The approach is based on queuing theory. However, it takes queuing theory several steps further. In addition, this approach is universal and easily tailored to any environment. Select the READ MORE button to read the complete article with charts.  

Cumulative Flow Chart Measured in the number of units. Useful for showing the total work. The blue line represents cumulative new units and the pink line represents cumulative completed units. Interpreting the graph: converging lines indicate a smaller backlog or queue. Diverging lines indicate an increasing backlog of work or increasing queue.

Pace of Work Chart Measured in the number of units per week. Useful for showing the pace of new and completed work. The blue line represents the pace of new units and the pink line represents the pace of completed units. Interpreting the graph: the queue is increasing when the pink line is below the blue line and the queue is shrinking when the blue line is below the pink line. In the example below, the team has been building a backlog for the past 6 weeks. The effect is an increase lead time (refer to the lead time chart below).

Queue Size Chart (also known as backlog of work) Measured in the number of units. Useful for showing the amount of work that is in queue. In addition, the chart shows the average and normal range of backlog (dashed lines). In the example below, the queue size grew well beyond the normal high range. This is an abnormal condition and requires management to intervene by managing the pace of incoming work, increasing the completion rate through overtime or outsourcing.

Lead Time (measured in weeks) Measured in weeks or days. The example below clearly shows an unacceptable high lead time. This was caused by the increasing trend of incoming work. Refer to the pace of work chart above.

---