Courses:

The class project will require a group paper (.doc file) and presentation (.ppt file) at the end of the term. Ideally we would like to find a day when we could devote a day (perhaps offsite) to do this (partly in exchange for canceling several classes during the term). This mode was used effectively in Spring 2002.

Below are some ideas you might use to stimulate project ideas. Finally, we will devote a day in class where when each student/group will give a one-slide presentation on project ideas. More will be said on this in class.

• 3-Dimensional Concurrent Engineering in Different Industries and the Product Development Process
• Mass Customization
• Services
• Manufacturing Startup
• Supplier Relations
• Service Parts Logistics in the Automotive/Vehicle Industry: A TPS Case Study
• Idea Marketplace
• Turn-key Production Networks: A New American Model of Industrial Organization?
• ERP
• Information Technology for Manufacturing Execution and Shop Floor Control
• An Introduction to Managing Risk in Manufacturing

Six Sigma/DFSS/TRIZ

To what extent is the six sigma variant known as DFSS (or DMADV) relevant to process redesign, as some proponents claim? How effective and tested is the methodology? To what extent do TRIZ techniques work for the process redesign?

Process Mapping and Management Software

The last few years have seen an explosion of software tools for documenting and managing processes. What are the comparative strengths and weaknesses of these tools? What are they good for? How much difference will they make to the success of a process redesign effort? Where is this technology headed?

CRM as a Process

How can customer relationship management be effectively managed and designed as a process? To what extent does CRM software have a process orientation (as does ERP software)? How should an organization proceed in order to succeed with CRM implementation?

Case Study

A case study of an organization's experiences with process redesign. What processes did they address, and how did they go about it? Why did they take this approach, and how successful were they? What can be learned from their experience?

New Technology and Process Redesign

How might various newly emerging technologies (such as GPS, active automatic identification, and the like) affect process design? What assumptions do they break? To what processes might they be most applicable?

Inter-Enterprise Processes

What lies in the future for inter-enterprise process redesign? What can be learned from the RosettaNet experience? What are the opportunities that will be addressed?