Abstract
Abstract : Research and development (R&D) plays an important role in the development of the economy. Organisations are encouraged to strive for innovative ways to survive due to worldwide competition, constant changes of customer needs and technological advancements. Today R&D projects are fast becoming the core business of many organisations and are used to increase profitability and growth. These projects have a time based competition and fast technological development. Therefore, the time it takes to get an innovation into the market becomes a very significant and critical index of global competition. Despite being the core business of many organisations, R&D projects are beset with time and cost overrun and thus are terminated before achieving the objectives. These projects are characterised by high uncertainties and complex properties. As a result, organisations are faced with the challenges of effectively managing these projects. The core objective of this study is to identify the complexities of the R&D project management process and their impact on project duration. This research study is executed through literature review and a single case study conducted on the R&D team in an engineering organisation. The case study was conducted using questionnaires and interviews. The questionnaires were sent to the R&D technical specialists whereas the interviews were conducted with the managers. Literature review identified eight sources of R&D project complexity as technological, organisational, intraorganisational, technical, development, marketing, dynamic and uncertainty. Under each complexity, there are different factors contributing to the source of project complexity. In terms of the impact the complexity has on project duration; the results show that lack of competent resources is the main reason why projects end up delayed. Again, the change in project scope involves addition of project activities to the project, requiring more time to complete the project. The main findings of the research show that the R&D technical specialists and the managers have different perspectives regarding the factors that contribute to R&D project complexity. According to the technical specialists, changes in process management and scope variation are the highest complexity contributors. However, the results from interviews with the managers indicate that lack of top management support is the cause of complexities in projects. Although the identified list of R&D complexity factors might differ depending on the project type and industry, the results of this research will benefit the project managers of R&D ...
M.Phil. (Engineering Management)