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Open Access research with a European policy impact...

The Strathprints institutional repository is a digital archive of University of Strathclyde's Open Access research outputs. Strathprints provides access to thousands of Open Access research papers by Strathclyde researchers, including by researchers from the European Policies Research Centre (EPRC).

EPRC is a leading institute in Europe for comparative research on public policy, with a particular focus on regional development policies. Spanning 30 European countries, EPRC research programmes have a strong emphasis on applied research and knowledge exchange, including the provision of policy advice to EU institutions and national and sub-national government authorities throughout Europe.

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Dismantling the learning curve : the role of disruptions on the planning of development projects

Eden, Colin and Williams, Terence and Ackermann, Fran (1998) Dismantling the learning curve : the role of disruptions on the planning of development projects. International Journal of Project Management, 16 (3). pp. 131-138. ISSN 0263-7863

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Abstract

Any medium-run design and manufacture project requires manufacture learning to be estimated and controlled. Since the 1930's and the explication of Wright's Law, this learning has been usefully forecast using a logarithmic function. This ‘rule of thumb’ meets most practical requirements and the task of planners depends on their ability to estimate the ‘learning curve index’ from historical data. However, when projects are disrupted by clients changing their requirements by making additions or modifications, the process of estimating the impact of these changes becomes particularly difficult. The ‘rule of thumb’ has to be dismantled to account for wasted learning, the difference between corporate learning and personal learning, attributes of developmental work, retrofitting, new learning, and so on. This paper discusses the elements of disruption to learning in order that better estimates can be made of the impact of disruption. The conceptualization of learning which is presented is based upon detailed analysis for a contractor of one of the major projects for the Channel Tunnel, carried out to help compute delay and disruption for a litigation.

Item type: Article
ID code: 43737
Keywords: learning curve, disruptions, planning, development projects, learning, transport, production planning and control, Management. Industrial Management, Business and International Management, Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law, Management of Technology and Innovation
Subjects: Social Sciences > Industries. Land use. Labor > Management. Industrial Management
Department: Strathclyde Business School > Strategy and Organisation
Strathclyde Business School > Management Science
Depositing user: Pure Administrator
Date deposited: 07 May 2013 13:43
Last modified: 22 Mar 2017 12:42
URI: https://strathprints.strath.ac.uk/id/eprint/43737
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