Experiences with an R&D project control model

Traditional R & D project cost control systems relate only expenditures with elapsed time, rather than expenditures and achievement with time. Achievement reporting is generally considered separately from cost reporting. A theoretical control model relating cost and achievement with time for R & D projects is developed and described. This model is shown to provide early warnings of impending project failures, a more conceptual pinpointing of the forces affecting these impending failures, and a detailed analysis of the achievement-per-dollar spent. Controlling by dollars-spent-pertime period is shown to potentially yield erroneous conclusions. These results are based on an application of the model to chemical development projects and from an application of the model to a representative sample of chemical research projects at the Monsanto Company. The relationships of these results to the overall development of an integrated planning and control system at the Monsanto Company are shown.