Decision-making structure of time-conditioned cost performance curve in product development

Summary form only given. Product development (PD) requires consideration of characteristics such as multiple and qualitative criteria, cost and time constraints and combinatorial structure of development alternatives. Especially, time factor plays an important role in PD in a rapidly changing environment. Kusaka has proposed a PD model using time-conditioned cost performance curve (TCPC). Though his model is essential in introducing a concurrent degree and practical in using TCPC, its decision-making structure and use method of TCPC have not been sufficiently presented. Therefore, this study clarifies the decision-making structure, the use method and the effects of TCPC on PD decision-making, by introducing a new concept of target concurrent degree (TCD). The purpose is to summarize an optimization method to obtain TCPC, to show an additional property of TCPC, to clarify decision-making structure in cases where monotonous relation between costs and developments periods holds for functional unit alternatives, to propose the use method of TCPC by introducing TCD, to show the effects of TCPC and TCD on PD decision-making by numerical analyses, and to present to PD managers and engineers the implications of this method