Pilot Error? Managerial Decision Biases as Explanation for Disruptions in Aircraft Development

Abstract

Although concurrency between project development stages is an effective approach to speeding up project progress, previous research recommends concurrent engineering primarily for less complex, incremental projects. As such, in complex radical aircraft development projects, managers opt for less concurrency; however, by using system dynamics modeling, this study shows that less concurrency can contribute to overall project delays, rather than preventing them. The time lost by rework due to early starts of project stages is more than compensated by the time gained by early feedback and faster learning, with positive effects on project completion and subsequent sales.