Optimizing Operations and Project Delivery

This unit develops practical skills to improve operational performance across production, quality, inventory, and supply chains while introducing project management and Agile methods to deliver improvements. Students practice lean and design-for-operations thinking, manage bottlenecks and risk, and prepare to lead continuous improvement initiatives in subsequent coursework.

Learning Objectives

• Analyze production and supply chain scenarios (including the bullwhip effect, bottlenecks, and inventory trade-offs) to identify root causes of delays and excess cost
• Apply lean, just-in-time, and quality-design techniques to develop plans that reduce inventory, improve customer service, and enhance product/service reliability
• Demonstrate project management competencies by outlining a project life cycle, creating sprint-based work plans, and implementing risk-response strategies for an operations improvement project
• Evaluate alternative supply chain and design-for-X solutions to recommend improvements that balance utilization, scalability, and quality during periods of growth or market maturity