Due to ever shorter product life-cycles, the duration and costs of the ramp-up phase are becoming even more important. Unfortunately, actual tools for project management are not capable of controlling the ramp-up sufficiently. Currently a ramp-up controlling system is developed with a prognosis model as its core component. This is based on a network of cause-effect relationships, which forecasts the effect of a parameter change on the principal project objectives such as performance, costs and due dates. The paper explains the basic model and the structure of the resulting prototype which consists of project planning software, databases, spreadsheets and simulation models.

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