An Approach to Strategic Capacity Planning Using Information Visualization

The strategic capacity planning function must be a core competency for firms in capitalintensive, long equipment lead-time industries such as the semiconductor industry. Major investment decisions are made years in advance of forecasted demand, and involve a complex array of product design and manufacturing parameters. The high stakes and breadth of uncertainty require a well-orchestrated, comprehensive process of data analysis and management judgment that is the strategic capacity planning process. The exploration and presentation of demand and capacity data are integral to the capacity planning process. The exploration activities are executed in a sequential, task-oriented manner involving manual data transcription and organization. The presentation of data is typically limited to standard graphing techniques such as line and bar graphs. Hence, the opportunity exists for alternative visualization tools to improve the information work of foraging for data, thinking about data, and acting on data. This research effort involves the use of two distinct information visualization tools to augment the strategic capacity planning process. The What-If Visualization Tool is an Excelbased capacity calculator that facilitates the real-time, interactive manipulation of factors that affect capacity. This tool simplifies the current scenario exploration process and encourages active involvement in discovery. The Treemap display tool is a Java-based display methodology that vividly and concisely conveys highly detailed, hierarchical information in a two-dimensional map. This tool enhances the decision-making forums through its insightful, novel approach to data display. We first examine the current literature supporting the information visualization field, and discuss the advantages to be derived from the proposed software tools given these constructs. Next is a description of the two visualization tools, including their designs, functionalities, and user interfaces. Finally, we illustrate the relevant advantages and shortcomings of these tools in the strategic capacity planning environment. Thesis Advisor: Jim Hines Title: Senior Lecturer, Sloan School of Management Thesis Advisor: Duane Boning Title: Associate Professor, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science