A Model-Based Software Architecture to Support Decentral Product Development Processes

Author(s):  
Patrick D. Stiefel ◽  
Jörg P. Müller
2021 ◽  
pp. 1063293X2110003
Author(s):  
Christoffer Askhøj ◽  
Carsten Keinicke Fjord Christensen ◽  
Niels Henrik Mortensen

Modularization is a strategy used for handling the demand for external complexity with less internal complexity, which leads to higher profits and more efficient product development processes. However, modularity is often driven in silos, not crossing into the engineering fields of mechanics, electronics, and software. Therefore, we present the MESA (Mechanics, Electronics, and Software Architecture) tool—a tool that can be used to visualize modular product architectures across mechanics, electronics, and software. The tool demonstrates how a change in one domain affects the rest and how well aligned the modularity in the different domains is. The tool has been tested in two case companies that were used for case application and has helped provide information for making key design decisions in the development of new product families.


Author(s):  
Samuel Suss ◽  
Vincent Thomson

Product development processes of complex products are complex themselves and particularly difficult to plan and manage effectively. Although many organizations manage their product development processes by monitoring the status of documents that are created as deliverables, in fact the progress of the process is in large part based on the actual information flow which is required to develop the product and produce the documents. A vital element in making product development processes work well is the correct understanding of how information flows and how to facilitate its development. In this paper we describe an executable stochastic model of the product development process that incorporates the salient features of the interplay between the information development, exchange and progress of the technical work. Experiments with the model provide insight into the mechanisms that drive these complex processes.


Author(s):  
Gritt Ahrens ◽  
Oliver Tegel

Abstract An approach to support the appropriate definition, formulation and presentation of requirements obeying the needs of the employees is being presented. Classifiying the needs for information of the employees according to some characteristics, a guideline for how to promote the information needed by them can be developed. The goal is to ensure that everyone involved in the process — even the subcontractor — has the right information available in the right form at the right time. Defining requirements lists, splitting them into partial requirements lists for each area of the company, each process phase or each team, and then formulating these requirements and presenting them in an adequate way is the proceeding strived for. The result will be implemented into an information infrastructure to support the product development process continuously.


Author(s):  
Götz v. Esebeck ◽  
Oliver Tegel ◽  
Jeffrey L. Miller ◽  
Karl-Heinrich Grote

Abstract As companies become aware that they have to restructure their product development processes to survive global competition in the market, it is important that they evaluate which management methods and techniques are suitable to improve the performance of the process and which design methods can be integrated and be used efficiently. A combination of management methods like Total Quality Management (TQM), Simultaneous or Concurrent Engineering, and Lean Development can be adapted to meet the requirements of a company more than a single strategy. Interdisciplinary teamwork, cross-hierarchical communication, and delegation of work in addition to employee motivation changes the common attitude towards the work process in the company and integrates the staff more tightly into the process. Nowadays, there is tight cooperation between companies and their sub-contractors, as sub-contractors not only have to manufacture the part or sub-assembly, but often have to design it. Therefore, the product development process has to be defined in a way that the sub-contractors can be tightly integrated into the product development process. Additionally, it is important to break the product down into functionally separate modules during the conceptual phase of the process. If the interfaces between these functions are defined as specifications, these modules can easily be given to suppliers or to other teams inside the company for further development. The use of methods such as Design for Manufacture (DFM) or Design for Assembly (DFA) early during the development process, which utilize the knowledge of experts from manufacturing and assembly, results in a decreasing number of iterative loops during the design process and therefore reduces time-to-market. This cross-functional cooperation leads to improved quality of both processes and products. In this paper, different management methods to achieve the best improvement from the product development process are discussed. In addition, suitable design methods for achieving cost reduction, quality improvement, and reduction of time-to-market are presented. Finally, proposals for industry on methods to reorganize the Integrated Product Development (IPD) process based on actual findings are presented.


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