Data-Driven Function Network Analysis for Product Platform Planning: A Case Study of Spherical Rolling Robots

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Binyang Song ◽  
Jianxi Luo ◽  
Rajesh Elara Mohan ◽  
Kristin L. Wood
Keyword(s):  
Network Analysis ◽  
Product Family ◽  
Product Variety ◽  
Data Driven ◽  
Product Platform ◽  
Economy Of Scale ◽  
Product Systems ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Economy Of Scope

A properly designed product-system platform can reduce the cost and lead-time to design and develop a product family and thus achieve the tradeoff between economy of scope from product variety and economy of scale from platform sharing. Traditionally, product platform planning uses heuristic and manual approaches and relies on expertise and intuition. In this paper, we propose a data-driven method to draw the boundary of a platform, complementing other platform design approaches and assisting designers in the architecting process. The method generates a network of functions through relationships of their co-occurrences in prior designs of a product domain, and uses a network analysis algorithm to identify an optimal core-periphery structure. Functions identified in the network core co-occur cohesively and frequently with one another in prior designs, and thus are suggested for inclusion in the potential platform to be shared across a variety of product-systems with peripheral functions. We apply the method to identifying the platform functions for spherical rolling robots, based on patent data.

Data-Driven Platform Design: Patent Data and Function Network Analysis

2018 ◽  
Vol 141 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Binyang Song ◽  
Jianxi Luo ◽  
Kristin Wood
Keyword(s):  
Network Analysis ◽  
Product Variety ◽  
Data Driven ◽  
Patent Data ◽  
Product System ◽  
Platform Design ◽  
Economy Of Scale ◽  
Product Systems ◽  
And Function ◽  
Platform System

A properly designed product-system platform seeks to reduce the cost and lead time for design and development of the product-system family. A key goal is to achieve a tradeoff between economy of scope from product variety and economy of scale from platform sharing. Traditionally, product platform planning uses heuristic and manual approaches and relies almost solely on expertise and intuition. In this paper, we propose a data-driven method to draw the boundary of a platform-system, complementing the other platform design approaches and assisting designers in the architecting process. The method generates a network of functions through relationships of their co-occurrences in prior designs of a product or systems domain and uses a network analysis algorithm to identify an optimal core–periphery structure. Functions identified in the network core co-occur cohesively and frequently with one another in prior designs, and thus, are suggested for inclusion in the potential platform to be shared across a variety of product-systems with peripheral functions. We apply the method to identify the platform functions for the application domain of spherical rolling robots (SRRs), based on patent data.

A Product Variety Tradeoff Evaluation Method for a Family of Cordless Drill Transmissions

1999 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carolyn G. Conner ◽  
Joseph P. De Kroon ◽  
Farrokh Mistree
Keyword(s):  
Evaluation Method ◽  
Product Family ◽  
Product Variety ◽  
Product Performance ◽  
Product Platform ◽  
Product Platforms ◽  
Individual Product ◽  
Alternative Product ◽  
Per Se

Abstract In this paper we present the Product Variety Tradeoff Evaluation Method for assessment of alternative product platforms in product family design. The Product Variety Tradeoff Evaluation Method is an attention-directing tool for evaluating tradeoffs between commonality and individual product performance for product platform alternatives with differing levels of commonality. We apply the Product Variety Tradeoff Evaluation Method to a case study in transmission redesign for a family of cordless drills. The emphasis in this paper is placed on the method rather than on the results, per se.

Evaluation of Product Family Architectures From Multiple Perspectives

2008 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zahed Siddique ◽  
Rajeshwar Reddy Adupala
Keyword(s):  
Evaluation Criteria ◽  
Product Family ◽  
Product Variety ◽  
Design Approach ◽  
Product Platform ◽  
Assembly Sequence ◽  
Multiple Perspectives ◽  
Computer Mouse ◽  
Manufacturing Complexity ◽  
Family Evaluation

Specifying components in a product platform and family architecture to support product varieties can be a challenging task for companies. Especially when various viewpoints have to be considered, which include product variety, materials, manufacturing complexity, assembly complexity, average component count commonality, assembly sequence, and late point differentiation. In order to identify or select a product platform and family configuration, evaluation of alternative configurations need to be performed. In this paper several product family evaluation criteria are presented for configuration evaluation. The application of product family configuration evaluation and a design approach is demonstrated using a Computer Mouse family.

Introduction of a Product Family Penalty Function Using Physical Programming

2002 ◽  
Vol 124 (2) ◽  
pp. 164-172 ◽  
Author(s):  
Achille Messac ◽  
Michael P. Martinez ◽  
Timothy W. Simpson
Keyword(s):  
Penalty Function ◽  
Product Family ◽  
Product Variety ◽  
Product Platform ◽  
Product Families ◽  
Physical Programming ◽  
Product Platforms ◽  
Scaling Parameters ◽  
The Common ◽  
Selection Of

In an effort to increase customization for today’s highly competitive global markets, many companies are looking to product families to increase product variety and shorten product lead-times while reducing costs. The key to a successful product family is the common product platform around which the product family is derived. Building on our previous work in product family design, we introduce a product family penalty function (PFPF) in this paper to aid in the selection of common and scaling parameters for families of products derived from scalable product platforms. The implementation of the PFPF utilizes the powerful physical programming paradigm to formulate the problem in terms of physically meaningful parameters. To demonstrate the proposed approach, a family of electric motors is developed and compared against previous results. We find that the PFPF enables us to properly balance commonality and performance within the product family through the judicious selection of the common parameters that constitute the product platform and the scaling parameters used to instantiate the product family.

A Product Platform Concept Exploration Method for Product Family Design

1999 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timothy W. Simpson ◽  
Jonathan R. A. Maier ◽  
Farrokh Mistree
Keyword(s):  
Economies Of Scale ◽  
Effective Means ◽  
Product Family ◽  
Product Variety ◽  
Product Platform ◽  
Customer Requirements ◽  
Global Marketplace ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Concept Exploration ◽  
Per Se

Abstract Today’s highly competitive, global marketplace is redefining the way companies do business. Many companies are being faced with the challenge of providing as much variety as possible for the market with as little variety as possible between products in order to maintain economies of scale while satisfying a wide range of customer requirements. Developing a family of products — a group of related products derived from a common product platform — provides an efficient and effective means to realize sufficient product variety to satisfy a range of customer demands. In this paper the Product Platform Concept Exploration Method (PPCEM) is presented, providing a Method that facilitates the synthesis and Exploration of a common Product Platform Concept that can be scaled into an appropriate family of products. As an example, the PPCEM is employed to design a family of universal electric motors that are also compared against a benchmark group of individually designed motors. The focus in this paper, however, is on the PPCEM and not on the results, per se.

Decisions in Product Platform Development Projects

2015 ◽  
Vol 12 (01) ◽  
pp. 1550001 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter E. Harland ◽  
Haluk Yörür
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Product Variety ◽  
Development Project ◽  
Project Managers ◽  
Development Projects ◽  
Product Platform ◽  
Product Platforms ◽  
Platform Development ◽  
Product Platform Development

Introducing "product platforms" in companies to achieve competitive advantages, like decreased costs and increased product variety, is a widely recognized strategy in research and industry. Nevertheless, there are certain challenges involved in developing product platforms. In order to address this complexity, we focus on the decision-making perspective of platform development in this paper. Based on a systematic literature review, we identify the decisions in product platform development projects (PPDP) and categorize them. We identified 21 decisions that are made within PPDP, which represent a greater scope of decisions than presented in the literature sources reviewed. The plausibility of these platform project decisions is illustrated with a case study of a perennial platform development project within the automotive supply industry. While most of the literature sources only mention very few decisions, the case study shows the complexity and high number of decisions required for an actual PPDP. In addition, it also recognizes all of the prior reviews of the decisions identified. Unlike in the literature, the decisions in the case study were made over a certain period of time. Therefore, we propose that the dynamics of the decision-making process in PPDP have to be taken into account. The set of PPDP decisions identified will help project managers to structure future PPDPs better and support researchers in building related product platform models.

Cost Effects of Modular Product Family Structures: Methods and Quantification of Impacts to Support Decision Making

2017 ◽  
Vol 139 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sebastian Ripperda ◽  
Dieter Krause
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Product Family ◽  
Product Variety ◽  
Family Structures ◽  
New Approach ◽  
Modular Product ◽  
Reducing Costs ◽  
The Cost

Customer demands and global markets prompt companies to offer increasing product variety. The use of modular product structures is a possible strategy for providing the necessary external variety to the market and reducing costs by lowering internal variety within the company. Current research provides several approaches for developing modular product family structures. As modularity is a gradual property, these methods generate different product structure concepts and companies have to decide at an early stage and without detailed information which concepts to implement. Most existing modularization methods offer only little or no support for decision making, particularly in terms of cost effects. This article illustrates the cost effects of variety and modular product family structures, the various cost impacts of variety management strategies and modularization methods in a literature review. A new approach to quantify these cost effects to support concept selection during modular product family design is introduced.

Analysis of Architectural Complexity for Product Family and Platform

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gwang Kim ◽  
Yunjung Kwon ◽  
Eun Suk Suh ◽  
Jaemyung Ahn
Keyword(s):  
Development Time ◽  
Product Family ◽  
Operating Costs ◽  
Product Platform ◽  
Product Platforms ◽  
Complexity Management ◽  
Reduce Development Time

A product family is a set of products that are derived from common sets of parts, interfaces, and processes, known as the product platform. To reduce development time and procurement and operating costs of product platform based variants, the product platform can be designed after consideration of several characteristic, such as modularity, flexibility, sustainability and complexity. In this paper, the product platform is viewed from the perspective of system architecting. The architectural complexities of both the platform and its variants, which together constitute a product family, can be quantitatively assessed using a specifically tailored metric. This will aid system architects in designing product platforms and resulting product variants with an emphasis on reducing complexity. Architectural complexity management is demonstrated through a case study of a train bogie platform.

Identification of Platform Variables in Product Family Design Using Sensitivity Analysis

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chad Hume ◽  
David W. Rosen
Keyword(s):  
Sensitivity Analysis ◽  
Effective Means ◽  
Product Family ◽  
Product Variety ◽  
Product Performance ◽  
Constructal Theory ◽  
Product Platform ◽  
Product Family Design ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Selection Of

Product family design strategies based on a common core platform have emerged as an efficient and effective means of providing product variety. The main goal in product platform design is to maximize internal commonality within the family while managing the inherent loss in product performance. Therefore, identification and selection of platform variables is a key aspect when designing a family of products. Based on previous research, the Product Platform Constructal Theory Method (PPCTM) provides a systematic approach for developing customizable products, while allowing for multiple levels of commonality, multiple product specifications, and balancing the tradeoffs between commonality and performance. However, selection of platform variables and the modes for managing product variety are not guided by a systematic process in this method. When developing a platform with more than a few variables, a quantitative method is needed for selecting the optimal platform variable hierarchy. In this paper we present an augmented PPCTM which includes sensitivity analysis of platform variables, such that hierarchical rank is conducted based on the impact of the variables on the product performance. This method is applied to the design of a line of customizable finger pumps.

Forecasting Technological Impacts on Customers’ Co-Consideration Behaviors: A Data-Driven Network Analysis Approach

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mingxian Wang ◽  
Zhenghui Sha ◽  
Yun Huang ◽  
Noshir Contractor ◽  
Yan Fu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Network Analysis ◽  
Product Design ◽  
Data Driven ◽  
Analysis Approach ◽  
Quadratic Assignment ◽  
Technological Changes ◽  
Technological Developments ◽  
Complex Relationships ◽  
The Impact

Forecasting customers’ responses and market competitions is essential before launching major technological changes in product design. In this research, we present a data-driven network analysis approach to understand the interactions among technologies, products, and customers. Such an approach provides a quantitative assessment of the impact of technological changes on customers’ co-consideration behaviors. The multiple regression quadratic assignment procedure (MRQAP) is employed to quantitatively predict product co-consideration relations as a function of various effect networks created by associations of product attributes and customer demographics. The uniqueness of the proposed approach is its capability of predicting complex relationships of product co-consideration as a network. Using vehicles as a case study, we forecast the impacts of two technological changes — adopting the fuel economy-boosting technology and the turbo engine technology by individual auto companies. The case study provides vehicle designers with insights into the change of market competitions brought by new technological developments. Our proposed approach links the market complexity to technology features and subsequently product design attributes to guide engineering design decisions in the complex customer-product systems.

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