Engineering activities — considering value creation from a holistic perspective

The relationship between system theory and the product design, the process of product development has been described. It compared the merits and demerits of serial and parallel product development processes and, with the guidelines of system theory, put forward and analyzed the planning actions and corresponding necessity existed in the indistinct initial phase in product development process. It also analyzed the optimizing effect of planning actions in product design & development process. Thus, it obtained the model of product design & development process based on system theory so as to clarify the indistinct initial phase, shorten product development time and, improve the effectiveness of enterprise's product development.

This article studies the learning and capability formation of a biotechnology firm by analysing its development path, which is composed of successive product development and innovation processes. In collaborative product development work, network collaboration, as well as the acquisition of new competences and learning, evolves simultaneously and interactively. Searching for and encountering partners with complementary knowledge and resources is important in the emergence of new product-development processes. To improve understanding of this path formation, the article draws on cultural—historical activity theory, science and technology studies and the epistemology of things and effects. These all underline the significance of material artefacts for learning and activity. The epistemology of things and effects addresses the knowledge of how things work in experimental systems and products. Enzymes, proteins and instruments are put to work in a stabilized way as parts of new products. The effects so mastered entail the functional qualities that make products competitive in the marketplace.

Product Development Processes (PDPs) are essential to competitiveness and survival in several industries. The PDP comprised of multifunctional activities each one of them influenced by many internal and external factors that small changes during the process progress can lead to unexpected or even unstable behavior. Hence, the PDPs are highly complex and dynamic processes in nature. Many models such as Concurrent Engineering (CE), simultaneous Engineering (SE) and Integrated Product Development (IPD) are developed by the aim of managing the PDP successfully. There is a gap between the developed models using these traditional approaches and the real dynamic external land internal environment. This paper discusses the dynamic mindset in managing the PDP problem versus the static mindset and their impact on PDP yield.

Implications of Service-related Business Models on Product Development Processes

Product development is a highly creative and knowledge-intensive process that involves extensive information and knowledge exchange and sharing among geographically distributed teams and developers. How to best integrate such heterogeneous product knowledge has become an extremely important knowledge management (KM) subject associated with product development. Product development knowledge integration and sharing is becoming a key issue in the enterprise KM. This paper addresses the challenges of product development knowledge integration and sharing during product development. The aim of this research work effort is to develop a method to enhance the integration and sharing of product knowledge during the development phase. This study presents a systematic approach to developing knowledge integration and sharing for product development. The proposed approach includes the steps for designing a framework of product development knowledge sharing, developing representation model for product development knowledge, designing product development knowledge sharing process, designing product development knowledge integration ontology, developing knowledge integration and sharing method for product development based on ontology, and implementation of product development knowledge integration and sharing method. The proposed method could bring out an efficient and proactive way for knowledge integration and sharing among product developers in the product development process.

Process planning for collaborative product development with CD-DSM in optoelectronic enterprises

Lean can be applied to product development processes to improve value creation management. However, allocating resources to a project or a development program in order to maximize the value generated by project activities can be difficult in complex product development processes. This paper discusses how value creation activities can be better managed by regulating the resource allocation process. A mathematical model is proposed to describe value growth and its application to resource allocation is demonstrated that gives insight into value creation trajectories. The application is demonstrated with scenarios developed from the computer industry and a design project.

This research explored a new direction of improving collaborative design by performance measurement. More specifically, a novel 3-dimensional performance measurement model is developed and the purpose of this model is to help project managers improve team collaboration by indicating strengths and weaknesses of team members during the project development process. Considering the complexity of collaborative design work, a multiple criteria model is proposed to reflect the design dynamics, which highlights five performance indicators: efficiency, effectiveness, collaboration, management skills and innovation. These five indicators are mostly influenced by role-based performance measurement criteria (the second dimension). Design and development process (time) is also considered (the third dimension). This 3D model allows all involved design participants to measure work performance at any time during the product development process. In order to develop this model, the role-based task analysis and industrial survey methods were utilized. Three groups of role-based product design and development performance measurement criteria were identified for measuring design performance of the top managers, middle managers and individual designers in a project team. A 3-dimensional performance measurement method was proposed to calculate final performance scores from a performance measurement matrix. The proposed model was evaluated as a tool which can support project managers to reduce potential design and collaboration risks and increase confidence in decision-making process. The model has been discussed on implementing in a web-based application for measuring design performance throughout the product design and development process.

Para que as empresas nacionais do setor de máquinas e implementos agrícolas consigam sobreviver e ampliar sua participação nesse mercado em crescimento, do interesse econômico de companhias multinacionais e no qual essas detêm expressiva participação, elas necessitam melhorar a capacitação para desenvolver novos produtos e assim atender as novas demandas quanto a requisitos e homologação dessa produção. As empresas nacionais do setor apresentam um perfil predominante de empresas familiares, de pequeno e médio porte, e pouco se conhece sobre a realidade da gestão do Processo de Desenvolvimento de Produto (PDP) nessas organizações. Este trabalho caracteriza e analisa os perfis e a maturidade da gestão do PDP em empresas de pequeno e médio porte de capital nacional do segmento de máquinas e implementos agrícolas do Estado de São Paulo. Foi realizada uma pesquisa de levantamento (survey) em 40 empresas. Para a análise dos dados utilizou-se a técnica de análise multivariada de clusters. As empresas da amostra apresentam uma estrutura heterogênea com relação à gestão do PDP. Foram identificados três grupos de empresas, com diferentes perfis de maturidade do PDP: Grupo I (20% da amostra), Grupo II (50% da amostra) e Grupo III (30% da amostra). Evidenciam-se diferenças na gestão do PDP principalmente entre os Grupos I (com menor nível de maturidade do PDP) e III (com nível de maturidade relativamente mais elevado). Apesar das diferenças na gestão do PDP entre os grupos, comparando-se a prática com o referencial teórico (as boas práticas sobre gestão do PDP), os 3 grupos se encontram no nível geral básico, ou inicial, de maturidade do PDP. A análise e identificação do nível de maturidade em que as empresas se encontram podem auxiliar no direcionamento do processo de melhoria do PDP e na elaboração de políticas públicas que incentivem o desenvolvimento e inovação de produto nas empresas nacionais do setor

Product development is inherently risky, particularly when new technology is involved. Although collaborative product development is promoted as a means for reducing or at least sharing risk, such partnerships present their own challenges. Collaboration can also accentuate many of the risks inherent in product development. For example, any product development project requires effective communication among development team members. In a collaborative effort, this challenge is even greater because the development team spans organizational as well as functional boundaries.Dale Littler, Fiona Leverick, and Margaret Bruce describe the results of a survey that was conducted to identify the risks and benefits of collaborative product development as well as the key success factors for such relationships. The main reasons cited for collaborating on product development projects include satisfying customer requirements, taking advantage of market opportunities for which the firm lacks necessary skills and technical expertise, and responding to changes in technology. Other reasons for collaboration include reducing the cost and risk of product R&D, improving time to market, and gaining access to new markets.In addition to the risks associated with product development by a single company, the partners in a collaborative effort face several other challenges. For example, one company might gain inside knowledge of its partner's unique skills and expertise. Despite the cost and time involved in managing the collaboration, such a relationship usually results in less direct control over product development. Of particular concern are the difficulties of coordinating the divergent management styles and budgeting processes of the collaborating firms.Collaboration requires frequent communication among all involved parties. The likelihood of success is greatly enhanced by the presence of a product or collaboration champion. Other success factors include ensuring that partners contribute as expected, creating the perception of equal benefits among partners, and building trust between partners. Firms that are more experienced with collaboration also cite the importance of flexibility in corporate systems and management style, fit with existing businesses, and the choice of a partner.

The focus of this study is on exploring the risk factors affecting new product development (NPD) processes in manufacturing enterprises. Interpretive structural modelling (ISM) approach is utilised in this research for analysing the interactions between different risk pillars, and among various risk factors within each risk pillar. The findings of this study reveal the underlying relations between various risk factors prevalent in NPD process. The ISM based integrated framework developed in this study would enable engineering managers and practitioners of NPD in understanding the inter-dependencies among the risk factors and would help them in directing their resources towards mitigating these factors occurring in NPD initiatives of their enterprises. These finding would be beneficial for identifying the driving risk factors having major impact on product development process, enabling the decision makers to make informed choices while managing NPD projects.

DFMEA is a systematic and scientific method for new product design and development, which is applicable throughout the entire process of new product design and development. In this paper, DFMEA method is adopted in the systematic analyzing of the million-kilowatt nuclear power steam turbine rotor new product design and development process. On the basis of the introduction of product characteristics and current development requirement, DFMEA is introduced to the design and development process, applying the block diagram and structure-function matrix to locate the possible failure factors. Subsequently, the evaluation criteria of Severity (S), Occurrence (O), and Detection (D) are introduced and defined. According to the criteria, the Risk Priority Numbers (RPN) and Action Priority (AP) of key risks are sorted, therefore indicating the terms critical to product quality improvement. Through the application of DFMEA, an effective risk identification and analysis of the million-kilowatt nuclear power steam turbine rotor is carried out, achieving the results that operational failures are advanced to the design stage to implement countermeasures, therefore realizing the improvement of product and system operation reliability, optimization of project cycle and manufacturing cost reduction. DFMEA promotes the optimization of overall new product development process. Meanwhile it provides ideas for the subsequent design optimization methods of similar kinds.

This research applies an institutional arrangement perspective to develop an end-to-end model for the interaction between customers and upstream suppliers to develop a new product to understand how new product value is created and shared. The model is empirically tested by collecting primary data from 188 manufacturers across different industries. The research demonstrates that customer participation affects new product value creation by improving the effectiveness of the new product development process by enhancing information sharing and customer–supplier coordination and by increasing the level of customer and supplier specific investments in the product development effort. In addition, increasing the formalization of the customer participation process enhances both customer and supplier relationship-specific investments in the new product development process. The impact of customer participation on the customer's share of the new product value pie is more complex then is first apparent. Based on the dependence and equity perspectives the results suggest that exchange partners' power (relative dependence) positively influences a partner's ability to capture new product value, but this power is offset by a desire of exchange partners to ensure the distribution of value is “fair” and reflects each party's contribution to the value creation.

Designers have a key role in adapting products to the environment and a sustainable society and many attempts have been made to establish universal DfE guidelines that can be used for these design situations. However, most attempts have failed due to the level of information; too generic makes no sense for the user, and too specific means that the guidelines are too private to be useful for everyone. Furthermore, designers and the acquisition department as well as marketing and production have different background knowledge and different primary tasks. Depending on the complexity and type of product as well as on the cultural background in-different companies and countries, the product development process looks different. It is therefore impossible to establish generic DfE guidelines that are valid for any product in any company. The 10 Golden Rules are a set of generic Design for Environment aspects (first presented by Luttropp (2000)). The "10 Golden Rules" are broad principles, which establish a common basis for a product development team, giving the team members a mutual perspective on the sustainability issue. The 10 Golden Rules are preferably individually customized to be of most use in direct design and product development process. This paper presents the customisation of the 10 Golden Rules at Bombardier Transportation, which is one of the worlds leading companies manufacturing rail vehicles.

The Way from Lean Product Development (LPD) to Smart Product Development (SPD)