Simulation-based Analysis and Internet-based Realisation of Collaborative Product Development Processes

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

In the concurrent and collaborative product development process, the realization of quantitative analysis and overall control of the development process management is the key and the difficulties in the current study. Through describes the concept and role of data maturity, a new methods to quantitative analysis and overall control of collaborative product development process based on the idea of data maturity was proposed in this paper. Base on the explanation of the theory of data maturity to control the process, the differences and relationship between data maturity and milestone was analyzed. The division method of data maturity level was discussed, and the corresponding relationship between each data maturity level and completion degree of the digital product model was illustrated also. In addition, the overall form of the product collaborative development process based on data maturity was provided. Finally, the detailed process between product structure design, process design and tooling design driven by each data maturity were explored, which realized the quantitative analysis and overall control of the product development process.

Four important issues in Information System for Collaborative Product Development Process are discussed in this paper. They are process outsourcing, process orchestration, process dynamic change, and integration of process management with synchronized collaboration. A method of dynamic refining of process model is proposed to support hierarchical activity decomposition, therefore fulfils process outsourcing. Loose coupling message communication architecture based on JMS and web services technology is developed to orchestrate the cross-organizational product development processes. In order to treat process model changes in long-running product development processes, a process evolution methodology is discussed in this paper. At last, collaborative activity is presented to support synchronized collaborative work in asynchronous activity schedule in product development process.

This study aims at highlighting the current knowledge, practices and effects of collaborative and concurrent new product development processes in the framework of the Portuguese plastic processing industry. By means of a case study approach, the conditioning factors affecting the strategic collaborations among firms are systemized. Mutual dependence, trust, and extensive information sharing were identified as prerequisites factors for a better buyer-supplier interdependence and involvement, as well as for the overall benefit of the supply chain. Moreover, collaborative and concurrent new product development processes ask for the use of cost management practices and advanced technical specifications (standards) which emerge as technical and management tools to achieve higher levels of efficiency and quality at the lower cost. Practices such as target and kaizen costing, value engineering, and design-to-cost, were perceived to play a remarkable positive effect on the internal/external organizational boundaries.

Digital agility is a critical dynamic capability that is becoming increasingly important in the context of collaborative product development processes (PDPs). This paper aims to address the complexity of today's PDPs by considering various quality aspects including safety, environment, and the entire lifecycle, along with diverse dynamic capabilities such as digital agility and circular economy. The authors employed a semantic web methodology and created an ontology-based knowledge model. The proposed ontology uses Design for X techniques, circular economy, digital agility, and the semantic web under the PDP perspective to increase performance and cooperation between designers and the project team. To validate the ontology, measures for domain ontology evaluation have been used. The paper presents a detailed guide for ontology engineering and evaluation for collaborative smart PDP, which incorporates digital agility as a critical dynamic capability. The proposed ontology can help boost PDP performance and increase customer satisfaction.

This article presents a multi-level modelling approach for supporting the management of evolving new product development (NPD) processes. Following its articulation, an example of implementing process changes during the development process is presented. Such changes cannot be modelled by existing design/dependency structure matrix (DSM) approaches. A conceptual change in the product design occurs during the development process, in order to standardise the product components, and yields changes in the process plans that are simulated for decision-making. Implementation implications of dynamic changes to a development process are demonstrated, including business rules used to choose between process change options, while considering iteration learning effects. From the demonstration, it becomes clear that either DSM or Petri nets alone do not offer complete modelling capabilities for NPD processes and a multi-level approach must be adopted. Such a complete cycle of modelling would start from product knowledge through the DSM and DSM nets, which are process scheme models, with potentially additional patterns, and would end with a simulation in order to obtain insight into the dynamic changes in the process planning.

The widespread adoption of computer-aided design (CAD) and manufacturing (CAM) tools has resulted in the acceleration of the product development process, reducing the time taken to design a product [46]. However, the product development process, for the most part, is still decentralized with the design and manufacturing reviews being performed independently, leading to differences between as-designed and as-manufactured component. A successful product needs to meet its specifications, while also being manufacturable. In general, the design engineer ensures that the product is able to function according to the specified requirements, while the manufacturing engineer gives feedback to the design engineer about its manufacturability. This iterative process is often time consuming, leading to longer product development times and higher costs. Recent researches in integrating design and manufacturing [24, 28, 46] have tried to reduce these differences and making the product development process easier and accessible to designers, who may not be manufacturing experts. In addition, there have been different efforts to enable a collaborative product development process and reduce the number of design iterations [8, 10, 41]. However, with the increase in complexity of designs, integrating the manufacturability analysis within the design environment provides an ideal solution to improve the product design process.

Modern value creation is characterized by collaboration of large networks of specialized companies. Due to market requirements and increasing competition, concurrent or simultaneous engineering has become the standard procedure in product development. Still, product development processes often follow the traditionally linear and sequential patterns, allowing for only a narrow scope of iterations. Milestone-driven models are widely used to control and steer such processes. In this article, the authors argue that proper understanding of knowledge flows in development project is an essential aspect to be regarded in design and organization of product development processes. Therefore, a new approach is proposed in this paper which considers the product development process as a set of Engineering Activities. Such activities can be seen as instantiations of processes and are the core of any value creation processes. During an experiment a group of students carried out a simple product development project within a controlled environment. The resulting model was then re-evaluated using survey results from a further student experiment. Both results indicate that the activity model can be applied to describe development projects and that it can be used to identify knowledge flows and barriers within development teams.

Collaborative Virtual Enterprise (CVE) is a new paradigm for industry and it imposes significant challenges on effective operation. In this paper, we formalized a top-down methodology for designing and developing service-oriented CVE with rich semantic support. This methodology facilitates automatic execution of virtual business process via service composition. The semantic notion is emphasized as semantic web services technologies (i.e. OWL-S) have become an integrated and essential part of our top-down methodology. The methodology has been applied to manufacturing sector for a virtual enterprise which has the business proposition of effective and efficient business process. To our knowledge, this is among the first attempts to use Semantic Web and Web services technologies in such a scale and sophistication.

PurposeThere are three distinct functions in the product realisation chain (product design, process design, and process execution) and thus there are two interfaces (product design – process design; process design – process execution) rather than one (product – manufacturing). This fact supports a need to shift from dyadic relationships to triadic relationships and from the traditionally single interface concept of design for manufacture (DFM) to multiple “design for” elements. This study seeks to discuss this issue.Design/methodology/approachThrough an in – depth case study in an electronics plant and qualitative data analysis, we reveal the existence and functions of these “design for” elements are revealed, and also the link between the implementation of these elements to the levels of process engineering capability.FindingsProactive and capable process engineering allows improvement of technical coordination among functions. This enables the “design for” mechanisms for both upstream elements (product design) and downstream elements (process execution); this has a positive impact on the performance of product realisation (especially time to market) and thus operational competitiveness.Research limitations/implicationsSince this is a single case study, future empirical research with larger sample sizes should provide further validation of these findings and demonstrate better generalisability of developed concepts.Practical implicationsThis paper highlights several initiatives, conceptually linked to the appropriate “design for” elements, which may be applied in manufacturing settings to support product realisation objectives. Process design, as a significant and proactive intermediate component, should be given sufficient attention and investment.Originality/valueThe study expands the existing DFM concept to several new “design for” concepts and discusses some implementation‐related issues.

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.

Virtual reality (VR) is a computer-generated experience through projection of shapes, objects, and scenic views via headset or helmet device and interpreted as a genuine realistic environment. The interpretation of the highly realistic projection from the eye creates an immersive experience for the user. The use of VR technology is utilized in an array of industry applications as well as learning/training spaces. In particular, when VR is used in an educational setting, studies have shown positive or improved student achievement for a variety of academic disciplines in conjunction with creativity, inspiration, engagement, and motivation. VR used in industry applications, specifically within apparel industries, has been reported to enhance efficiencies in retail, enable virtual garment fitting, and reduction of physical samples in the apparel design and product development process. Regardless of these demonstrated favorable outcomes from education and industry, few research studies have investigated students’ willingness to adopt VR as a tool for use within their desired academic discipline (feeding into their future career path). As use in the apparel design and product development process has been reported, an opportunity exists to explore VR as an educational tool to ideate fashion design ideas in an individual’s apparel design process. Thus, the goal of this study was to provide initial insights into students’ willingness to use VR as a sketching tool, compared to traditional sketching tools, during the apparel design process. A multiple case study design was employed to examine the phenomenon in eight selected undergraduate Apparel Design students. The study was guided through the lens of the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) framework to examine students’ willingness based on performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, and facilitating conditions to use VR. A learning module was developed in a 300-level apparel design course specifically to explore VR as a sketching tool in their design ideation process. Students received a demonstration for how to use the Oculus Quest VR equipment and experimentation/practice time using the equipment in conjunction with the Gravity Sketch (GS) VR application which allowed student users to draw in virtual space on an imported preexisting dress form. Following the practice time, students then completed an apparel design activity using the VR tool. Students then completed a survey in which data was collected through mixed methods by questionary scales and open-ended questions. The findings suggest a relationship between social willingness to adopt VR in their design ideation process while also providing a structure for future researchers to expand the use of this technology in apparel design coursework.

Many companies adopt concurrent engineering in their product-development projects in order to reduce time to market. Concurrent engineering requires careful management, since the uncertainty of transferred information leads to rework and renders a development process complex. Most of the existing studies on concurrent engineering have analyzed overlapping between two activities. The present study expanded the research scope by modeling the developmental process of the concurrent execution of multiple activities as the result of management decisions, the overlapping ratio, and the information transfer frequency. When multiple activities are overlapped, it is more difficult to model a development process, since the uncertainty of cascaded information has impacts on many activities. The quantitative model developed in the present study provides insights into the uncertainty of information and the product-development process. Based on the generalized process model for multiple-activity overlapping, the optimal decision to minimize project duration was considered. As a solution to the dilemma of the high computational burden of considering all feasible decision sets, this paper proposes a myopic heuristic. The project management heuristic proposed in this paper is intended to assist managers in the decision-making process, as well as reducing the intermediate deadlines in project main plan.

The current study would like to assess the perception of the staff involved in new product development, while the research investigation was conducted by a questionnaire-based survey configuration with the corresponding data analysis. Practically, the study provides the assessment about the perceived difficulties of the stages of the new product development process, namely, idea generation, idea screening, concept development and piloting, development of marketing strategy, business analysis, product development, testing the market, and commercialization. Along with the general demographic information of the engineers, including age, gender, level of education, rank, and years of service, the research questionnaire was composed to collect the required data for the exploration of the relationship between them can be revealed. With the self-defined research instrument, 132 valid responses were collected for the modelling process. After the completion of the analysis, testing the market was found to be the most difficult, and the particular difficulties for concept development and piloting and business analysis can be observed from the junior staff. With respect to the situation, the recommendations were provided in the latter part of the paper.KeywordsNew product developmentPerceived difficultyPerception

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