Simulating change propagation between product architecture and development organisation
by Eric Bonjour, Ghassen Harmel, Jean-Pierre Micaelli, Maryvonne Dulmet
International Journal of Mass Customisation (IJMASSC), Vol. 3, No. 3, 2010

Abstract: In order to limit the effects of technological change on product design, concepts such as product architecture and modularity have been introduced, in order to support complex product development. In engineering design, numerous works have studied this central issue but change propagation within product architecture has hardly been addressed. Concerning organisational issues, many researchers in the field of industrial engineering have paid careful attention to a new organisation design but hardly any to an incremental evolution of project organisation. Galbraith (1977) highlighted that product architecture and development organisation were strongly interrelated. However, few research works have studied this relationship, and the need for a coherent model of product and organisation co-evolution remains. This paper aims to present a matrix-based method that should help design managers to simulate change propagation between product architecture and development organisation. This method uses a 'management by uncertainty' approach and a mathematical model in order to propagate change. An industrial case study illustrates it in case of component changes.

Online publication date: Tue, 09-Nov-2010

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