Title: Product development processes: from deterministic to probabilistic, Part I

Authors: Faysal Khalaf, Kai Yang

Addresses: Ford Motor Company, 9060 Trillium Lane, Plymouth, MI 48170, USA. ' Wayne State University, Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering, 4815 4th Street, Detroit, MI 48202, USA

Abstract: The primary intent of any product design is to meet or exceed customer expectations. This intent can be achieved by following a prescribed product development process. The process is composed of key milestones and deliverables in each phase of product development and of product launches. Product development processes can incur an inherent lack of robustness during product design and application in the processes| capability to deliver the product on time. This paper approaches development process time deliverables from a probabilistic perspective. This shift away from assuming a deterministic behaviour of process deliverables uncovers all potential sources that could affect lack of robustness in designing and deploying product development processes. A mathematical relationship is presented to model the different relationships of total product delivery time and cost to change in various process milestone time requirements. Potential causes of lack of robustness are identified, and potential solutions are suggested.

Keywords: computer aided engineering; CAE; design for six sigma; DFSS; Taylor series expansion; product robustness; sensitivity; variance; product development; product design; product delivery time; product costs; probabilistic representation; marketing; manufacturing planning; product quality.

DOI: 10.1504/IJPD.2006.008872

International Journal of Product Development, 2006 Vol.3 No.1, pp.1 - 17

Published online: 01 Feb 2006 *

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