Improving the Timeliness of Product Development Processes

提高产品开发流程的及时性

• 批准号: RGPIN-2018-04442
• 负责人: Thomson, Vincent
• 金额: $ 2.26万
• 依托单位: McGill University
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2018
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2018-01-01 至 2019-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=666810
• 关键词: Improving; Timeliness; Product; Development; Processes

Better information tools, such as CAD, CAE, and PLM, have improved product design, and better methods, such as concurrent engineering and systems thinking, have improved product development processes. These tools have greatly increased productivity for engineering-in-the-small, since small teams use the same design tools, communicate quickly and resolve issues fast, i.e., coordination is easy. However, engineering-in-the-large, where many people collaborate, is still problematic. The main issue is not being able to deliver on time. Researchers have shown that the competitive advantage that Toyota and others have gained by their superiority in product development mostly comes from better coordination among the various development groups. ******The proposed research will develop mechanisms that deliver products faster by focusing on the timely completion of design tasks, especially in multi-partner projects. Studies have shown that designers in aerospace and defence projects spend less than half of their time on value-added activities. Therefore, companies are searching for new mechanisms for faster task completion. The research will use coordination theory, process models and agent based simulation for the study of timeliness in product development processes. Present coordination theory only quantifies coordination in terms of cost, i.e., the cost of the communication network + information exchange + network effectiveness. The proposed research will develop methods to measure the benefits of coordination in terms of time. The issue is not that effort continues to increase during a complex project, but that the clock is running while tasks are not delivered in a timely manner. ******Agent based modelling will be used to study the dynamic interdependency among activities: the timing of activities, the rate of information exchange, the structure of resources, and the use of support technologies. Data from product development processes will be obtained from companies to build models and validate results. Agile methods were created to improve the delivery of software products. The research will study agile methods to determine what features allow these techniques to be effective and deliver products on time, and what characteristics would allow the methods to be used outside software development.******The outcomes of the research will be coordination theory that can measure benefits based on time, coordination mechanisms that can facilitate timely information exchange among project partners as well as demonstrated links between the attributes of coordination mechanisms and the reduction of cycle times for product development. Overall, there will be a better understanding of how information exchange as well as the design of NPD processes and organizational structures lead to better project delivery. Benefits to industry will be simple methods that help them deliver products on time.

更好的信息工具（如CAD、CAE和PLM）改进了产品设计，而更好的方法（如并行工程和系统思维）改进了产品开发过程。这些工具大大提高了小型工程的生产力，因为小型团队使用相同的设计工具，快速沟通并快速解决问题，也就是说，协调很容易。然而，许多人合作的大型工程仍然存在问题。主要的问题是不能按时交货。研究表明，丰田和其他公司在产品开发方面的优势所获得的竞争优势主要来自于各个开发小组之间更好的协调。******拟议的研究将通过关注及时完成设计任务来开发更快交付产品的机制，特别是在多合作伙伴项目中。研究表明，航空航天和国防项目的设计师花在增值活动上的时间不到一半。因此，公司正在寻找更快完成任务的新机制。本研究将运用协调理论、过程模型和基于agent的仿真来研究产品开发过程的时效性。目前的协调理论只将协调量化为成本，即沟通网络成本+信息交换成本+网络有效性。拟议的研究将制定方法，以时间衡量协调的好处。问题不在于在一个复杂的项目中工作量持续增加，而在于时间紧迫，而任务却没有及时交付。******基于Agent的建模将用于研究活动之间的动态相互依赖性：活动的时间、信息交换的速度、资源的结构和支持技术的使用。产品开发过程的数据将从公司获得，以建立模型和验证结果。创建敏捷方法是为了改进软件产品的交付。该研究将研究敏捷方法，以确定哪些特性允许这些技术有效并按时交付产品，以及哪些特性允许在软件开发之外使用这些方法。******研究的结果将是可以根据时间衡量效益的协调理论，可以促进项目合作伙伴之间及时交换信息的协调机制，以及证明协调机制属性与减少产品开发周期时间之间的联系。总体而言，人们将更好地理解信息交换以及新产品开发流程和组织结构的设计如何导致更好的项目交付。对工业的好处将是帮助他们按时交付产品的简单方法。