A quantitative model of hierarchical product design
Analysing hierarchical design processes is difficult due to the technical and organizational dependencies spanning over multiple levels. The V-Model of Systems Engineering considers multiple levels. It is, however, not quantitative. We propose a model for simulating hierarchical product design proce...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Cambridge University Press
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Design Science |
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| Online Access: | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S2053470124000374/type/journal_article |
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| author | Ferdinand Wöhr Simon Königs Max Stanglmeier Markus Zimmermann |
| author_facet | Ferdinand Wöhr Simon Königs Max Stanglmeier Markus Zimmermann |
| author_sort | Ferdinand Wöhr |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Analysing hierarchical design processes is difficult due to the technical and organizational dependencies spanning over multiple levels. The V-Model of Systems Engineering considers multiple levels. It is, however, not quantitative. We propose a model for simulating hierarchical product design processes based on the V-Model. It includes, first, a product model which structures physical product properties in a hierarchical dependency graph; second, an organizational model which formalizes the assignment of stakeholder responsibility; third, a process model which describes the top-down and bottom-up flow of design information; fourth, an actor model which simulates the combination of product, organization and process by using computational agents. The quantitative model is applied to a simple design problem with three stakeholders and three separate areas of responsibility. The results show the following phenomena observed in real-world product design: design iterations occur naturally as a consequence of the designers’ individual behaviour; inconsistencies in designs emerge and are resolved. The simple design problem is used to compare point-based and interval-based requirement decomposition quantitatively. It is shown that development time can be reduced significantly by using interval-based requirements if requirements are always broken down immediately. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-06ac2243b880425a977f0879d58cf667 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2053-4701 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Cambridge University Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Design Science |
| spelling | doaj-art-06ac2243b880425a977f0879d58cf6672025-02-07T04:38:52ZengCambridge University PressDesign Science2053-47012025-01-011110.1017/dsj.2024.37A quantitative model of hierarchical product designFerdinand Wöhr0https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6850-8175Simon Königs1Max Stanglmeier2Markus Zimmermann3https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6666-3291BMW Group, Department of Total Vehicle Development, Munich, Germany Technical University of Munich, TUM School of Engineering and Design, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Laboratory for Product Development and Lightweight Design, Garching, GermanyBMW Group, Department of Total Vehicle Development, Munich, GermanyBMW Group, Department of Total Vehicle Development, Munich, GermanyTechnical University of Munich, TUM School of Engineering and Design, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Laboratory for Product Development and Lightweight Design, Garching, GermanyAnalysing hierarchical design processes is difficult due to the technical and organizational dependencies spanning over multiple levels. The V-Model of Systems Engineering considers multiple levels. It is, however, not quantitative. We propose a model for simulating hierarchical product design processes based on the V-Model. It includes, first, a product model which structures physical product properties in a hierarchical dependency graph; second, an organizational model which formalizes the assignment of stakeholder responsibility; third, a process model which describes the top-down and bottom-up flow of design information; fourth, an actor model which simulates the combination of product, organization and process by using computational agents. The quantitative model is applied to a simple design problem with three stakeholders and three separate areas of responsibility. The results show the following phenomena observed in real-world product design: design iterations occur naturally as a consequence of the designers’ individual behaviour; inconsistencies in designs emerge and are resolved. The simple design problem is used to compare point-based and interval-based requirement decomposition quantitatively. It is shown that development time can be reduced significantly by using interval-based requirements if requirements are always broken down immediately.https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S2053470124000374/type/journal_articleDistributed designProcess simulationAgent-based modelling |
| spellingShingle | Ferdinand Wöhr Simon Königs Max Stanglmeier Markus Zimmermann A quantitative model of hierarchical product design Design Science Distributed design Process simulation Agent-based modelling |
| title | A quantitative model of hierarchical product design |
| title_full | A quantitative model of hierarchical product design |
| title_fullStr | A quantitative model of hierarchical product design |
| title_full_unstemmed | A quantitative model of hierarchical product design |
| title_short | A quantitative model of hierarchical product design |
| title_sort | quantitative model of hierarchical product design |
| topic | Distributed design Process simulation Agent-based modelling |
| url | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S2053470124000374/type/journal_article |
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