Product architecture is the scheme by which the function of a product is allocated to physical components. This paper further defines product architecture, provides a typology of product architectures, and articulates the potential linkages between the architecture of the product and five areas of managerial importance: (1) product change; (2) product variety; (3) component standardization; (4) product performance; and (5) product development management. The paper is conceptual and foundational, synthesizing fragments from several different disciplines, including software engineering, design theory, operations management and product development management. The paper is intended to raise awareness of the far-reaching implications of the architecture of the product, to create a vocabulary for discussing and addressing the decisions and issues that are linked to product architecture, and to identify and discuss specific trade-offs associated with the choice of a product architecture.

The Role of Product Architecture in the Manufacturing Firm

This paper is a review of research in product development, which we define as the transformation of a market opportunity into a product available for sale. Our review is broad, encompassing work in the academic fields of marketing, operations management, and engineering design. The value of this breadth is in conveying the shape of the entire research landscape. We focus on product development projects within a single firm. We also devote our attention to the development of physical goods, although much of the work we describe applies to products of all kinds. We look inside the "black box" of product development at the fundamentaldecisions that are made by intention or default. In doing so, we adopt the perspective of product development as a deliberate business process involving hundreds of decisions, many of which can be usefully supported by knowledge and tools. We contrast this approach to prior reviews of the literature, which tend to examine the importance of environmental and contextual variables, such as market growth rate, the competitive environment, or the level of top-management support.

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Product Development Decisions: A Review of the Literature

A prevalent and pervasive view of designing is that it can be modeled using variables and decisions made about what values should be taken by these variables. The activity of designing is carried out with the expectation that the designed artifact will operate in the natural world and the social world. These worlds impose constraints on the variables and their values; so, design could be described as a goal-oriented, constrained, decision- making activity. However, design distinguish- es itself from other similarly described activities not only by its domain but also by additional necessary features. Designing involves exploration, exploring what variables might be appropriate. The process of explo- ration involves both goal variables and deci- sion variables. In addition, designing involves learning: Part of the exploration activity is learning about emerging features as a design proceeds. Finally, design activity occurs within two contexts: the context within which the designer operates and the context produced by the developing design itself. The designer’s perception of what the context is affects the implication of the context on the design. The context shifts as the designer’s perceptions change. Design activity can be now characterized as a goal-oriented, con- strained, decision-making, exploration, and learning activity that operates within a con- text that depends on the designer’s percep- tion of the context.

Design Prototypes: A Knowledge Representation Schema for Design

Vaitoskirja pyrkii vastaamaan kahteen kysymykseen: Onko mahdollista muotoilla tuotannon teoriaa? Jos on, johtaako teoria tehokkuuden kohoamiseen, kun sita sovelletaan rakentamiseen?

Historiallinen analyysi paljastaa, etta 1900-luvulla on kehitetty ja sovellettu kolmea eri tuotannon kasitteellista mallia. Tuotanto on nahty muunnoksena, virtana ja arvontuottona. Kaikkia naita malleja voidaan perustellusti pitaa valttamattomina tuotannon ymmartamiseksi, ja niita tulisi siten soveltaa rinnakkain. Vaitostutkimuksessa esitettavaa tuotannon mallia kutsutaan tuotannon TFV-teoriaksi (Transformation, Flow, Value generation).

Tutkimuksen tulokset osoittavat, etta tehokkuutta alentavia ongelmia esiintyy yleisesti rakentamisen kaikissa vaiheissa: rakennuttajan paatoksenteossa, suunnittelun ohjauksessa ja rakennustuotannon ohjauksessa. TFV-teoria selittaa suurelta osin rakentamisen ongelmien syntymisen. Tarkasteltaessa pioneeriyritysten kehittamishankkeita, joissa on sovellettu TFV-teorian tiettyja ydinpiirteita, voidaan havaita, etta talle teorialle perustuvat menetelmat tuottavat merkittavia kustannussaastoja ja muita hyotyja. TFV-teorian avulla voidaan siten suunnata uusiin tehokkaampiin menetelmiin tahtaavaa kokeilua ja kehitystyota seka rakentamisen kaytannon etta tutkimuksen piirissa.

/pdf/an-exploration-towards-a-production-theory-and-its-1y5pohraps.pdf

An exploration towards a production theory and its application to construction

Resource-based theory maintains that intrinsic characteristics of resources and capabilities, such as their tacitness, complexity, and specificity, prevent imitation and thereby prolong exceptional performance. There is little direct evidence to verify these claims, yet a substantial literature encourages firms to formulate competitive strategies around resources with these attributes. Further, work outside the resource-based tradition suggests that these attributes can slow innovation, and it is not clear when this effect outweighs the benefits of inimitability. This paper seeks to clarify whether and how the complexity, tacitness, and specificity of a firm's knowledge affect the persistence of its performance advantages. We find that the complexity and tacitness of technological knowledge are useful for defending a firm's major product improvements from imitation, but not for protecting its minor improvements. The design specificity of technological knowledge delayed imitation of minor improvements in this study. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The persistence of knowledge‐based advantage: an empirical test for product performance and technological knowledge

Artificial Intelligence and Geometric Reasoning in Manufacturing Technology

Representation des connaissances pour la conception des systemes mecaniques. Problemes et exemples

Knowledge Representation in Mechanical Design Systems: Issues and Examples

http://asmedigitalcollection.asme.org/IDETC-CIE/proceedings-pdf/doi/10.1115/DETC1994-0002/6661851/9_1_detc1994-0002.pdf

A Method for Early Manufacturability Evaluation of Proposed Tolerance Plans for Thin-Walled Parts

Engineering design is that phase of the product realization process which, given the output of what is commonly called ‘industrial design’, adds the information needed for manufacturing a product. That is a lotof information. The industrial designers essentially provide only a marketing concept for a product, including some usually incomplete and vague requirements of the market. Manufacturing, of course, requires complete information about the material, dimensions, and tolerances for every part, as well as how the parts are to be assembled into a product. Thus, the amount of information about a product that is added in the engineering design phase is huge - and the product’s cost and quality are extremely sensitive to the decisions made during engineering design.

John R. Dixon

Papers

Artificial Intelligence and Geometric Reasoning in Manufacturing Technology

Knowledge Representation in Mechanical Design Systems: Issues and Examples

A Method for Early Manufacturability Evaluation of Proposed Tolerance Plans for Thin-Walled Parts

Recent Developments in Engineering Design Research

Editorial: Research in Engineering Design