Catálogo de publicaciones - libros

Results expected by organizations do not match the efforts spent to obtain processes defined in SDE. In the real world, one justifies this fact by considering the lack of adequate instruments and efficient programs of implementation and follow-up of the performance of these processes, together with the fact that the task is far from being trivial. The search for the achievements of these processes, the measurement and analysis of performance are referred to as a practical-key for the maturity and quality of the processes according to major market frameworks. In this scenery of problems and challenges, this work presents a proposal that supports the measurement and analysis of performance of software processes, and the improvement of these. The proposal is characterized by the agreed use of software modeling and simulation of processes with the performance analysis, the latter subsidizing the former. This work contains two well distinguished parts: a bibliographical review concerning key areas related to software processes, and a case study of one of the processes of SPICE. Viability of the proposal, a study on appropriate indicators of performance, a theoretic-scientific approach as contribution to the referred areas and an instrument that supports the definition and management of software processes are some of the results of this case-study. One concludes that a capable software process is a software satisfying the needs of the customer, and that it must be duly adjusted to the reality of the customer organization.

This paper is a position paper to point out that concurrent engineering is entering its 3 generation. 1 generation concurrent engineering was proposed in 1989 when DICE project started. The primary purpose of the 1 generation was how effectively we can reduce time to market. Their only concern was time and “earlier and faster” were the keywords then.

Then 2 generation concurrent engineering came. We became aware that if we really have to process things in a concurrent way, we have to discuss at a strategic level. The tactical discussion would not solve the problem. That was what we found out after many years of practicing concurrent engineering. The primary task in 2 generation concurrent engineering was how we can set a strategic goal across all different development processes. To achieve this, communication and collaboration became essential. So some researchers, including myself, called this 2 generation concurrent engineering “collaborative engineering”.

Now, we are entering 3 generation. With the growing diversification of customers and with our traditional markets going out, we have to consider every constraint as soft and negotiable. In short, our 3 generation concurrent engineering is “negotiable engineering”. Everything is put on a negotiable basis. There are no more fixed dimensions. Everything changes in a dimension and sometimes the number of dimension itself changes. Our way of solving the problem changed to constraint-driven from our traditional way of goal-driven.

This paper describes how concurrent engineering changed with time and what will be our new challenges in our 3 generation concurrent engineering.

The present work presents a study on the application of business plans (BP) (a widely used document for investment decisions of new enterprises), with standard new product development processes (PDPs). The main objective was to find out whether it may be applied and, if so, at which moments it should be used in the PDP. The main source of information in this exploratory research was the existing literature concerning product and business development processes, business plans models and similar documentation, and project selection and evaluation methods. Then, these contents have been compared using the PDP stages as references. As a result, the study points out that a business plan is a document that models business, and it can gather enough information for investment decision analyses. It can also be elaborated concurrently with the PDP stages and used at the PDP decision gates. However, business dynamics has favored other forms of documentation for early decisions, such as synopses, presentations and even web-pages (for external resources). Business plan contents are still relevant and useful for new enterprises investment decisions.

The significance of business process approach has been increasingly recognized on new product development management (NPD). The challenge is how to build models to support it. This paper presents a model named PDPNet to provide it and describes an application case study in a agriculture machine enterprise. The data collect instruments are participant observations and document analysis. The results contains the description and an evaluation of the maturity level, considering the model proposed. The conclusion presents considerations about the support disposal by the model during the application, the challenges findings, and proposals about future research.

Product development process (PDP) has been recognized as a source of competitive profits and nowadays has received special attention from companies. Recent literature suggests that to get an effective systematization it is necessary to analyze and improve this business process. Then PDP models had been a common place in the research agenda. This article describes the case of product development systematization in a specific automotive enterprise. During the case research it was collected recent data of company performance and history information regarding changes on its PDP model and practices. This research allowed us to identify actions, best and bad practices and analyze the impact on performance in order to identify aspects to be studied. Finally, this research discusses gaps between implemented activities and PDP models related in the bibliographical review.

A product development system (PDS) is based on two pillars: “do the thing right” and “do the right thing”. While the former leads to operational efficiency and waste reduction, the latter guarantees the fulfillment of all stakeholders needs. In this context, Toyota’s PDS has a superior performance. The lack of formalization of the Toyota PDS system, though, makes it difficult to replicate. Research on this system has resulted in the identification of several principles, tools and techniques, but did not present a way to make them systematic. This paper aims to propose a systematic way to make the lean engineering product development planning. The method allows the creation of an activity network, which provides at the same time value creation and waste reduction. The first part of the paper identifies the needs to the lean development planning. In sequence the method conception is presented. Finally the method is evaluated against the identified needs and improvement opportunities observed on an aerospace product development example.

The development of products consists of a process that involves knowledge and several functional areas and presents a high degree of complexity and iteration in its execution. The literature presents several models and approaches for characterizing the new product development process. However, they usually do not adequately represent its dynamics. The present work aims at characterizing the product development process based on the nature of its elements covered by the literature. A representative conceptual model of this process is proposed within two levels of integration. The theoretical model is based on six dimensions (strategic, organizational, technical, planning, control and operational) integrated in the levels of structural and operational. It also identifies what the elements that compose the operational dimension are and how the interaction between them might be characterized. The paper also emphasizes the need for new studies with a detailed analysis of the interaction and the integration of the elements here presented.

This paper presents a structured model to help the user choose the most appropriate statistical technique to solve problems relating to the product development process. Starting from a well-defined problem, the model helps the user convert the problem into statistical objectives. Based on those objectives, the decision model then defines a sequence of structured questions whose responses lead to the selection of the statistical technique. The sequence of questions is supported by examples, detailed explanations of the concepts involved, links to sites associated with the case, and a glossary of statistical terms. Statistical techniques are support tools for the New Product Development Process (NPD) and are used in various activities of this process. The main result expected from the use of the model is the dissemination of the application of statistical techniques during the NPD process in companies, especially small and medium companies, where this type of support is most lacking. To enable companies to use and test the structured model, a decision support system will be developed for free access on the Internet.

The objective of the article is to compare the Engineering and Design fields in relation to the Product Development Process (PDP). In both areas we can identify different methodologies that guide, each one under its own optic, the Product Project. Although aiming the same objective, the Product Development, these two fields present a certain disconnection, if we compare the models presented in the literature. This can be explained by the fact that Engineering traditionally develops the products with emphasis in the technical aspects of the products and Design investigates the interfaces of the users with the products. Considering this, this article consists in a theoretical discussion regarding to an appropriation of planning models of the Product Development by the Design field, from the problem solving process as well as the systematization and coordination of the creation activity. As conclusion, the work presents a methodological systematization with the implementation of new techniques for the process of Design, focusing at the trends adopted for the corporations that search constant innovation, efficiency of the products and services, and adaptation to the changes, among others factors.

To shorten the lead-time of software, the design tasks should be arranged reasonably. Development process reconfiguration is the key to the concurrent design. Axiomatic design builds the functional-structure model of products by zigzag mapping among domains. The independence axiom demands that the independence of the functional requirements should be maximized. The relationship between tasks is established by analyzing the design matrix. The diagonal matrix shows that the design tasks are mutually independent, and can be concurrently processed so that the overall developing time can be greatly shortened. The triangular matrix shows that the design tasks should be processed sequentially so that the whole process can be managed effectively. By using axiomatic design to analyze the design tasks, the design process can be arranged reasonably and the lead-time can be shortened. The module-junction structure diagram shows the sequence of the software development.