Chapter 7: Application Studies

Title: A method to define a co-design platform to support cooperative work in SMEs

Author(s): Michele Germani, Maura Mengoni, Margherita Peruzzini

Address: Polytechnic University of Marche, via Brecce Bianche, 60131 Ancona, Italy | Polytechnic University of Marche, via Brecce Bianche, 60131 Ancona, Italy | Polytechnic University of Marche, via Brecce Bianche, 60131 Ancona, Italy

Reference: International Conference on Product Lifecycle Management 2009 pp. 335 - 345

Abstract/Summary: Collaborative product development is crucial for extended enterprises in order to promote innovation facing market competitiveness. Co-design software platforms aim at facilitating companies networking to achieve common design goals. A successful cooperation depends on tools' ability to effectively manage communication, data sharing in distributed teams and specific interaction requirements. In the context of small and medium enterprises (SMEs), the integration of design and supply chains is not a trivial task. Their highly flexible organization makes difficult to manage multidisciplinary teamwork and advanced co-design software implementation. This paper presents a structured method for defining an innovative co-design platform for SMEs. System architecture can be defined by applying suitable metrics based on collaborative process characteristics in order to assess functionalities performance of available tools. Benchmarking is based on different levels of collaboration recognized in typical SMEs product development process. Correlation between process metrics, software functionalities and specific collaboration needs is managed by adopting quality function deployment (QFD) techniques.

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