A decision analytic framework for evaluating concurrent engineering

Ali A. Yassine, Kenneth R. Chelst, Donald R. Falkenburg

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    79 Scopus citations

    Abstract

    This paper quantifies key issues with regard to concurrent engineering through the use of risk and decision analysis techniques that enable us to better understand, structure, and manage the design process. In concurrent engineering, the information structure of a design process does not usually imply the execution patterns of the corresponding design tasks. On the contrary, this gap between the information structure and execution patterns is the essence of concurrent engineering and its basic advantage over traditional sequential design. In this paper, we relate the structure of information flow in a design process to three different execution strategies: sequential, partial overlapping, and concurrent. The risks of excessive task iterations or redesigns associated with each execution pattern are probabilistically modeled. Risk and decision analysis methodology is used to determine the best execution strategy and the optimal overlapping policy for a set of activities given their information structure. Applying this theoretical framework to a real-world design application of an automotive cylinder block suggested a potential 18% reduction in development cycle time.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)144-157
    Number of pages14
    JournalIEEE Transactions on Engineering Management
    Volume46
    Issue number2
    DOIs
    StatePublished - 1999

    Keywords

    • Concurrent engineering
    • Design process structure
    • Information requirements
    • Partial overlapping
    • Probabilistic modeling
    • Risk and decision analysis

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