Fumiya Akasaka

Development of a knowledge-based design support system for Product-Service Systems

Compared to product design, a broader range of knowledge is required to Product-Service System (PSS) design, since both products and services are included in its design space. In this paper, a method for knowledge-based PSS design support is proposed. The proposed method is on the basis of the research on Japanese Service Engineering, which provides design methodology of the integrated provision of products and services. In addition, a prototype of computer-aided design (CAD) system to realize knowledge-based PSS design support is developed. The method and system support the acquisition of new PSS design solutions by integrating knowledge accumulated in a knowledge base. The developed system was applied to a design of an actual service: an accommodation service in Japan. The application result showed that the developed system was useful to support a design of the integrated provision of products and services.

A framework for managing and utilizing product–service system design knowledge

This study focuses on how to manage and utilise design knowledge in the conceptual design of product–service systems (PSSs). PSS is a business concept that manufacturing firms can use to enhance the value of their products. In order to design an effective PSS, it is important to search for value proposition opportunities throughout the entire product life cycle and offer appropriate services to customers at each opportunity. Because both products and services are included in the design space, PSS designers need to use a broader range of knowledge than that required in product design. Against such background, this article proposes a framework for managing and utilising PSS design knowledge to support idea generation in PSS design. The effectiveness of the framework is demonstrated by its application on an example of PSS design.

Toward Product-Service System Engineering: New System Engineering for PSS Utilization

The introduction of engineering methods is considered a promising approach to the effective and efficient design of Product-Service Systems (PSSs). The authors have conducted studies on Service Engineering in Japan in order to provide a fundamental understanding of services as well as concrete engineering methods to design and develop them. This paper denotes the need to progress from Service Engineering to PSS Engineering. In addition, methods and tools that can contribute to PSS design are discussed.

Establishment of a function embodiment knowledge base for supporting service design

In service engineering, a service is represented as a functional structure that satisfies customer requirements. Specific entities and their activities are associated with a functional structure as a way to accomplish a goal. In this phase, it is important for service designers to have broad knowledge, since entities that construct a service include both human and physical products. Therefore, the extent of the designer’s knowledge is the key to the enhancement of design solutions. However, few tools to support designers in the embodiment phase have been proposed. In this paper, for the purpose of constructing a function embodiment knowledge base in service design, the representational form of knowledge is proposed, and a prototype system of function embodiment knowledge base is established. Then function embodiment knowledge is collected from multiple service cases using the prototype system, and the effectiveness of knowledge base is discussed.

Extraction of Customers’ Potential Requirements Using Service Scenario Planning

The realization of service that adapts to a diversity of customer requirements is becoming important in many industries. A tool for extracting customer requirements, which is called a requirements analysis template, has been proposed previously. However, using this tool, customer requirements are extracted without any consideration of variable environmental factors, such as social change and macroeconomic fluctuations, even though these factors influence customer requirements. This paper proposes a supporting method that service designers can use to help consider such environmental factors and grasp customers’ “potential” requirements when they build their service strategies. To achieve this purpose, the requirement analysis template is integrated with scenario planning methodology, which is a method used to consider environmental factors for business strategy planning.

A Service Engineering framework to design and configure Product-Service Systems

Companies are striving to create new sources of value, providing integrated product-service solutions to customers, evolving from a “pure product” orientation towards a Product-Service System (PSS) perspective. In this context, Service Engineering (SE), the discipline concerned with the systematic development and design of product-services, is becoming a predominant field. Most of the available Service Engineering models, methods and tools come from traditional engineering, business and computer science approaches adapted to the Service System or Product-Service System. In order to fill this gap, this paper proposes a Service Engineering framework that integrates a product-service design modelling tool developed at the Tokyo Metropolitan University with a discrete event simulation test-bench, which enables the comparison of several PSS configurations and the evaluation of both customer and internal performance. A sample case is reported to better clarify the different phases of the framework implementation.

A Knowledge-Based Design Support Method for Product-Service Contents Design

Product-Service Systems (PSS) have been regarded as a new business concept for manufacturing companies to enhance the value of their products. Since both products and services are included in the design objects, PSS design requires a broader range of knowledge to generate ideas for its design solutions. In this paper, for the purpose of supporting idea generation in PSS design, a knowledge-based design support method is proposed. The basic feature of the proposed method is providing knowledge collected from PSS cases. The effectiveness of the proposed method is presented on the basis of its application to an example.

Knowledge-Based Design Support System for Conceptual Design of Product-Service Systems

Product-Service Systems (PSS) are regarded as an attractive business concept for manufacturing companies to enhance the value of their products. As both tangible products and intangible services are included in the design space, various alternatives have to be considered when it comes to developing design solutions for PSS, especially in the conceptual design phase. Therefore, in PSS design, designers require a broader range of knowledge to generate several design solution ideas. Taken this issue into consideration, a PSS conceptual design support system is developed in this paper. The basic feature of the system is managing and reusing case knowledge of PSS. The design support system is developed on the basis of the analysis results of the PSS design experiment. The effectiveness of the proposed system was analyzed using an example application.

Product Service Systems Design Focusing on System Aspect: Total Value Creation for Various Stakeholders

Product-Service System (PSS) is regarded as a new business concept for manufacturing firms to enhance the value of their products and build up strong relationships with their customers. To realize a sustainable business, it is important for them to make a business situation where each stakeholder involved receives values through the provision of PSS. The designers have to have a holistic view and consider the total value created within the system. This paper proposes a method to design PSS that have high value for each stakeholder. In this method, a PSS is designed through a “design cycle” composed of three phases such as: (1) modeling, (2) simulation, and (3) new scenario description. In this method, a PSS is designed under the simultaneous consideration of values received by various stakeholders.

Toward Establishing Design Methods for Cloud-Based Business Platforms

‘Cloud computing’ enables system integrators to develop business platforms from existing system by combining software and hardware functions provided by virtualized servers and resources. This functional substitution is the essence of cloud computing and it is the embodiment of the concept of Product-Service Systems in the IT industry. Bearing this in mind, this paper proposes design methods for cloud-based business platforms. By applying Axiomatic Design, Design Structure Matrix and Design-for-X, these design methods can be streamlined, thereby identifying better alignment/separation of functionalities and allocating them to physical servers and resources. Accordingly, the methods will facilitate the shift to service-based business in the IT industry.