Ioana Deniaud

Strategic decision-making in NPD projects according to risk: Application to satellites design projects

Abstract In this paper we present a method for making strategic decisions in New Product Development (NPD) projects based on risks. In NPD the complexity of the process depends both on the nature of the design problem and the difficulties associated with managing the project (activities, risks). To design a complex product several different teams, having different competencies, work on the project. Not one among them controls the entire process. The interactions between product subsystems in NPD often lead to technological arbitration between alternative solutions. In selecting one solution over another, the risk management concerns and the overall project plan are affected. Therefore, the objective is to give the project manager the means to evaluate the effects of strategic decisions, including those that influence the selection of technological solutions for the project plan as well as those for risk treatment strategies. We propose an integrated process that comprises design, project management and risk management. It takes into consideration the design activities and risk activities to generate a design project planning where design activities and risk activities are folded into the overall design project plan. During the process of project design two different types of strategies are required: one relates to the problem design, the other to the assessment of project risks. Each strategy leads to different possible scenarios. We present a decision tree that shows the decision steps and possible project scenarios. A generic decision support system is proposed. We demonstrate its applicability by applying it to a satellite design project.

Managing Uncertainty in Innovative Design: Balancing Control and Flexibility

We investigate how control and flexibility can be balanced to manage uncertainty in innovative design. Emphasis is placed on two sources of uncertainty (technological and market) and two types of uncertainty (foreseen and unforeseen) that generate challenges in innovative design. After identifying project practices that cope with these uncertainties in terms of control and flexibility, a case-study sample based on five innovative design projects from an automotive company is analyzed and shows that control and flexibility can coexist. Moreover, it points out those projects that are suitable for achieving an optimal balance between control and flexibility.

Proposal of an Activity-Based Adaptive Process Model for Innovative Design

In this paper, we introduced an activity-based adaptive process model that views innovative design as a complex adaptive system. Instead of predefining the process architecture, we constructed the model framework by adaptively selecting the design activity by the activity value. We defined the activity value as the complexity reduction associated with the possibility of satisfying the design targets and design stages. Moreover, this paper contributes an expert evaluation methodology to evaluate the activity value in order to balance innovation and control. Finally, we applied the model to an industrial case and analyzed the simulation results.

Interoperability dimensions for multimodal mobility management

Abstract Interoperability is a major aspect which has to be addressed to make sure systems can interact. On one hand, when interoperability concerns technical systems, the different domains to take into account are often known and they are often the object of standardization definitions. Standards also exist for company information systems development and are used in order to enable activities like E-business. On the other hand, dealing with interoperability in socio-technical systems is not only limited to the technical domains covered by standardization. This paper intends to identify these dimensions, based on a case study in the area of Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) raising significant questions related to systems interoperability. The case study is analyzed through seven dimensions which have been identified relevant for organizational interoperability: operational, service, economic, financial, technical, organizational, and cognitive. Finally, a methodology is proposed to formalize the activity evolution required to implement the results of this analysis.

DESIGN AND CORE COMPETENCY, THE MISSING LINKS

Abstract Designing in an industrial context is a very complex activity. It needs the integration of heterogeneous knowledge or skills, to transform a set of ill-defined requirements into an artefact that satisfies esthetical, functional, technical, economical criteria. Design process optimization with methods like system engineering and core competency building are key issues for managers of product development process, design skills networks, communities of design practices… In the literature, these issues have been dealt with separately. In this paper, we propose a framework of reference that helps us to explicit the content of the core design competency. This framework is a first step beyond an efficient competency based management of design structures.