J. Miedema

Synergy of Technical Specifications, Functional Specifications and Scenarios in Requirements Specifications

In the (mechanical) design process, the requirements specification is a formal registration of the conditions that are imposed on a new or altered product design, both preceding as well as during the corresponding product development cycle. For a long time, the use of technical specifications has prevailed in the establishment of such requirements specifications. However, gradually, there is an appreciation for the fact that sheer technical specifications may inadvertently fix constraints and possibilities too early in the process. Moreover, it is recognized that technical specifications are unsuitable to adequately address the role of unquantifiable aspects that play important roles in the development cycle. Using functional specifications and scenarios respectively may aid in addressing these problems. Considering the importance of having an effective requirements specification, the coherence, synergy and specifics of technical specifications, functional specifications and scenarios as part of the requirements specification are addressed. This publication focuses on the different roles, limitations and added values of the constituents of the requirements specification.

Synthetic Environments for Cooperative Product Design

Synthetic Environments (SE) facilitate an easy setup of various virtual realities since they are component-based and relatively easy maintainable. Through three stages, involving various types of stakeholders, the feasibility of SEs for cooperative product design (CPD) was explored: 1) Semi-structured group interviews with 19 engineers and designers assessed SEs potential for CPD; 2) Implementation of a SE; 3) Comparison of a SE with its real counterpart, through: a) an experimental task and b) questionnaires to determine the task performance, the mental workload, the experienced spatial presence, involvement, and realness. 16 participants had a similar task performance, mental workload, and involvement but differed in experienced realism (F(1,30)=5.11, p=.03) and spatial presence (F(1,30)=7.02, p=.01). This research emphasizes the benefit of SE for CPD, which can increase the communication, speed and quality of CPD. Hence, a first step is made towards a new era of CPD.