Yutaro Nemoto

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.

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.

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.

Learning State Model for Value Co-Creative Education Services

Achieving learning objectives is considered as a value in use for higher education service. To achieve learning objectives, a teacher needs to grasp a learning state at each time point and then determine a target state that should be achieved by the next time point. With regard to the target state, the teacher also needs to achieve consensus with the learner. This study aims to support teachers in grasping the learning state and achieving consensus with the learner. To that end, we propose a model to represent changes in the learning state and the relationship between learning state and learning and instructional events.

EDIPS: Effective and Enjoyable Product–Service System Design Education Through Active Thinking

In the design of a product–service system (PSS), it is important for designers to embrace the objective of amplifying a product’s value by integrating services throughout its life cycle. For designers who have only learned traditional engineering, however, it is initially difficult to think in this manner. Therefore, educational methods or tools that enable them to learn this way of thinking are required. This chapter proposes an educational business game that enables designers to adopt this important viewpoint in PSS design. Moreover, the effectiveness and remaining issues of the proposed game are discussed based on the results of workshops.

A method for identifying customer orientations and requirements for product–service systems design

For manufacturers, developing product–service systems (PSSs) is getting more important because of the trends of servitisation and creating social value. A PSS is a social system where multiple actors mutually provide products and services. A PSS design, therefore, must take into account various actors as customers. However, existing methods provide an insufficient solution as to how various customers should be handled in an analysis to identify and accommodate various customer preferences and requirements. To tackle this issue, this article proposes a new method of identifying customers’ orientations and requirements for PSS design. The proposed method employs a combination of topic analysis, persona and scenario approaches. The effectiveness of the method is demonstrated with its application to an urban development case. Through the demonstration, its practical benefits are concluded as follows: consistent and logical results of requirement analysis and insights into a new market for manufacturers.

A Method for Supporting Customer Model Construction: Using a Topic Model for Public Service Design

For the design of public services, it is important to clarify service customers. For this purpose, various methods of customer modeling were proposed. Before constructing customer models, it is required to group customers and to characterize each customer group. However, the customer grouping based on some statistical barometers (e.g. age, sex, and job categories) may not reflect actual customer requirements for the service. This paper aims to propose a method for supporting customer grouping and characterizing without such statistical barometers. Finally, the proposed method is applied to an urban development case to demonstrate the effectiveness.