Prerequisites for the Modelling and Analysis of a Product Development Process Using Network Theory

Network models have already been used with the intent to gain additional information about the structure of product development processes (PDP). These are supposed to map the flow of information and data as well as to provide a deeper understanding of the company’s procedures. Process networks commonly represent dependencies of tasks and/or social contacts. Treating tasks as nodes in a network allows for a comparison of their position within the process. This way, it is possible to characterize certain actions according to their network attributes. In order to fully describe a PDP, it is, however, necessary to include other influencing factors as well. For example, there are only few approaches examining the impact of quality and progress on the process artefacts (such as CAD-files). The goal of this paper is to clarify what information is necessary to precisely describe a PDP in a network model. This covers a statement about the level of detail, general structure and dynamic of the networks.

Authors and Affiliations

1. Institute of Technical Product Development, Universität der Bundeswehr München, Neubiberg, Germany

   Abdo Chahin & Kristin Paetzold

2. Department of Applied Sciences and Mechatronics, University of Applied Sciences Munich, Munich, Germany

   Julian Hoffmeister & Vahid Salehi

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Abdo Chahin .

Editors and Affiliations

1. Dassault Systèmes, Vélizy-Villacoublay, France

   Gauthier Fanmuy

2. École Polytechnique, Palaiseau, France

   Eric Goubault

3. CESAMES, Paris, France

   Daniel Krob

4. IRT SystemX, Palaiseau, France

   François Stephan

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