How to Use the Levers of Modularity Properly—Linking Modularization to Economic Targets

Abstract

Product developers are faced with the challenge of covering an ever-increasing external variety with as little internal variety as possible. Modular product architectures offer one way of resolving the challenge. They have an impact on all life phases and on economic targets. These effects are represented in the Impact Model of Modular Product Families. A large number of modularization methods can be found in the literature. The modularization methods consist of different activities: decomposition of product, analysis and revision of components and reintegration to modules. Module drivers play a major role in reintegration, as they determine which components together form a module. It is not yet clear what effects different modularization methods involving different module drivers have on economic targets. For this reason, the module drivers are examined in their role as levers of modularity and integrated into the Impact Model via access points. By documenting the results in a specially developed uniform method step description and in the Impact Model, we enable the selection of modularization methods with regard to their economic impact. The introduction is followed by the state of research. In section 3, the research problem and the research approach are presented. In section 4, the generic method-step description is applied to seven modularization methods. Based thereon, the modularization methods are compared with each other with regard to their addressed economic objectives. In an explanatory example, the method selection made possible by this is presented. Finally, the results are discussed and an outlook is given.

Challenges in product variant costing – a case study

“…Therefore, when seeking to optimize design decisions in product development, it would seem natural to include this information when designing solutions. However, one of the main challenges found is the difficulty in quantifying indirect costs (Schwede et al, 2022). Indirect costs, often called overhead costs, have in past research, been assessed, estimated, and allocated to specific products through many methods.…”

Analyzing Dependencies between Product Architecture and Module Drivers

“…Different modularization methods also influence the exact design of the modular architecture [2]. Besides technical-functional modularization methods such as the Design Structure Matrix (DSM) [8], Heuristics according to Stone [9], or Functional Modularization according to Göpfert [10], there are product-strategic methods such as the Modular Function Deployment (MFD) according to Erixon [11].…”

“…Using module drivers for module creation is an established approach [1]. The existing module drivers have been assigned to generic product life phases, e.g., development and production, for more target-oriented use [2]. However, this generical view is no longer sufficient since the product architectures are becoming increasingly diverse, and an interdisciplinary perspective is becoming more relevant.…”

“…A wide variety of approaches exist for the actual module clustering, i.e., the skillful combination of components to form modules, such as module clustering based on module drivers [1]. Modularization utilizing module drivers offers the advantage that besides variety management, other objectives such as reducing storage costs or more general economic targets can be addressed [2]. However, which module drivers need to be focused on while designing modular product architectures for personalization or PSS is not yet known.…”

Variation architecture for reducing unnecessary variants in modular product family design by domain mapping and variant-level planning

“…Ripperda and Krause (2017) proposed a method for quantifying variety-induced complexity of a product family throughout the product lifecycle, and Hanna et al (2018) constructed a data model for the consistency of product family information. Additionally, Küchenhof et al (2020) developed a software named Cytoscape providing graph-based visualization and analysis tools for showing an evolution of a product family, and Schwede et al (2022) developed a unified modularization process in which modularization methods can be selected in accordance with the economic values.…”