Product Development in the Socio-sphere

Abstract

In the last decade, as the manufacturing companies have reconsidered the overall concept of goods production, their focus shifted from developing 'products' to 'solutions'. In complex supply chains, the combination of products and services that maximize customers' and stakeholders' value can be identified only if manufacturers improve their ability to co-create, establishing more interactive relationships with end users, clients and sub-contractors. Methodologies for Value Driven Design (VDD) are emerging as enablers for cross-functional and cross-organizational knowledge sharing, reinforcing early stages design iterations to emphasize the maturation of the requirements across supply chain levels. This chapter highlights the uptake of VDD in a traditionally protective domain, such as the aerospace sector. It describes methods and tools for value assessment, and points toward the most relevant initiatives in this domain. Eventually, it discusses areas of further research to promote the effective use of the VDD methodology while designing complex engineering systems.