The Reference System in the Model of PGE: Proposing a Generalized Description of Reference Products and their Interrelations

Abstract

Samsung recently introduced a new smartphone display with increased breaking resistance, which will probably be relevant for future cars as well. This example shows that subsystems, in general artefacts from former development processes can be relevant for subsequent projects. Their integration has to be planned, i.a. even before the original product is in the market and across branches. The research on supporting methods requires a suitable description model for this phenomenon. Research in design reuse and PGE – product generation engineering addresses this only partially yet. Design reuse focuses on the informational aspect, PGE refers primarily to reference products. This contribution aims at closing this gap as a basis for future research. Two case studies from industry projects by the authors and an example from foresight and product planning show the role of artefacts from former development processes in running projects. It is described which artefacts are used as a reference, why they are used and when. Based on these findings the authors propose the term “reference system” to depict the whole set of artefacts, which serves as a basis for every product development project.

Proposing a Specification Structure for Complex Products in Model-Based Systems Engineering (Mbse)

“…Engineering The Model of PGE -Product Generation Engineering according to Albers et al, 2015 describes product development on the basis of the principal assumption of a systematic use of already existing reference system elements (RSE) as a basis for the development of a new product. RSE are bundled in the reference system (Albers et al, 2019) and can be transferred into a new development project by three different variation types (Albers et al, 2020b;Albers et al, 2015): In the case of a carry-over variation (CV), the existing element is taken over completely with only the adaptation of required interfaces. The attribute variation (AV) characterizes the use of an existing principle by adapting the characteristic values of the corresponding RSE, for example in the form of the physical shape.…”

“…Further potential for mastering complexity in the development process is offered by the explanatory model of PGE -Product Generation Engineering. This model describes product development as a variation of existing elements of a reference system (Albers et al, 2019) and thus supports the targeted use of existing knowledge in product specification. Based on previous findings, results and insight on product specification in literature, the present work aims to integrate and combine existing research approaches in an easy and universally applicable specification framework.…”

Cross-Industry Sectoral Study:Interactions and Challenges of Requirements Engineering in the Early Phase of Product Development

“…The product model supports the concretization in the technical problem solving process from a rather solution-open to solution-specific description of the product generation (Albers, A., Heitger, N., Haug, F., Fahl, J., Hirschter, T., & Bursac, N., 2018). Furthermore, specific information from a reference system (Albers, A., Rapp, S., et al, 2019) can be analyzed and abstracted.…”

Agile Baukastenentwicklung – Chancen und Herausforderungen bei der Implementierung in der Entwicklungspraxis am Beispiel der Zuverlässigkeit von Sprintzusagen

“…Produkte werden jedoch in der Praxis selten von Grund auf neu entwickelt [2]. Häufiger entstehen Produkte auf der Basis von Referenzsystemen [3]. Produkte werden nach Generationen entwickelt und können mit dem Modell der Produktgenerationsentwicklung (PGE) beschrieben werden.…”