Explicit Product Structures for Concurrent Engineering

Abstract

DLR is using a data model for their Concurrent Engineering studies. This model is intended to be used for the whole life-cycle of a spacecraft. Here, the system is usually decomposed by so called product structures. So far, the used product structures in the model differ between life-cycle Phase A and B. This leads to reuse problems, requires complicated transformations, and potentially incurs information loss. As a consequence, it is required to harmonize these product structures. This paper defines a reasonable subset of Phase B product structures for the application in CE. They will have an increase in model size as well as user interactions. The increase is quantified in this paper and discussed with qualitative observations of two studies where these new product structures have been used.