This paper explores how change propagation analysis can be affected by the way system boundaries are defined. This is an important issue as engineering change can in reality propagate out of the system modelled and back through components that were not considered. The work builds on a diesel engine case study to examine the difference in analysis results generated based on a full system model (i.e. entire engine) and those generated based on a set of partial system models (e.g. sub-assemblies). It was found that partial system models with boundaries defined by physical sub-assemblies can produce analysis results that are highly correlated with the one produced using a full system model. It was also revealed that modelling more components (i.e. a more complete system model) does not necessarily increase the level of correlation. The findings can be used to support system boundary decisions in change propagation analysis.@en

• Two component classification schemes based on components DSM were introduced • Provide information and strategies from a change perspective - PVP identifies components for change strategies - PAMP indicates components that could be frozen early • Help designers plan for new product variants • Both schemes can be used concurrently to provide more insights.@en

This paper presents a modelling method that seeks to support the prediction and management of undesired engineering change (EC) propagation during the design and development of complex products. The method builds on the house of quality and the change prediction method to model the effects of potential change propagation brought about by different change options. The objective is to better reflect how well each change option can address the product requirements. The method was applied to the design of a jet engine fan during a case study with an aerospace company. The findings suggest that this modelling approach is suitable for assessing the effects of potential EC propagation and can support companies in effective exploration of the design space.@en

An approach to cope with changing market needs is to design engineering systems that can be changed easily. However, in order to identify suitable candidates to be made more changeable, one has to be able to analyse the changeability of engineering systems. Hence, this paper introduces a dependency modelling technique that seeks to support companies in assessing the changeability of complex engineering systems. The research was carried out based on the design research methodology with a focus on method development. The primary result of this work is the provision of a design support that can be used to provide an estimation of system changeability by examining (1) the initiating points of change, (2) the direct propagation of change, (3) the indirect propagation of change, (4) the likelihood of change, and (5) the impact or effort of change. The technique developed uses a matrix-based approach and draws on the change prediction method to generate change indices for individual system components. By referring to the change indices generated, the changeability of engineering systems can be examined systematically. A heavy-duty diesel engine is used in this work as an example to demonstrate how the technique can be applied.@en

Many new products are developed through modifications of existing ones. However, the engineering changes required to implement such modifications can sometimes propagate, requiring further changes to the design. The propagation of change is therefore a significant influence on resource allocation when designing new products. This paper presents a modelling method that aims to manage the effects of change propagation and is applied to the design of a jet engine fan. The method uses a matrix-based approach to model the dependencies between the solution alternatives, the potential change propagation brought about by the solutions, the affected product attributes, and the resources needed to carry out the change work. It allows engineers to trace critical change propagation paths and manage them. The findings suggest that this modelling method is suitable for assessing solution alternatives during preliminary design and can help support engineers to explore the design space in the right direction.@en

Planning is an integral part of the complex product development system. While the value of using DSM as a valuable project tool has been widely discussed, few have proposed using DSM as a tool to assist in managing the planning activity itself. This paper proposes that such an approach could be used to communicate planning change requirements across individual teams involved with complex product development and design projects. Such a dynamic response to change also minimizes the role of plans as a creativity inhibitor suggested by some authors. Further development and use of this method in industry could help enhance communication between project actors enabling better planning activity synchronisation and consistently contributing to an overall improvement in project results.@en

• Change propagation analysis based on DSM • Supporting the assessment of design strategies • Feasible for industrial application • Future work - supply chain and manufacturing cost.@en

It is common to develop new products through engineering changes (Jarratt et al., 2005). However, such changes can propagate undesirably (Eckert et al., 2004) especially for complex technical systems (e.g. Giffin et al., 2007). It is thus important to model and predict how engineering changes can propagate in order to better manage the design process of complex products. To address this, various authors have developed matrix-based approaches to model the dependencies between different engineering domains. For instance, Mocko et al. (2007) describe the use of a matrix-based modelling scheme which analyses the inter-relationships between engineering domains such as system requirements, functions, components, engineering characteristics, and test. In this paper, we extend the analysis by presenting a method which explicitly considers the effect of engineering change propagation. The goal of the method is to direct engineers to critical change propagation paths early and support engineers in the assessment of solution alternatives during preliminary design. Such assessment is analogous to the concept selection phase as described by Ulrich and Eppinger (1995) except the evaluation criteria are broader and considers both the product and the organisation.@en

This paper introduces an approach which uses a modified House of Quality (HoQ) and the Change Prediction Method (CPM) to consider change propagation during the concept selection phase. The key idea is to capture the influence of unintended feature changes on product attributes which arises due to component change propagation, and present this information as an aggregate performance rating for each product attribute. The results from the case example indicate that the performance rating of product attributes can be different once change propagation is taken into account. The findings in this paper also provide an indication that ignoring change propagation in concept selection can result in project delays due to unexpected changes.@en