New Product Development

Management

NPDM 8

Mohsen SADEGHI

Department of Graduate School of Management and Economics

Sharif University of Technology

PRODUCT ARCHITECTURE

These are the Skills You Need to Build a

House – What’s Missing?

What You Need is the Architecture!

Heating, Ventilating, and Air Conditioning

Definition of Product Architecture

• Product architecture is the scheme by which the functional

elements of the product are arranged into physical chunks

and by which the chunks interact

• This definition links architecture to system-level design and

the principles of system engineering

• Architecture also has profound implications for how the

product is designed, made, sold, used,repaired, etc

• Architecture makes its influence felt during assembly

Role of Architecture in Product

Development

Architecture’s Influences

During product development

• How families and platforms are structured

• How functions are realized

• How reuse and standardization are accomplished

• How development work is divided up

• Where subassembly and module boundaries are

• Where DFCs go– In the product– In the organization– Along

the supply chain

Architecture’s Influences

During production system design

• Assembly sequences

• Reuse of facilities and knowledge

• Planning for flexibility

• Sharing of facilities to match capacity to demand

During manufacturing and assembly

• Where production happens

• How customer orders are fulfilled

• How unpredictable demand patterns are met

Architecture’s Influences

During use

• How service is delivered

• How the product is updated

• How the product is recycled

The Architecture Provides The Plan The architecture answers these questions:

• How can the functions be grouped?

• How should the groups be arranged?

• What interconnections are necessary?

• What isolations are necessary?

Elements of Products• Functional elements: individual operations and transformations that contribute to the overall performance of the product

– often combined into modules

• Physical elements: the parts, components, and sub-assemblies that ultimately implement the product’s functions.

What is Product Architecture?• The scheme by which the functional elements of the product are arranged into physical chunks (modules) and by which the physical chunks interact (at interfaces).

Module A Module B

Interface

Product Development Process

Product Architecture• The arrangement of functional elements into physical chunks which become the building blocks for the product or family of products.

Product

module

module

module

module

module

module

module

module

Primary Types of Product Architecture• Modular: each function is delivered by a separate element

• Nonmodular (Integral): functions shared by physical elements

• Most products have some degree of modularity!

Modular Architecture• Chunks (modules) implement one or several elements

• Interactions between chunks (at interfaces)

– must be well-defined

– fundamental to the primary functions of the product

• Modular architecture - allows a design change in one chunk (module) without requiring changes to other chunks (other modules)

Modular Product Architectures• Characteristics: 1) Chunks (modules) implementing one or a few functions entirely, and 2) well-defined interactions between chunks (interfaces).

Swiss Army Knife Sony Walkman

Modular Architecture of

the Sony Walkman

Trailer Example:

Modular Architecture

Integral Architecture (Nonmodular)• Functional elements of the product are implemented using more than one chunk

• A single chunk implements many functional elements

• Interactions between chunks ill-defined, may be incidental to the primary functions of the products

• Used with products with highest possible performance in mind

Trailer Example:

Integral (Nonmodular) Architecture

Other Examples• Modular architecture

– Xerox copier

– Personal computer

– Residential AC units

• Singular (nonmodular) architecture

– Table knife

– High-performance transmission

Establishing the ArchitectureTo establish an architecture:

• create a schematic of the product

• cluster the elements of the schematic to achieve the types of product variety desired.

• define the interfaces

The Concepts of Integral and Modular

Apply at Several Levels

• system

• sub-system

• component

Product Architecture = Decomposition +

Interactions• Interactions within chunks

• Interactions across chunks

Schematic For A Telephone Base

Product Architecture Example:

Hewlett-Packard DeskJet Printer

DeskJet Printer Schematic

Cluster Elements into Chunks (Modules)

Geometric Layout

The 3-D Schematic

Incidental Interactions

System Team Assignment

Based on Product ArchitectureF G E D I A C B1 K1 J P N Q R B2 K2 O L M H S T U V

Crankshaft F F l l l l l l l l l l l l

Flywheel G l G l l l l

Connecting RodsE l E l l l l l l

Pistons D l l l D l l l l l l l l lLubrication I l l l l I l l l l l l l l l

Engine Block A l l l l l A l l l l l l l l l l

Camshaft/Valve Train C l l l l C l l l l l l

Cylinder Heads B1 l l l l l B1 l l l l l lIntake Manifold K1 l l l l K1 l l l l l

Water Pump/Cooling J l l l l l l J l l l l l l l l l

Fuel System P l P l l l l l l l l l l

Air Cleaner N l N l l l l l lThrottle Body Q l l l Q l l l l l l l l l

EVAP R l l R l l l

Cylinder Heads B2 l l l B2 l l l l l l l lIntake Manifold K2 l l l l l l K2 l l l l l l l

A.I.R. O l l l l l l O l l l l l l

Exhaust L l l l l l l l l L l l l l l l

E.G.R. M l l l l l l l l M l l l l l

Accessory Drive H l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l H l l l l

Ignition S l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l S l l lE.C.M. T l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l T l l

Electrical System U l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l U lEngine Assembly V l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l V

Frequency of PDT Interactions

l Daily l Weekly l Monthly

Team 1

Team 2

Team 3

Team 4

Integration Team

Product Architecture Objectives• Product architecture can be optimized to achieve certain economic objectives

– Development Expense

– Unit Cost

– Product Performance

– Development Schedule

Using Product Architecture to Achieve

Economic Objectives

• Three key factors to consider when using architecture to achieve economic objectives

– How modular to make the product (if at all)

– How to handle variability within the system

– How to manage the internal interfaces

1. Product Architecture and Modularity • Two economic objectives most affected by modularity:

– Lower development expenses

• Modules separated from each other except at the interfaces; internal workings immaterial

• Modules can be reused (no new development, no new testing)

– Lower development cycle time

• Modularity permits concurrent development

The Dark Side of Modular Architecture• Cost

– Interfaces don’t come for free

• Usually require connectors, couplings, flanges, lines of code; may require special attention to tolerances and alignment

• Performance

– Modular system performance is usually less than with a tightly coupled, nonmodular system

• Mechanical systems: weak spot is usually the interface, not the components

• Electrical systems: connectors often limit bandwidth or reliability

2. Product Architecture and System

Variability

• Variability (where?): cost?, expense?, performance?, cycle time?

• Variability within a system is driven by its most variable component

• Segregating variability into a limited area of the system improves the management of its consequences

• Keep the most variable subsystems off the critical path

3. Product Architecture and Interface

Management

• Interfaces are where the action is in product architecture!

• Practical steps for managing and controlling interfaces

– Make sure all interfaces are defined

– Have a single point of control for each interface

– Have a mechanism for freezing interface design

– Establish adequate design margins in the interfaces

Defining Interfaces• Ask, “What is the worst thing Subsystem A could do to Subsystem B?”

– If “Nothing” no interface

• To create a list of interfaces:

– Create a matrix with all subsystems as row and column headings

– Check cells where there are interactions

– Interfaces are located where there are interactions

A B C D E

A

B

C

D

E

A D C B

B C,E D A,C

C D E B,D

D E

Control of Interfaces• Create an interface definition document for each interface

• Assign responsibility for managing the document

• Establish a procedure for making changes to the document (document control)

Specific Architectural Implementations• Select specific architectures to pursue specific key economic objective(s)

– Development Expense

– Unit Cost

– Product Performance

– Development Schedule

Architectures to Pursue

Low-Expense

• Maximize reuse of existing designs

– Reduces development and testing costs

• Relocate customization to outside the system boundary

– Example: develop a basic computer and add-on modules; let customer (reseller) assemble

• Obtain nonstrategic subsystems from vendors

•

• (Highly Modular)

Boiling water

User function and Product components

Module Classification

Function flows and Object discoveries

Behavior Structure

Physical Structure - Tea maker side view

Alternative components based on

behavior allocation - Mugs

User Process Mapping in

Placing Tea leaves