COPE: An investigation into the 'Decomposition-integration' problem in complex product development programmes

EPSRC Funding: £166,167

Abstract:

The second-generation processes improvement initiatives in the defence, aerospace and other industries currently aim to front-fund large programs by deploying at least 15% of the total budget on systems engineering, integration, and management. It has become evident, however, that this "left shift" has not yet fully delivered in terms of time and cost savings expected. The proposed research aims to understand the causes for the process deficiencies, especially the ones related to product decomposition and integration strategies. The approach is to follow a programme, run by a global systems integration company (our Industrial Collaborator) and identify the factors influencing the decomposition and product integration architectures. These factors will be systematised and formalised into a model that will extend the scope of the Axiomatic Design theory to systems integration. The goal is to provide decision-makers, such as program managers, system architects, and chief systems engineers with effective decomposition strategy during the early stages of the product development process. It is anticipated that the results of this project will have major impact on the second-generation IPD, since the decomposition issues affect subcontracting, team building, and scheduling processes.}

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