Structural Complexity Management: An Approach for the Field of Product Design

296 Pages·2009·11.682 MB·English

by  Prof. Dr.-Ing. Udo Lindemann, Dr.-Ing. Maik Maurer, Dr.-Ing. Thomas Braun (auth.)

Structural Complexity Management

· ·
Udo Lindemann Maik Maurer
Thomas Braun
Structural Complexity
Management
An Approach for the Field of Product Design
123
Prof.Dr.-Ing.UdoLindemann Dr.-Ing.MaikMaurer
TUMu¨nchen Teseon GmbH
Lehrstuhlfu¨r Parkring 4
Produktentwicklung 85748 Garching
Boltzmannstr.15 Germany
85748Garching [email protected]
Germany
[email protected]
Dr.-Ing.ThomasBraun
Teseon GmbH
Parkring 4
85748 Garching
Germany
[email protected]
ISBN:978-3-540-87888-9 e-ISBN:978-3-540-87889-6
LibraryofCongressControlNumber:2008935906
(cid:2)c Springer-VerlagBerlinHeidelberg2009
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Foreword
Complexity management represents a challenging task for a large field of different
applications. Consequently, people occupied with this task possess varying back-
grounds and objectives. This book primarily addresses people engaged in the
planning, projecting, and managing aspects of product design. Here, we do not dif-
ferentiate between product-, process-, or organization-related occupancy, as the
need for complexity management can arise from all of these areas. Furthermore,
this book addresses students and researchers interested in new possibilities of
complexity management from a scientific point of view.
The starting point for developing the structural complexity management pre-
sented in this book was the need for specifically designed product structures. The
authors were confronted with the question of developing a suitable layout that al-
lowed designers to easily adapt products to customer needs in order to serve mod-
ern business strategies of enhanced product customization. In this context, the key
issue depicts the management of dependencies within the elements in technical
systems, as these represent the main source of complexity in product design.
These dependencies form comprehensive structures; therefore, the term structural
complexity management was created.
Often, complexity management is understood as the management of product
variants only. Structural complexity management exceeds this, as further discip-
lines and aspects of product design can be considered simultaneously. The appli-
cation of the term structure in the context presented here differs from its use in si-
mulation approaches on, for example, geometric constructions. The structural
complexity management operates primarily with non-quantified linkages between
system elements in order to identify a general system behavior. This ensures that
minimal information about the system dependencies and structural complexity
management can be applied in the early phases of product design – where deci-
sions possess far-reaching consequences. However, in the later phases of product
design structural complexity management is also essential, as large numbers of
elements and dependencies must be efficiently handled.
This book results from the authors’ experience in research as well as in industry
applications of complexity management. We would like to thank all collaborating
enterprises for their successful commitment to this project. Special thanks go to
Ulrich Herfeld and Franz Fürst from Audi AG as well as Johann Warga, Friedrich
Boecking and Matthias Greiner from Robert Bosch GmbH for enduring support.

Garching, July 2008 Udo Lindemann, Maik Maurer and Thomas Braun

Contents
1 The challenge of complexity .............................................................................. 1
1.1 Increase of complexity in engineering development ................................... 3
1.2 The market as the source of increasing complexity ..................................... 5
1.3 The role of structure in evaluation of complex systems .............................. 8
1.4 Opportunities due to complexity in product development ......................... 10
1.5 Example of a race car development ........................................................... 12
1.5.1 Project description .............................................................................. 12
1.5.2 Problem description............................................................................ 13
1.5.3 Opportunities due to improved structural considerations ................... 16
1.6 Requirements for effective complexity management ................................ 16
2 Complexity in the context of product design .................................................. 21
2.1 Definitions and characteristics ................................................................... 22
2.1.1 System ................................................................................................ 22
2.1.2 Structure ............................................................................................. 24
2.1.3 Complexity ......................................................................................... 25
2.2 Problems with handling complexity .......................................................... 30
2.3 Complexity management strategies ........................................................... 31
2.3.1 Acquisition and evaluation of complex systems ................................ 31
2.3.2 Avoidance and reduction of complexity ............................................. 34
2.3.3 Management and control of complexity ............................................. 35
2.4 Opportunities of controlled complexity ..................................................... 36
2.5 Structure consideration for controlling complexity ................................... 37
2.5.1 Objectives ........................................................................................... 37
2.5.2 Information visualization ................................................................... 39
2.5.3 Computational approaches and algorithms ........................................ 41
2.6 Significance of complexity in product design............................................ 41
3 Methods for managing complex data in product design ............................... 43
3.1 Overview of applied methodologies .......................................................... 43
3.2 Application of graph theory ....................................................................... 47
3.3 Matrix-based approaches ........................................................................... 49
3.3.1 Intra-domain matrices ........................................................................ 50
3.3.2 Inter-domain matrices ........................................................................ 54
3.3.3 Combined application of intra- and inter-domain matrices ................ 54
VIII Contents
3.3.4 Multiple-Domain Matrices ................................................................. 56
3.4 Status quo of applied methods ................................................................... 59
4 The procedure of structural complexity management .................................. 61
4.1 Applicability of conventional complexity management ............................ 61
4.2 Procedure of structural complexity management ....................................... 62
5 Modeling the Multiple-Domain Matrix .......................................................... 67
5.1 Actually applied system definitions ........................................................... 67
5.2 The construction of the Multiple-Domain Matrix ...................................... 69
5.3 The items of the Multiple-Domain Matrix ................................................. 72
5.4 A system definition by the Multiple-Domain Matrix................................. 78
6 Information acquisition .................................................................................... 79
6.1 Requirements for assuring data quality ...................................................... 79
6.2 Information extraction from available data sets ......................................... 82
6.3 Information acquisition from interviews .................................................... 83
6.4 Representation of system structures ........................................................... 87
6.4.1 The scope of matrices ......................................................................... 89
6.4.2 The scope of graphs ............................................................................ 95
6.5 Representing structural contexts by graphs and matrices .......................... 98
7 Deduction of indirect dependencies ................................................................ 99
7.1 Information acquisition in domain-spanning contexts ............................... 99
7.2 Deduction of indirect dependencies from Multiple-Domain Matrices..... 101
7.3 Logics for the deduction of indirect dependencies................................... 104
7.4 Strategies for the deduction of indirect dependencies .............................. 114
8 Structure analysis ........................................................................................... 119
8.1 Matrix-based methods of structure analysis ............................................. 122
8.2 Structure analysis based on graph theory ................................................. 126
8.2.1 Basic analysis criteria for the characterization of nodes and edges .. 127
8.2.2 Basic analysis criteria for the characterization of subsets ................ 131
8.2.3 Basic analysis criteria for the characterization of systems ............... 135
8.3 Effective procedure of structure analysis ................................................. 139
9 Product design application ............................................................................ 143
9.1 Structure manual ...................................................................................... 144
9.2 Structure potentials .................................................................................. 149
9.2.1 Tearing approach .............................................................................. 150
9.2.2 Structural pareto analysis ................................................................. 153
10 Use case: Automotive safety development .................................................. 155
10.1 Problem Description .............................................................................. 155
10.2 System definition ................................................................................... 157
Contents IX
10.3 Information acquisition .......................................................................... 158
10.4 Deduction of indirect dependencies ....................................................... 159
10.5 Structure analysis ................................................................................... 161
10.6 Product design application ..................................................................... 163
10.6.1 Improved system management ....................................................... 163
10.6.2 Improved system design ................................................................. 169
11 Use case: Development of high pressure pumps ........................................ 171
11.1 Problem description ............................................................................... 171
11.2 System definition ................................................................................... 172
11.3 Information acquisition .......................................................................... 174
11.4 Deduction of indirect dependencies ....................................................... 176
11.5 Structure analysis ................................................................................... 179
11.6 Product design application ..................................................................... 181
Literature ........................................................................................................... 189
Appendix ............................................................................................................ 197
A1 Deduction of indirect dependencies ......................................................... 198
A2 Analysis criteria for single-domain networks .......................................... 201
A2.1 Characterization of nodes and edges ................................................ 201
Active sum, passive sum ....................................................................... 201
Activity ................................................................................................. 202
Articulation node .................................................................................. 203
Attainability .......................................................................................... 204
Bridge edge ........................................................................................... 205
Bus ........................................................................................................ 206
Closeness .............................................................................................. 207
Criticality .............................................................................................. 208
Distance (global) ................................................................................... 209
End node, start node ............................................................................. 210
Isolated node ......................................................................................... 211
Leaf ....................................................................................................... 212
Transit node .......................................................................................... 213
A2.2 Characterization of subsets ............................................................... 214
Bi-connected component ...................................................................... 214
Cluster, completely cross-linked ........................................................... 215
Cluster, based on a strongly connected part .......................................... 216
Distance (between nodes) ..................................................................... 217
Feedback loop ....................................................................................... 218
Hierarchy .............................................................................................. 219
Locality ................................................................................................. 220
Path ....................................................................................................... 221
Quantity of indirect dependencies ........................................................ 222
Similarity .............................................................................................. 223
X Contents
Spanning tree ........................................................................................ 224
Strongly connected part/component...................................................... 225
A2.3 Characterization of systems .............................................................. 226
Banding ................................................................................................. 226
Clustering .............................................................................................. 227
Degree of connectivity .......................................................................... 228
Distance matrix ..................................................................................... 229
Matrix of indirect dependencies ............................................................ 230
Partitioning (triangularization, sequencing) .......................................... 231
A3 Methods for the construction of a structure manual ................................. 232
Feed-forward analysis ........................................................................... 232
Impact check list ................................................................................... 233
Mine seeking ......................................................................................... 234
Structural pareto analysis ...................................................................... 235
Trace-back analysis ............................................................................... 236

Index ................................................................................................................... 237