Integrated engineering environments for large complex products

An introduction is given to the Engineering Design Centre at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, along with a brief explanation of the main focus towards large made-to-order products. Three key areas of research at the Centre, which have evolved as a result of collaboration with industrial partners from various sectors of industry, are identified as (1) decision support and optimisation, (2) design for lifecycle, and (3) design integration and co-ordination. A summary of the unique features of large made-to-order products is then presented, which includes the need for integration and co-ordination technologies. Thus, an overview of the existing integration and co-ordination technologies is presented followed by a brief explanation of research in these areas at the Engineering Design Centre. A more detailed description is then presented regarding the co-ordination aspect of research being conducted at the Engineering Design Centre, in collaboration with the CAD Centre at the University of Strathclyde. Concurrent Engineering is acknowledged as a strategy for improving the design process, however design coordination is viewed as a principal requirement for its successful implementation. That is, design co-ordination is proposed as being the key to a mechanism that is able to maximise and realise any potential opportunity of concurrency. Thus, an agentoriented approach to co-ordination is presented, which incorporates various types of agents responsible for managing their respective activities. The co-ordinated approach, which is implemented within the Design Co-ordination System, includes features such as resource management and monitoring, dynamic scheduling, activity direction, task enactment, and information management. An application of the Design Co-ordination System, in conjunction with a robust concept exploration tool, shows that the computational design analysis involved in evaluating many design concepts can be performed more efficiently through a co-ordinated approach

Diagnosing co-ordination problems by modelling the emergency management response to disasters

In the United Kingdom, there is a system for the co-ordination of the emergency services in response to disasters - The Emergency Management Combined Response System (EMCRS). It is a complex three tier command and control system. It was set up in response to a need for better co­ordination between agencies, when they respond to disasters. This research has developed models of the EMCRS that support diagnosis of co-ordination problems between agencies. Data for the modelling was acquired by means of training exercises. The co-ordination pro blems were identified through behaviour conflicts between the agencies. For example, the Fire Service behaviours of setting up a cordon around the disaster site conflict with the Ambulance Service behaviours of accessing the site for treatment of casualties. In the course of EMCRS model development, the scope of an existing framework was extended to accommodate EMCRS characteristics, which are general to: (i) systems with more than one level of operation and interactions between the levels; (ii) systems that do not have stable membership; and (iii) systems where there are trade-offs between different parts of the system that affect performance. For example, the framework extension for (ii) is to include time lines and a symbol that denotes additional structures. The EMCRS models constitute substantive Human Computer Interaction design knowledge, that is, knowledge that is both explicit and supports design. Such knowledge supports design practice directly, as the diagnosis of design problems, and indirectly, as the prescription of design solutions. An initial method for coordination design problem diagnosis by means of EMCRS models is also proposed. The strengths and weaknesses of the research are identified and discussed. Future work would be to apply the extended framework to data from an actual disaster to valid ate the EMCRS models.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Diagnosing Co-ordination Problems by Modelling the Emergency Management Response to Disasters

In the United Kingdom, there is a system for the co-ordination of the emergency services in response to disasters - The Emergency Management Combined Response System (EMCRS). It is a complex three tier command and control system. It was set up in response to a need for better co­ordination between agencies, when they respond to disasters. This research has developed models of the EMCRS that support diagnosis of co-ordination problems between agencies. Data for the modelling was acquired by means of training exercises. The co-ordination pro blems were identified through behaviour conflicts between the agencies. For example, the Fire Service behaviours of setting up a cordon around the disaster site conflict with the Ambulance Service behaviours of accessing the site for treatment of casualties. In the course of EMCRS model development, the scope of an existing framework was extended to accommodate EMCRS characteristics, which are general to: (i) systems with more than one level of operation and interactions between the levels; (ii) systems that do not have stable membership; and (iii) systems where there are trade-offs between different parts of the system that affect performance. For example, the framework extension for (ii) is to include time lines and a symbol that denotes additional structures. The EMCRS models constitute substantive Human Computer Interaction design knowledge, that is, knowledge that is both explicit and supports design. Such knowledge supports design practice directly, as the diagnosis of design problems, and indirectly, as the prescription of design solutions. An initial method for coordination design problem diagnosis by means of EMCRS models is also proposed. The strengths and weaknesses of the research are identified and discussed. Future work would be to apply the extended framework to data from an actual disaster to valid ate the EMCRS models

A co-ordinated business object approach for supporting tactical level management decisions

The proliferation of data throughout the strategic, tactical and operational areas within many organisations, has provided a need for the decision maker to be presented with structured information that is appropriate for achieving allocated tasks. However, despite this abundance of data, managers at all levels in the organisation commonly encounter a condition of ‘information overload’, that results in a paucity of the correct information. Specifically, this thesis will focus upon the tactical domain within the organisation and the information needs of management who reside at this level. In doing so, it will argue that the link between decision making at the tactical level in the organisation, and low-level transaction processing data, should be through a common object model that used a framework based upon knowledge leveraged from co-ordination theory. In order to achieve this, the Co-ordinated Business Object Model (CBOM) was created. Detailing a two-tier framework, the first tier models data based upon four interactive object models, namely, processes, activities, resources and actors. The second tier analyses the data captured by the four object models, and returns information that can be used to support tactical decision making. In addition, the Co-ordinated Business Object Support System (CBOSS), is a prototype tool that has been developed in order to both support the CBOM implementation, and to also demonstrate the functionality of the CBOM as a modelling approach for supporting tactical management decision making. Containing a graphical user interface, the system’s functionality allows the user to create and explore alternative implementations of an identified tactical level process. In order to validate the CBOM, three verification tests have been completed. The results provide evidence that the CBOM framework helps bridge the gap between low level transaction data, and the information that is used to support tactical level decision making

The imperfect hiding : some introductory concepts and preliminary issues on modularity

In this work we present a critical assessment of some problems and open questions on the debated notion of modularity. Modularity is greatly in fashion nowadays, being often proposed as the new approach to complex artefact production that enables to combine fast innovation pace, enhanced product variety and reduced need for co-ordination. In line with recent critical assessments of the managerial literature on modularity, we sustain that modularity is only one among several arrangements to cope with the complexity inherent in most high-technology artefact production, and by no means the best one. We first discuss relations between modularity and the broader (and much older within economics) notion of division of labour. Then we sustain that a modular approach to labour division aimed at eliminating technological interdependencies between components or phases of a complex production process may have, as a by-product, the creation of other types of interdependencies which may subsequently result in inefficiencies of various types. Hence, the choice of a modular design strategy implies the resolution of various tradeoffs. Depending on how such tradeoffs are solved, different organisational arrangements may be created to cope with ‘residual’ interdependencies. Hence, there is no need to postulate a perfect isomorphism, as some recent literature has proposed, between modularity at the product level and modularity at the organisational level

Stochastic learning in co-ordination games : a simulation approach

In the presence of externalities, consumption behaviour depends on the solution of a co-ordination problem. In our paper we suggest a learning approach to the study of co-ordination in consumption contexts where agents adjust their choices on the basis of the reinforcement (payoff) they receive during the game. The results of simulations allowed us to distinguish the roles of different aspects of learning in enabling co-ordination within a population of agents. Our main results highlight: 1. the role played by the speed of learning in determining failures of the co-ordination process; 2. the effect of forgetting past experiences on the speed of the co-ordination process; 3. the role of experimentation in bringing the process of co-ordination into an efficient equilibrium

Systems, interactions and macrotheory

A significant proportion of early HCI research was guided by one very clear vision: that the existing theory base in psychology and cognitive science could be developed to yield engineering tools for use in the interdisciplinary context of HCI design. While interface technologies and heuristic methods for behavioral evaluation have rapidly advanced in both capability and breadth of application, progress toward deeper theory has been modest, and some now believe it to be unnecessary. A case is presented for developing new forms of theory, based around generic “systems of interactors.” An overlapping, layered structure of macro- and microtheories could then serve an explanatory role, and could also bind together contributions from the different disciplines. Novel routes to formalizing and applying such theories provide a host of interesting and tractable problems for future basic research in HCI