Thinking Tracks for Integrated Systems Design

The paper investigates systems thinking and systems engineering. After a short literature review, the paper presents, as a means for systems thinking, twelve thinking tracks. The tracks can be used as creativity starter, checklist, and as means to investigate effects of design decisions taken early in the process. Tracks include thinking about time, risk and safety, and different types of life-cycles. The thinking tracks are based on literature, teaching experience and practice as a system designer. By using the tracks a more complete picture of the system under design, the issue to be solved, the context, stakeholders and the rest of the world is created

Modularization to Support Multiple Brand Platforms

Methods to determine acceptable architecture for multiple platforms supporting multiple brands must represent both platform cost saving commonization as well as revenue enhancing brand distinctions. Functional architecting methods determine modularization based upon functional concerns. Brand identity is additionally determined by sensory aesthetics. We introduce three architecting rules to maintain brand identity in platforms. A dominant theme must be ensured on each product of a brand, and this must be transferred to each product's specifications and aesthetics. Elements critical to brand identity must be made common across all products in a brand. For any platform, brand specific elements must be maintained unique on each product variant. The set of elements not identified as a brand carrier can be made common to a platform. A matrix representation of each platform and its supported brand variants is useful as an architecting tool.Center for Innovation in Product Developmen

Aircraft systems architecting: a functional-logical domain perspective

Presented is a novel framework for early systems architecture design. The framework defines data structures and algorithms that enable the systems architect to operate interactively and simultaneously in both the functional and logical domains. A prototype software tool, called AirCADia Architect, was implemented, which allowed the framework to be evaluated by practicing aircraft systems architects. The evaluation confirmed that, on the whole, the approach enables the architects to effectively express their creative ideas when synthesizing new architectures while still retaining control over the process

Communication: key factor in multidisciplinary system design

System design research often looks at ways to model the system that is developing. Many modelling techniques and model representations exist. Another aspect these models can be used for is to enable, facilitate and improve communication among the developers during the process. The young System Design Group at the faculty of Engineering Technology of the University of Twente, the Netherlands, aims at focusing on this communication aspect in system design.\ud In the paper, a few finished and running projects undertaken in close cooperation with industry are described concisely. From these projects three research themes are derived. These are: creation of high-level models, combining model representations and condense information. The paper ends with plans for future research

What Motivates Recent Graduates to Join High-Tech Companies?

[Excerpt] Although the current generation is often panned as a “self-­‐absorbed”, the truth is that the millennial worker is motivated by the same incentives that motivated the previous two generations (Gen X, Baby Boomers). What differentiates millennials from preceding generations is their high level of technological awareness and the impact that has on their methods of working. They possess a keen understanding of the varied and emergent technologies, and are comfortable using social media and other technology platforms to work, research, collaborate and socialize

Architecting and Innovating

Innovating is essential to sustained industrial growth and profitability. But experience amply demonstrates how difficult innovation is, especially for large companies. The synthesis of valued offerings by aligning customer needs with technology possibilities lies at the heart of innovation. System architects working at the strategic level are ideally positioned, as a consequence of their experience and training, to play a key and even a leadership role in enabling, energizing, and leading this synthesis. The scope of the architecting effort must include the process architecture of the entire value chain as well as the more conventional product architecture to address all potential wellsprings of innovation. This paper outlines an architecture-centric approach to innovation, based on the concept of the system platform architecture.Center for Innovation in Product Development, MI

The engineers’ innovation toolkit

Most engineers nowadays receive a mono-disciplinary education: Mechanical engineering, Electrical engineering etc. Contradictory, the products they have to design are ever more multidisciplinary and integrated. This requires a different mindset. This paper discusses four tools that fit in the engineers’ toolkit to approach these multidisciplinary problems: TRIZ, Systematic Inventive Thinking, Quality Function Deployment and FunKey Architecting. The tools are discussed and rated on four scales: difficulty of problems, complexity of problems, design phase and learning effort. From the characterization a set of heuristics is derived that help in choosing the appropriate tool from the toolkit.\ud \ud It is concluded that the four tools largely complement each other and should therefore be part of every engineer's toolkit.\u

What Attracts People to the Life Sciences Industry, and What Motivates Them to Stay?

Life Sciences is seen as a hub for innovation and an industry that is working to improve the world by creating products to eradicate major diseases and improve the lives of people. One major technology company is a part of this rapidly growing industry that even in tough economic conditions provides a lot of scope for growth and development. This growth is driven, in part, by expanded consumer access to health care in the US through the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Health care spending is expected to increase on average 4.9% during 2014-2018. Growth is also expected in other parts of the world, like Asia, Australia, Middle East, and Africa. This company faces challenges from competitors. As a result of mergers and consolidations between customers, this company\u27s customer base could become even more concentrated. In order to stay ahead of its competitors, this Fortune 500 company needs to spur innovation and attract and retain the best talent