Global Software Development: Measuring, Approximating and Reducing the Complexity of Global Software Development Using Extended Axiomatic Design Theory

This paper considers GSD projects as designed artefacts, and proposes the application of an Extended Axiomatic Design theory to reduce their complexity in order to increase the probability of project success. Using an upper bound estimation of the Kolmogorov complexity of the so-called ‘design matrix’ (as a proxy of Information Content as a complexity measure) we demonstrate on two hypothetical examples how good and bad designs of GSD planning compare in terms of complexity. We also demonstrate how to measure and calculate the ‘structural’ complexity of GSD projects and show that by satisfying all design axioms this ‘structural’ complexity could be minimised

Modular product architecture to manage product development complexity

Shorter product life cycles, together with heterogeneous market demands, are forcing manufacturing companies to eliminate or reduce complexities in product development and supply chain. These complexities arise due to high level of interdependencies between component interfaces and supply chain participants. To address such complexities, companies need to focus on their product architecture and supply chain design. In this research, the impact of product architecture on developing modular products is highlighted. This modular principle is elaborated with the objective to reduce product development complexities. A case example is presented to define the importance of product architecture with the help of a design structure matrix (DSM) tool to reduce product development complexity. In addition, various drivers responsible for supply chain complexities are identified and categorised, and the relationship between product architecture and supply chain complexities are defined within the scope of this research.fi=vertaisarvioitu|en=peerReviewed

On the Design of Functionally Integrated Aero-engine Structures: Modeling and Evaluation Methods for Architecture and Complexity

The drive for airplanes with radically reduced fuel consumption and emissions motivates engine manufacturers to explore innovative engine designs. The novelty of such engines results in changed operating conditions, such as newly introduced constraints, increased loads or rearranged interfaces. To be competitive, component developers and manufacturers must understand and predict the consequences of such changes on their sub-systems. Presently, such assessments are based on detailed geometrical models (CAD or finite element) and consume significant amounts of time. The preparation of such models is resource intensive unless parametrization is employed. Even with parametrization, alternative geometrical layouts for designs are difficult to achieve. In contrast to geometrical model-based estimations, a component architecture representation and evaluation scheme can quickly identify the functional implications for a system-level change and likely consequences on the component. The schemes can, in turn, point to the type and location of needed evaluations with detailed geometry. This will benefit the development of new engine designs and facilitate improvements upon existing designs. The availability of architecture representation schemes for functionally integrated (all functions being satisfied by one monolithic structure) aero-engine structural components is limited. The research in this thesis focuses on supporting the design of aero-engine structural components by representing their architecture as well as by developing means for the quantitative evaluation and comparison of different component designs. The research has been conducted in collaboration with GKN Aerospace Sweden AB, and the components are aero-engine structures developed and manufactured at GKN. Architectural information is generated and described based on concepts from set theory, graph theory and enhanced function–means trees. In addition, the complexities of the components are evaluated using a new complexity metric. Specifically, the developed modeling and evaluation methods facilitate the following activities: \ub7\ua0\ua0\ua0\ua0\ua0\ua0\ua0\ua0 identification and representation of function–means information for the component\ub7\ua0\ua0\ua0\ua0\ua0\ua0\ua0\ua0 representation and evaluation of component architecture\ub7\ua0\ua0\ua0\ua0\ua0\ua0\ua0\ua0 product complexity evaluation\ub7\ua0\ua0\ua0\ua0\ua0\ua0\ua0\ua0 early selection of load path architecture\ub7\ua0\ua0\ua0\ua0\ua0\ua0\ua0\ua0 impact assessment for the component’s functioning in the systemBy means of the methods developed in this thesis, the design rationale for a component is made explicit, and the storing, communicating and retrieving of information about the component in the future is enabled. Through their application to real-life engine structures, the usability of the methods in identifying early load carrying configurations and selecting a manufacturing segmenting option is demonstrated. Together, the methods provide development engineers the ability to compare alternative architectures. Further research could focus on exploring the system (engine) effects of changes in component architecture and improvements to the complexity metric by incorporating manufacturing information

Concurrent engineering and design for manufacture in the medical device industry

Concurrent Engineering (CE) is an approach to product development in which engineers work on design and manufacturability at the same time. The ultimate goal of concurrent engineering is to reduce the time-to-market while improving quality. This thesis goes into details about the tools necessary to achieve successful product development in the Medical Device Industry. The novelty of this thesis is not in the tools themselves but rather in the way that they are applied to the medical device industry. The need for the CE approach is of utmost importance because of the vast competition in the medical device industry. The times now require changes. These changes are depicted in detail early in this thesis. This latter suggests that manufacturing is to be perceived like another science. The axiomatic approach to manufacturing answers these needs. A new way of designing a product and collecting data is relevant. It is known as the technique of Quality function Deployment (QFD). Finally, all these tools are managed with the phase approach to management. I sincerely think that this thesis will constitute an invaluable tool for managers and engineers in the medical industry

Modern software cybernetics: new trends

Software cybernetics research is to apply a variety of techniques from cybernetics research to software engineering research. For more than fifteen years since 2001, there has been a dramatic increase in work relating to software cybernetics. From cybernetics viewpoint, the work is mainly on the first-order level, namely, the software under observation and control. Beyond the first-order cybernetics, the software, developers/users, and running environments influence each other and thus create feedback to form more complicated systems. We classify software cybernetics as Software Cybernetics I based on the first-order cybernetics, and as Software Cybernetics II based on the higher order cybernetics. This paper provides a review of the literature on software cybernetics, particularly focusing on the transition from Software Cybernetics I to Software Cybernetics II. The results of the survey indicate that some new research areas such as Internet of Things, big data, cloud computing, cyber-physical systems, and even creative computing are related to Software Cybernetics II. The paper identifies the relationships between the techniques of Software Cybernetics II applied and the new research areas to which they have been applied, formulates research problems and challenges of software cybernetics with the application of principles of Phase II of software cybernetics; identifies and highlights new research trends of software cybernetic for further research

Modern software cybernetics: New trends

The file attached to this record is the author's final peer reviewed version. The Publisher's final version can be found by following the DOI link.Software cybernetics research is to apply a variety of techniques from cybernetics research to software engineering research. For more than fifteen years since 2001, there has been a dramatic increase in work relating to software cybernetics. From cybernetics viewpoint, the work is mainly on the first-order level, namely, the software under observation and control. Beyond the first-order cybernetics, the software, developers/users, and running environments influence each other and thus create feedback to form more complicated systems. We classify software cybernetics as Software Cybernetics I based on the first-order cybernetics, and as Software Cybernetics II based on the higher order cybernetics. This paper provides a review of the literature on software cybernetics, particularly focusing on the transition from Software Cybernetics I to Software Cybernetics II. The results of the survey indicate that some new research areas such as Internet of Things, big data, cloud computing, cyber-physical systems, and even creative computing are related to Software Cybernetics II. The paper identifies the relationships between the techniques of Software Cybernetics II applied and the new research areas to which they have been applied, formulates research problems and challenges of software cybernetics with the application of principles of Phase II of software cybernetics; identifies and highlights new research trends of software cybernetic for further research

An Empirical investigation into metrics for object-oriented software

Object-Oriented methods have increased in popularity over the last decade, and are now the norm for software development in many application areas. Many claims were made for the superiority of object-oriented methods over more traditional methods, and these claims have largely been accepted, or at least not questioned by the software community. Such was the motivation for this thesis. One way of capturing information about software is the use of software metrics. However, if we are to have faith in the information, we must be satisfied that these metrics do indeed tell us what we need to know. This is not easy when the software characteristics we are interested in are intangible and unable to be precisely defined. This thesis considers the attempts to measure software and to make predictions regarding maintainabilty and effort over the last three decades. It examines traditional software metrics and considers their failings in the light of the calls for better standards of validation in terms of measurement theory and empirical study. From this five lessons were derived. The relatively new area of metrics for object-oriented systems is examined to determine whether suggestions for improvement have been widely heeded. The thesis uses an industrial case study and an experiment to examine one feature of objectorientation, inheritance, and its effect on aspects of maintainability, namely number of defects and time to implement a change. The case study is also used to demonstrate that it is possible to obtain early, simple and useful local prediction systems for important attributes such as system size and defects, using readily available measures rather than attempting predefined and possibly time consuming metrics which may suffer from poor definition, invalidity or inability to predict or capture anything of real use. The thesis concludes that there is empirical evidence to suggest a hypothesis linking inheritance and increased incidence of defects and increased maintenance effort and that more empirical studies are needed in order to test the hypothesis. This suggests that we should treat claims regarding the benefits of object-orientation for maintenance with some caution. This thesis also concludes that with the ability to produce, with little effort, accurate local metrics, we have an acceptable substitute for the large predefined metrics suites with their attendant problems

Product Information Quality : A sustainability challenge in design and construction

The adverse consequences of building product performance pose sustainability problems for the built environment. Effective approaches to these problems require a clear understanding of building product information and its provision by manufacturers. This is an essential need for sustainable growth in industrialized construction, a system characterized by the expanded role of the manufacturing sector. Furthermore, a sustainable transition to digitalization in the construction industry needs digital interfaces capable of providing the information required for sustainable design and construction. The aim of this research is to contribute to an increased understanding of how building product information can support sustainability in the built environment. To this end, two fundamental aspects have been examined: the quality of information on the sustainability performance of building products and the usability of the digital interfaces providing such information. This research relies on critical realism and adopts a qualitative methodology to analyze and explain the mechanisms of creating and providing product information in four sequential case studies. Systems thinking and process tracing method have been applied to analyze the flow of product information in the construction industry, the operative processes that can support sustainability, and the stakeholders involved. In the first three case studies, the operative process is the diffusion of innovative ventilation products with superior indoor environmental performance. The first case study identifies the problems affecting this process. The second and third case studies, respectively, explore how product information and information exchange on building information modeling (BIM) library platforms can support the process. Influenced by the Grenfell Tower fire in London in 2017, the fourth case identifies the product information problems that can contribute to harmful facade fires threatening sustainability in the built environment. The study examines the capabilities for avoiding the identified problems and explores how an operative process of design, manufacturing, and construction of fire-safe facades can be supported. The findings reveal problems concerning the quality of information on the sustainability performance of products and the methods used by manufacturers for presenting such information. These problems have limited the availability and usability of the information in product databases and BIM object libraries. This defective flow of information affects the design process and can lead to unacceptable consequences such as facade fires. In addition, the inefficient methods of supplying product information have impeded the adoption of innovative products with improved sustainability performance. To address these issues, this research proposes the standardization of product information in collaboration with effective legislation and establishes a framework for evaluating the provision of information on the sustainability performance of building products. The theoretical contributions of this work include five tools: (1) a model for applied critical realism towards sustainability, (2) a matrix for the qualitative analysis of BIM object library platforms, (3) a matrix for evaluating the quality of information and digital interfaces, (4) a model of the functions of the standards on product information, and (5) a conceptual model of product information for sustainable design and construction