Product Development Process Research Articles

A product requirement influence analysis method based on multilayer dynamic heterogeneous networks

With the promotion of emerging technologies in the era of big data, there has been a diversification in user participation in product requirement development. This has resulted in many complex, diverse, and rapidly iterated user requirements, greatly reducing the applicability of traditional requirement development methods. In this paper, to address the complex and ever-changing relationships among users, requirements, products, and requirement development teams in the product development process, a multilayer dynamic heterogeneous network node influence analysis method is constructed for product requirement development. This method establishes a product requirement development framework based on a multilayer dynamic heterogeneous network consisting of a user layer, requirement layer, component layer, and expert layer in terms of three dimensions: requirement development, requirement evaluation, and time. Based on this framework, indicators such as comprehensive node significance, layer significance, and node influence are designed. To address the issues encountered in small sample data testing, three measurement models are further designed in this paper, effectively improving the sampling efficiency of the multilayer dynamic heterogeneous network. Additionally, calculation models for the comprehensive node influence and comprehensive node influence variation rate are improved and constructed, and corresponding algorithms are designed. This method is applied in an experimental study of product requirement development for new energy vehicles, providing high-quality recommendations for new energy vehicle requirement developers, including functional requirements and product components that need close and timely attention. Moreover, accuracy tests show that the proposed algorithm achieves an average accuracy rate of 0.8611, which is significantly higher than those of other network node centrality measurement methods. This demonstrates the advanced nature and applicability of the proposed method in the field of product requirement development, providing a new way for requirement developers to improve work efficiency.

Design and Data Visualization Technology in 3D Virtual Art Design

With the continuous development of technology, the application of data visualization technology in various fields is also becoming increasingly widespread. Among them, in the field of 3D virtualization art and design, the application of data visualization technology has demonstrated its unique charm and potential. This article explored the design and application of data visualization technology in 3D virtualization art design, aiming to reveal its importance and impact on art and design innovation. This article studied the application of 3D virtual reality technology in production process development, grasped its core content and specific application methods, and provided a detailed analysis of the specific requirements for production process development. Therefore, based on 3D virtual reality technology, this article established a design system for 3D virtual art design based on data visualization technology, achieving the interaction and fusion of multi-source information. This can promote the development and improvement of the manufacturing process, bringing greater economic benefits to the enterprise. The experimental results have proven that the use of data visualization technology in the experiment can reduce the design costs of roads, trees, lawns, fitness equipment, and lakes by 42.5%, 41.2%, 35.5%, 38.8%, and 39.6%, respectively. They exceed the high-altitude GIS 3D modeling method by 21.6%, 19.9%, 16.4%, 19.4%, and 22.1%, and exceed the digital photography 3D modeling method by 21.1%, 21.1%, 15.1%, 17.9%, and 18.6%, respectively.

A Process for Creating and Designing Automated CAD Models Through the SolidWorks API

This study proposes a novel method for speeding up CAD modelling procedures by combining parametric modelling strategies, Knowledge-Based Systems (KBS), and Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) inside the SolidWorks environment. The suggested system accepts client design requirements through a user-friendly graphical user interface (GUI), utilising the power of knowledge representation and automation to speed up the design process. This technique greatly decreases the amount of time needed to model CAD, improves design correctness, and equips engineers to quickly convert client demands into real components by utilising KBS and parametric modelling. This research shows the viability and efficacy of this unique technique, highlighting its potential to transform the processes of product design and development.

Stakeholder-driven Design and Exploration of Sociotechnical Systems using Virtual-Reality

With ever-shorter product and technology lifecycles, companies are pressured to shorten the time-to-market for new products. This requires faster and more agile design processes both in product development and in setting up new production environments. Technological advances in the field of immersive technologies, such as extended-reality, provide tools to address these challenges and increase process agility. One tool is virtual prototyping. Virtual prototyping enables the involvement of users and other stakeholders early in the development process. Currently, the use of virtual prototypes is largely limited to design reviews and assessments of existing system concepts. Inspired by the paradigms of creative collaboration (co-creation) and exploration, we have developed a participatory design method where users and other stakeholders can explore and directly adapt virtual prototypes within the virtual environment to find the optimal design concept. In this paper, we present an exploratory and stakeholder-driven design paradigm and its application in the context of two industrial use-cases in product development and production training. We illustrate how virtual exploration environments can be built, how the exploration and design process is orchestrated with the involvement of all relevant stakeholders, and how the results and findings can be utilized in later system development phases.

Prevention-through-design approach to mitigate workers’ exposure in the graphene production processes

The growing development of new and advanced nanomaterials calls for a responsible approach to evaluate and prevent health and safety risks for workers, who could be exposed in their whole life cycle. Since many uncertainties still remain about health effects and as long as occupational exposure limits will not be available, Prevention-through-Design (PtD) approach may be proposed as a framework aimed at preventing risks, taking into account health and safety aspects starting from the design stages of innovation production processes. PtD principles could be applied to NMs, including strategies to mitigate emissions and minimize risks related to the manufacturing and use. In the present study, this approach has been successfully applied to different case studies of graphene-based NMs production in research and development laboratories, with promising applications in the transition towards the industrial scale. The methodology includes the integration of ISO control banding tool and OECD multi-metric and tiered approach to assess exposure by inhalation, improving the reliability of risk analysis framework. The findings support the complementary use of qualitative and quantitative data to identify tailored control measures and prevent risks in parallel with the development of NMs production processes, by giving also the opportunity to evaluate their effectiveness.

Current technology and industrialization status of cell-cultivated meat.

Interest and investment in cultivated meat are increasing because of the realization that it can effectively supply sufficient food resources and reduce the use of livestock. Nevertheless, accurate information on the specific technologies used for cultivated meat production and the characteristics of cultivated meat is lacking. Authorization for the use of cultivated meat is already underway in the United States, Singapore, and Israel, and other major countries are also expected to approve cultivated meat as food once the details of the intricate process of producing cultivated meat, which encompasses stages such as cell proliferation, differentiation, maturation, and assembly, is thoroughly established. The development and standardization of mass production processes and safety evaluations must precede the industrialization and use of cultivated meat as food. However, the technology for the industrialization of cultivated meat is still in its nascent stage, and the mass production process has not yet been established. The mass production process of cultivated meat may not be easy to disclose because it is related to the interests of several companies or research teams. However, the overall research flow shows that equipment development for mass production and cell acquisition, proliferation, and differentiation, as well as for three-dimensional production supports and bioreactors have not yet been completed. Therefore, additional research on the mass production process and safety of cultivated meat is essential. The consumer's trust in the cultivated meat products and production technologies recently disclosed by some companies should also be analyzed and considered for guiding future developments in this industry. Furthermore, close monitoring by academia and the government will be necessary to identify fraud in the cultivated meat industry.

A Fisher-Based Framework for the Circular Integration of Product Development and Supply Chain Design

This research aims to highlight the opportunities for integrating product development (PD) processes and supply chain (SC) design decisions in the transition towards a circular economy (CE). For this purpose, the pivotal role of implementing the R-imperatives (recovering, recycling, and remanufacturing to reducing, rethinking, and refusing) in developing Fisher’s model as a managerial tool for designing the SC for a specific product in a CE context, is investigated. This model has been designed using evidence from the literature, industrial workshops, and site visits conducted within Norwegian industries. According to the outcomes, there are three distinct scenarios for implementing R-imperatives in PD and SC design, each scenario highlights the evolving collaboration between PD and SC managers. The proposed model provides a tool allowing SC managers to start the transition towards CE by developing effective CE strategic plans that align with Fisher’s model, thus designing a more optimal SC for their products.

A case study on the use of open source hardware in mechanical engineering

Open Source Hardware (OSH) enables innovative developments and business models. The OSH approach creates new forms of cross-company product development and community-based innovation processes. Open source has been state of the art in software industry for years. When it comes to OSH projects, however, the focus is primarily on the consumer sector. The use of OSH for industrial products, especially in mechanical engineering, is still in its early stages. The paper presents a case study on the development of an application module based on OSH components in a R&D testbed. The developed module is intended to enable electronic functional testing. For this purpose, the development process involved, among other things, creating solutions for a tool changing system. Using the case study, we analyse the advantages and disadvantages of the open source licenses used and derive implications for the R&D process. Building on this, various concepts for the use, adaptation and expansion of OSH components and the resulting implications for development processes and business models are presented. The case study is used to analyse which established open source software concepts can be transferred to material assets, but also which additional requirements arise from OSH components, e.g. in the area of safety.

The Impact of Networking With Knowledge-Intensive Professional Service Firms on Speed to Market and Product Innovativeness

During the new product development (NPD) process, exploitation and exploration are important, especially for small manufacturing firms (SMFs). However, limited resources and a lack of internal knowledge capacity have forced SMFs to work with knowledge-intensive professional service firms (KIPSFs). This article investigates the impact of SMFs’ networks with KIPSFs on the performance of NPD. Using data from 164 SMFs in the northwest of England, this article reveals a linear relationship between firm's product innovativeness and its network with KIPSFs for exploitation, and a curvilinear relationship between firm's speed to market and its network with KIPSFs for exploration. A curvilinear relationship was also found between networks with KIPSFs for ambidexterity and firm's product innovativeness and speed to market. These results lead to several practical implications for networking strategy as each network supports different innovation activities and produces different outcomes.

Research progress on nutritional functional ingredients and biological activity of edible flowers

Edible flowers have a long history of development, rich in a variety of nutrients and functional ingredients, and have great market development potential. Based on the latest research results on edible flowers at home and abroad, the nutrients of common edible flowers and functional ingredients such as anthocyanins, carotenoids, flavonoids, phenolic acids, and plant essential oils are reviewed, and the biological activities of edible flowers are summarized and analyzed in order to provide a reference for the product development and deep processing and utilization of edible flowers.

Sustainable agility of product development process based on a rough cloud technique: A case study on China's small and medium enterprises.

The importance of incorporating an agile approach into creating sustainable products has been widely discussed. This approach can enhance innovation integration, improve adaptability to changing development circumstances, and increase the efficiency and quality of the product development process. While many agile methods have originated in the software development context and have been formulated based on successful software projects, they often fail due to incorrect procedures and a lack of acceptance, preventing deep integration into the process. Additionally, decision-making for market evaluation is often hindered by unclear and subjective information. Therefore, this study introduces an extended TOPSIS (Technique for Order Performance by Similarity to Ideal Solution) method for sustainable product development. This method leverages the benefits of cloud model theory to address randomness and uncertainty (intrapersonal uncertainty) and the advantages of rough set theory to flexibly handle market demand uncertainty without requiring extra information. The study proposes an integrated weighting method that considers both subjective and objective weights to determine comprehensive criteria weights. It also presents a new framework, named Sustainable Agility of Product Development (SAPD), which aims to evaluate criteria for assessing sustainable product development. To validate the effectiveness of this proposed method, a case study is conducted on small and medium enterprises in China. The obtained results show that the company needs to conduct product structure research and development to realize new product functions.

Context-based Derivation of Holistic Sustainability Requirements in the Early Phase of Product Development

Gaining knowledge about the sustainable context is fundamental for the success of a product development, as a lack of knowledge limits the possibilities of innovation. The contextual boundaries of a system often do not adequately describe the influence on sustainability, so that product developers are unaware of problem shifts within and between the areas of impact on sustainability. For reasons of complexity, a therefore needed holistic captured system context is insufficiently taken into account in existing approaches. Within the scope of this article, a framework for Sustainable Context Engineering is developed, that provides a formalization of a holistic sustainable system context for the analysis and synthesis of relations in product development. Furthermore, a requirements methodology based on SPES 2020 is proposed, which supports the decomposition of requirements by model-based templates via a subtractive structure. This promotes communication and situational awareness among developers in order to influence the sustainability goals in the early phase of the product development process. Further research will be made in order to implement the approach in a model-based manner and to define a finite number of measurement parameters based on interdisciplinary sustainability models.

Integrating LCA data and expertise into sustainable product development

Environmental consciousness is growing amongst companies in the construction industry. Often these companies are performing Life Cycle Assessments (LCA) for their Environmental Product Declarations (EPD) to convey impact data of their products to their customers. The LCA studies also reveal insights regarding the distribution of the impacts within the companies, offering a prime opportunity for sustainable product development. Despite the acquired LCA expertise it appears difficult to capitalize this potential. Therefore, this paper will explore the integration of LCA and EPD data and company expertise into company specific guidelines for sustainable product development.The aim of the case study at Aalberts Integrated Piping Systems, a supplier of valve, connection and fastening technology, was to support decision-making by outlining considerations and simplified LCAs for comparing options during product development. Additionally, a more general framework was developed to assist sustainability managers in other companies in tailoring design guidelines to their contexts.By adopting this framework, LCA data and expertise seamlessly integrate into product development, aligning with the existing product development process for easy adoption within the company. The framework’s systematic approach ensures no vital aspects are overlooked. Its adaptability to businesses with varied sustainability knowledge ensures a broad range of potential users.

An Integration of Local Wisdom into a Problem-based Student Book to Empower Students' Conservation Attitudes

The current state of students' knowledge regarding species diversity, particularly when it comes to endangered local species, is a cause for concern. This problem has resulted in a decline in students' attitudes towards conserving these species. To address these issues, providing students with reading resources that incorporate local wisdom is crucial. This research aims to develop a student book centered around real-world problems and incorporate Papuan local wisdom to enhance students' conservation attitudes. The ADDIE model has been employed to guide the product development process, including trials conducted with junior high school students. The effectiveness of the book was evaluated through questionnaires measuring conservation attitudes, expert validation using validation sheets, and student response questionnaires to assess practicality. The research findings indicate that the student book has been deemed valid by experts. Positive responses from students and teachers regarding the book's ability to optimize conservation attitudes suggest that it meets practical criteria. Moreover, statistically significant differences (p < 0.05) in pre and post attitudes demonstrate that problem-based books integrated with local wisdom effectively empower students' conservation attitudes. The inclusion of information on local wisdom, emphasizing the importance of preserving species, has greatly benefited students by enhancing their knowledge and positively impacting their conservation attitudes. Science teachers can utilize problem-based student books that integrate local wisdom as a powerful tool to enhance their students' conservation attitudes.

Transforming the Private Label Product Development through the Leagile Paradigm

Organizations need to constantly improve their strategy, processes, and management practices to keep up with the ever-changing business environment. Over the past few years, there has been a significant surge in the popularity of lean and agile approaches. However, when we talk about a hybrid approach that combines both mindsets, more research is required to fully understand this hybrid concept. Based on the identified gap, a study will be conducted that will evaluate how lean and agile mindsets can be implemented in a private label product development process in an organization located in Portugal. The objective of this research project is to enhance the development process's efficiency and effectiveness by ensuring the product's speedy launch in the market while simultaneously improving its quality. This research project presented in this article is scheduled to take place over the course of the next two years.

Commercial and Technical Productization for Design Reuse in Engineer-to-Order Business

In the engineer-to-order (ETO) business, companies provide customer value by customizing the products according to the customers’ needs in a project-like manner. As a result, the number of individual product designs tends to proliferate, causing challenges in company operations, and product portfolio and product lifecycle management. In addition, if the company's product offering is not well productized, using the ETO model may further lead to poor understanding of the offering, deficient reuse of previous designs, and challenges in sales and making offers. A qualitative multiple case study was conducted to analyze the productization challenges of four ETO companies. On the basis of the challenges and the previous literature, a generic model for commercial and technical productization in ETO business was constructed and further tested in the companies. The model utilizes the logic of commercial and technical product structures. The product structure logic is linked to four different scales of product development processes to address different types of customer requests based on the complexity of the modification that the request necessitates. The model may support clarifying the product offerings of ETO companies to improve their design reuse, sales, and making offers. Further, the ETO order-related decision-making can be linked to product portfolio management targets and company strategy.

Strategic Digitalization in SMEs of developing economies: Digital twin driven engineering value chain for customer-centricity

While digital technologies provide the backbone for digital twins of product, process, and performance, early adopters of digitalization recommend that technologies need to be supported by reengineered processes to unlock capacities and empower people. While the existing research literature provides insights into digital technologies, holistic consideration of product development processes and their responses to interventions is found lacking. This study focuses on the experiential inputs of manufacturing professionals to build a perspective of a customer-centric digitalized value chain enriched with digital twins of product, process, and performance. Authors interacted with SME stakeholders, through brainstorming workshops organized under the aegis of a premier Indian industry association. Based on the insights drawn from the expert interactions, monitoring, optimization, integration, and customer satisfaction have been established as the strategic steps of digitalization. This study adds to the digital twin-based engineering knowledge by introducing a versatile process-technology-performance matrix. SMEs can adopt this matrix to tailor solutions to their unique business needs, enabling flexible creation of digital twins. This aspect makes this study relevant and novel for manufacturing SMEs preparing for implementing transformative digital technologies.

Evaluation of Proximate Composition, Physicochemical Properties, and Sensory Attributes of Instant Flour from Brewery Spent Grain, by Blending with Maize (Zea mays L.) and Germinated Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.).

Brewer's spent grain (BSG) is a nutritional-rich by-product of the brewing industry used in different food product development processes. "Corn Soya Blend" (CSB) is prepared from heat-treated maize and soybeans according to the specifications set by the World Food Program (WFP). Three instant formulations-IF20 (70% maize, 10% chickpea, and 20% BSG), IF15 (70% maize, 15% chickpea, and 15% BSG), and IF10 (70% maize, 20% chickpea, and 10% BSG)-were developed in this research. Proximate composition, functional properties, and antinutritional factors were analysed. The sensory quality of porridge samples developed from the instant flour was evaluated using a consumer-oriented panel (food science and technology students) at a five-point hedonic scale. Accordingly, moisture, crude fibre, crude protein, total ash, and crude fat contents increased significantly (p < 0.05) as a result of BSG ratio inclusion. Bulk density decreased significantly (p < 0.05) while the BSG proportion increased but water absorption capacity increased when the proportion of BSG increased. Phytate and tannin contents were also increased while the BSG proportion increased. However, an increase in germinated chickpea proportion significantly (p < 0.05) decreased phytate and tannin contents. While BSG increased, the overall acceptability of porridge samples decreased, with the exception of mouthfeel. According to this study, up to 15% of BSG, 70% maize, and 15% chickpea could be used for instant flour preparation which has a comparable sensory characteristic with the commercial CSB. Hence, it can be used as a substitute for corn-soya mix.

Human factor in the context of evolution of the production process development

Human factor in the context of evolution of the production process development

Proceedings of the 2023 Viral Clearance Symposium, Session 2: Viral Clearance Strategy and Case Studies.

This session deals with the rational design of viral clearance studies for biopharmaceuticals including recombinant proteins such as monoclonal antibodies and, as new in scope of the symposium, also viral clearance for adeno-associated viral (AAV) vectors. For recombinant proteins, large datasets were accumulated over the last decades and are intended to be used for accelerated product process development and streamlining of viral clearance studies. How to utilize prior knowledge in viral clearance validation and how it can be used in a risk assessment tool to decide whether additional virus clearance studies are necessary during product development is being addressed by three of the presentations of this session. This also includes an a priori intended design and generation of validation data for a new kind of detergent such as CG-110, to build up a platform dataset to be used as prior knowledge in future marketing application. Another presentation investigates the virus removal mechanism of a newly developed hydrophobic interaction chromatography (HIC) resin and demonstrates for highly hydrophobic antibodies appropriate reduction for a retrovirus and impurities in a defined process range in contrast to the moderate to poor virus reduction of recent HIC resins. The last two presentations deal with virus clearance approaches for AAV, which will become mandatory with approval of the ICH Q5A revision. Appropriate virus removal and virus inactivation procedures can be implemented into the manufacturing processes of AAV vectors including viral filtration, viral inactivation (e.g., heat inactivation), affinity chromatography, and anion-exchange chromatography with which it seems possible to achieve a good clearance for helper and also adventitious viruses. The heat treatment step can be even a robust step for adenovirus helper inactivation for AAV products when product characteristics and process conditions are understood.