Product-Service Systems Design Process Research Articles

Evaluation and instantiation of a generic process model for early-stage sustainable product-service system design within three manufacturing companies

Although product-service systems (PSS) have been in focus in literature and industry for some years, no generically agreed or applied PSS design process exists thus far, in contrast to the neighbouring fields of product development or service design, respectively. This paper presents the evaluation and instantiation of a recently proposed generic process model (GPM) for early-stage sustainable PSS design in capital goods manufacturing companies. The model was applied in three case studies with an aim to quantitatively and qualitatively evaluate the GPM concerning eight criteria, and study its instantiation process actions to a company-specific model while simultaneously identifying and proposing solutions for challenges to instantiation. Based on observation and feedback received from the companies, the GPM shows promise for widespread applicability, aided by proposed guidelines for instantiating the GPM to company-specific contexts, as also described in this paper. These guidelines aim to facilitate the translation of the GPM into pragmatic models for practitioners in the field of PSS design, thus increasing its chances of successful implementation as well as impact.

Smart product-service systems design process for socially conscious digitalization

While digitalization has become a key driver for promoting value creation for customers and stakeholders, much attention is being paid to smart product-service systems (PSS) to meet their diversified needs. When designing smart PSS, there is a strong need to consider growing concerns about the social and ethical impacts of digital technologies. Numerous ethical guidelines for digital technologies, such as artificial intelligence, have been developed. However, a more practical methodology for designing smart PSS by taking into account both positive and negative impacts (including social and ethical impacts) of using digital technologies is anticipated. This paper aims to address this issue by integrating value sensitive design into the smart PSS design process. This design process combines participatory and systematic design approaches and integrates methods to extract values and develop the specifications of complex smart PSS in an iterative manner. To demonstrate its efficacy, this paper presents a case study of a monitoring service for seniors using a communication robot. The results demonstrate that the proposed design process can support design consideration for social and ethical values and lead designers and design participants to clarify design requirements and generate a socially conscious design solution.

MODEL-DRIVEN PRODUCT SERVICE SYSTEMS DESIGN: THE MODEL-DRIVEN DEVELOPMENT AND DECISION SUPPORT (MD3S) APPROACH

AbstractThe paper presents a Model-Driven approach for Product-Service System (PSS) Design promoting an increased digitalization of the PSS design process based on the combination of data-driven design (DDD) activities and value-driven design (VDD) methods. The approach is the results of an 8-year long research profile named (omitted for blind review) featuring the collaboration between (omitted for blind review) and nine industrial companies, in the field of PSS Design. It combines VDD models and the supporting data-driven activities in the frame of PSS design and aligns with the product value stream and the knowledge value stream in the product innovation process as described by Kennedy et al. (2008). The paper provides a high-level overview of the approach describing the different stages and activities, and provides references to external scientific contributions for more exhaustive descriptions of the research rationale and validity. The approach is meant to ultimately drive the development and implementation of a simulation environment for cross-functional and multi-disciplinary decision making in PSS, named Model-Driven Decision Arena, describe in the concluding part of the paper.

Design Preconditions for Product–Service Integration

User expectations regarding new products and services are evolving rapidly, forcing innovative organizations to explore new avenues for innovation, combining products and services. This paper focuses on the integrative design of product–service systems (PSSs) and builds on the servitization and service-based innovation literature. Many tools have been proposed for designing integrated PSS, with the intent to generate economic and/or sustainable impact. In this article, we focus on tools being used for bringing the user experience and intangibles in the design process. Although the literature is rich with tools and methods to optimize the PSS design process, it does not consider the full array of methods and their impact. This lack of research attention might hinder organizations developing PSS. Using in-depth interviews, this qualitative research systematically combines the extant conceptual literature on PSS design tools and processes with expert insights, thereby contextualizing how to lower thresholds in PSS design processes and how to increase the effectiveness of PSS design tools. The paper contributes to the literature on servitization and PSS by explicitly identifying twenty-one preconditions that support the PSS design process while integrating product and service innovation in close relation to the end-user.

An Innovation Design Approach for Product Service Systems Based on TRIZ and Function Incentive

Good balance between product and service is the key in the innovative design of product service systems (PSS). In this study, the evolution route of the PSS based on Teoriya Resheniya Izobretatelskikh Zadatch ideal final result was provided. The function model of the PSS was constructed according to the service blueprint and function system diagrams. On this basis, an innovation design method of the PSS based on function incentive was established. The function incentive strategies included function synergy, function supplement, and function substitution. Finally, the PSS design process of agricultural machinery based on computer-aided innovation platform was analyzed to verify this method.

Integrated design for product–service systems: a focus on multi-disciplinary interface

The increased competitive pressure forces companies to cease distinguishing products and services, and to provide customers with highly individualised solutions. To meet this requirement, it has been proposed the concept of product–service system (PSS) that is not simply an extension of physical products by delivering non-physical services to customers, but a systematic combination of products and services. However, most current studies do not consider the multi-disciplinary integration relating to the PSS design process, during which the collaboration within the product and service design teams should be achieved. Otherwise, the large number of iterative design activities resulting from poor multi-disciplinary collaboration may lead to long development lead-times and high development cost. To achieve the multi-disciplinary integration during the PSS design process, the authors propose an integrated design method using an improved interface modelling approach that provides a structural form to represent the information transfer between product and service components. The proposed PSS design method enables the product and service design teams to decrease the iterative design activities and improve their collaboration so that a more integrated design process can be accomplished. To demonstrate its effectiveness, the design method is applied to a design case of an industrial PSS.

Unintended Circularity?—Assessing a Product-Service System for its Potential Contribution to a Circular Economy

Product-service systems (PSSs) are seen as valuable facilitators of a circular economy (CE) on a business level. However, that PSSs contribute to a CE is not a given and is determined by the chosen PSS business model and strategy applied throughout the entire lifecycle. Thus, in order to support companies in implementing circular business models such as PSSs, an increasing number of frameworks and methods have been proposed in prior research. This article hypothesizes that many industrial companies are expanding to become PSS providers with neither such support nor a strong sustainability focus. There is a gap in the literature regarding the potential contribution of such PSSs to a CE. Thus, the research reported aims to provide initial insight regarding whether unintended circularity, i.e., an unintended contribution to a CE, may occur when becoming a PSS provider. Applying and adapting an existing framework for the assessment of PSSs’ potential contribution to a CE, the use-oriented PSS of an industrial company was assessed in-depth. Results regarding the relative resource reduction and the prospect of achieving absolute resource decoupling are reported and discussed. While relative improvements over product sales are identified, e.g., resulting from end-of-life efforts on reuse and remanufacturing, opportunities for additional enhancement are found, e.g., in adjustments of the PSS design process. Concerning absolute resource decoupling, a fundamental challenge lies in the use-oriented PSS’s dependency on an increasing number of physical components as the company’s business expands. This article advances the discussion on PSSs’ potential contributions to a CE with an in-depth empirical study. For practitioners, the results reported expand on important aspects of efficient and effective PSS provision throughout the lifecycle.

Analysis of PSS Design Development Models in Turkey

The article aim is observing and framing I-am associates’ process model as an example of in the context of Turkey while comparing it with the existing models. Product Service System (PSS) design is a new field in Turkey and best example to observe PSS development in there is I-am Associates because it is a local company, created and developed in here and when we looked their existing work so far. Because of this article specifically focused on PSS design development models, first ones that come up in the literature should have been analysed. For better understanding how companies developed their ideas, work, as a flexible method semi-structured interview has been made with the selected company. Questions was generalised for not to frame their answers. Two founder of the company briefly explained how their process works and in which phases they are going deeper. The research identified that the PSS design process reported by literature is not representative, lacking on some sub-phases. Seven models had been analysed and seven common phases identified with 18 total sub-phases for creating a process model for the selected company. Those findings helped to frame basic steps in the process.

Systematic Prototyping of Product-Service Systems

Industrial companies are permanently facing challenges regarding the development of Product-Service Systems (PSSs) due to the integration of different components into a holistic system and the need of integration of several contributors, especially customers, during the design and performance process. The use of prototypes is a promising approach to master these challenges, but if PSS prototypes are currently applied during the development process, the use often intuitively concerns the selection of the prototype as well as the timing of its use during the design process. In a systematic PSS design process, prototypes should be applied efficiently and systematically. Consequently, this paper presents at first a general literature scan regarding suitable PSS prototypes. Based on these findings, a structured state-of-the-art compilation of PSS prototypes is composed. In the following step a PSS Prototype Application Chart, which supports the efficient and targeted use of prototypes during the PSS development process, is introduced. The proposed chart integrates the PSS prototypes into the PSS design process and supports PSS developers to identify a suitable prototype for their individual PSS design project.

Modeling resale value of road compaction equipment: a data mining approach

Resale value is an important aspect to be addressed when companies aim to shift from one-sale models to Product Service Systems (PSS). In the initial stages of the PSS design process, it is beneficial to predict how the mechanical features of the PSS hardware will impact resale value, so to orient business strategy decisions accordingly. The objective of this work is to propose a methodology to model the resale value of road compaction equipment using data mining techniques. By scrapping and merging data sets from the machine manufacturer and from dealers of second-hand machines, the work discusses how the derived correlations may be used to populate value models for early stage decision making.

Commonalities and Particularities of PSS Design Process and Design Thinking

Shifting from product-oriented business models to product-service systems (PSS) requires changes and implementation of new ideas related to many business dimensions, such as cultural, procedural, financial, and technological. Searching for new solutions requires creativity. Therefore, the application of a design thinking (DT) approach might help companies in finding innovative value propositions for PSS. DT has the potential to support PSS design processes, even though some practitioners may see DT as a substitute to formalized PSS design processes. In order to understand if and how DT can be used in combination with PSS design process models, this work proposes to identify what are the commonalities and particularities of them. The descriptions of DT methodologies and PSS design process models were treated as a structured content corpus, which was divided in comparable activities based on corpus linguistics and frame semantics. The main findings show that DT is effectively a support and not a replacement to the PSS design process, representing greater integration opportunities with the front-end of innovation (FEI). The detailing and implementation phases of PSS design process have no intersections with DT methodologies, even though DT can be employed whenever creativity is needed.

Data Mining in Product Service Systems Design: Literature Review and Research Questions

The paper presents a literature review about data mining applications in Product/Service-Systems (PSS) design. A systematic literature review, combined with snowballing techniques, has been run to identify relevant contributions in the area. The analysis has focused on the categorization of the contributions according to their impact on the PSS design process and according to their theoretical or empirical nature. A picture of the different research achievements for each stage of the PSS design process have been drawn, identifying the research gaps in respect to the challenges of PSS design. Based on the analysis the paper proposes a set of research questions for each PSS design stage with the intent of facilitating the application of data mining techniques in PSS design, and ultimately push forward the state of the art.

PSS Design Process Models: Are They Sustainability-oriented?

Sustainable growth demands focus not only on the product and production processes, but also in promoting shifts in consumption patterns and lifestyles towards a circular economy. The adoption of Product-Service Systems (PSS) strategies appears as a promising solution. However, practical application of PSS sustainable approaches is still limited. This may be associated to the fact that a PSS does not guarantee environmental improvements if it is not specifically designed with this purpose. PSS design process models can play a relevant role in supporting companies in designing sustainable PSS when they incorporate activities, methods and tools to approach the sustainability dimensions. Not only the process models, but also the intentions of practitioners and their awareness towards sustainability during the design of a PSS influence the dissemination of sustainable PSS. The objective of this work is to investigate whether the existent PSS design process models support the design of sustainable PSS and whether practitioners employ sustainability-related activities when designing PSS. Nine process models were analyzed and the perspective of practitioners about considering sustainability issues when designing PSS were captured. The collected data shows that only few of the analyzed process models actually propose activities, methods or tools to support a sustainable PSS design. This suggests an existing gap between literature and the practitioners’ expectations of PSS design process models. Moreover, those activities, methods and tools are mainly focused on eco-efficiency and the social dimension is generally not covered.

Value-driven product service systems development: Methods and industrial applications

In recent times a service-dominant logic is permeating the design of complex systems. However, in spite of their appeal, initiatives such as Product Service Systems (PSS) have not become mainstream, and methods are lacking to support this transition. This paper argues that methodological guidance, as well as tools for decision support, may be found in the research field of Value Driven Design (VDD), which originates in the realm of Systems Engineering. The paper objective is to elaborate on gaps and opportunities for cross-pollination between VDD and PSS. The results of a systematic review of methods and tools for design decision support highlight the opportunity for introducing optimization models derived from VDD in the PSS design process, while the latter can enrich VDD research with a more qualitative value assessment logic. The paper summarizes this integration in a methodological approach, and exemplifies its application in case studies mainly from the aerospace and road construction equipment sector.

Design for Product Service Supportability (DfPSS) Approach: A State of the Art to Foster Product Service System (PSS) Design

Product-Service System lifecycle is characterized by several phases from the initial concept to the final disposal. However, as for conventional products, the profit generation and the market success of PSSs critically depend on the decisions taken during the initial lifecycle stages, when PSSs are conceptualized, designed, developed and engineered. These are hence the phases deserving more attention in order to manage the intrinsic complexity of such systems, taking it in account during the entire PSS life cycle design phase. According to this, one of the main gaps detected in the PSS design process is the lack of methods able to support the early integration of service features during the product design. In this specific context DfX approaches, where X= x-bility stands for enhancing products design considering at the same time service features to be embedded on it (x) according to certain performance measures (-bility), are supposed to significantly contribute. The Serviceability point of view appears to be a critical aspect of the design of product-oriented PSS that has not been improving yet: significant enhancement in this products’ characteristic will only occur if some changes will arise in the way they are designed. Indeed companies still need guidelines able to enhance the PSS design process in a more systematic way. On this basis, due to the main gap of integrating service features in the product design process, the paper presents and defines DfX approaches enlightening, among the several target properties they have been called to improve so far, the most suitable DfX streams detected to solve the reported PSS design issue and to define Design for Product Service Supportability (DfPSS).

Design of Sustainable Product-service Systems (PSS): Towards an Incremental Stepwise Assessment Method

Companies are increasingly selling functionalities of integrated solutions of products and services instead of selling mere products. This integration of products and service solutions is known as Product Service Systems (PSS), which allows to maximize customer value and overcome increasing competition in the manufacturing sector. In this sense, PSS designers require adapted tools to support the design of sustainable solutions. This article aims to address this question by proposing a methodological framework for integrating sustainability considerations into the PSS design process. To this end a review of the peculiarities of the PSS design process was performed and which aims to explore potential ways of integrating sustainability considerations within PSS design. Several requirements have been drawn from PSS design and sustainability literature which contributed towards the formalization of a methodological framework supporting the design of sustainable PSS.

Comparing PSS Design Models Based on Content Analysis

The combination of products and services in an integrated offer that delivers value through the provision of a required function is recognized as an important strategy for competitiveness and environmental perspectives. Despite its benefits, the design of a Product-Service System (PSS) is considered more challenging than the design of pure products and services. There are proposals of generic models of PSS design processes to support companies when creating their specific models. This paper presents a comparative analysis of the five most cited generic process models, addressing a level of granularity based on process activities, meanwhile other studies have mostly stopped at the phase level. It employed a content analysis approach to perform the comparative analysis. The results show that the analyzed process models prioritize activities related to “Conceptualization” and “Technical Development (Product, Service and Software, Integration)” categories of the PSS design. They also focus on different parts of these categories, being complementary to each other. Thus, this study suggests that companies should not choose only one of them as a reference to create its own PSS design process, but they should look for elements of different models that fit to their purposes and characteristics. At the end, perspectives for future research are discussed.

What's in it for the Provider? The Case of a Telecom Vendor's Value Capturing from the Transition to Product-Service Systems

In adopting highly integrated Product-Service Systems (PSS), incentive structures change and the value attainable for providers throughout the lifecycle becomes an issue of growing complexity. Nonetheless, value for PSS providers has up to now not been considered in a multidimensional fashion. In an effort to move towards a characterization of provider's value, an offering in the information communication technology sector was examined through an investigation with ten staff-members of Ericsson, Sweden. This led to a value-categorization, which can be utilized in the PSS design process to enhance the value captured throughout the lifecycle beyond immediate monetary benefit. In an effort to provide general learnings, the results are discussed with a focus on PSS business models, PSS design and management communication. Overall, the results presented provide a more comprehensive picture of what a provider has to gain from a PSS offering throughout its entire lifecycle.

A Guideline for Product-Service-Systems Design Process

Product-Service Systems (PSS) has been regarded as an attractive business concept that create high added value by integrated provisions of products and services.Since both products and services are included in the design object, the PSS design process has become increasingly complicated. Thus, the designers need to organize reliably what they should accomplish during the PSS design process. However, it is difficult for designers to grapple what they need to focus on during PSS design process. To support such PSS design process, this paper proposes a PSS design guideline which based on Software Engineering Methods and Theory (SEMAT). The proposed guideline provides the designerswithPSS design perspective, milestones through the design process, and the way to manage the design process.

New PSS Design Method of a Pneumatic Energy System

Most existing methods supporting the design of Product-Service System (PSS) support the ‘conceptual design’ phase at the higher levels of abstraction and the technical design phase strongly lacks of methodical support. This can be explained by the existing challenge of coupling products and services in designsince these two perspectives currently focus on different aspects and use specific models which appear as difficult to integrate. This paper proposes the design of a PSS for apneumatic energy delivery system. The design is based onthe combination and adaption of two existing methods from the product- and service- oriented design approaches for system engineering.Three levels of description are adopted: external and functional level, process level and structure level. Differentmodels are used to illustrate the levels. Their ability to reconcile the product- and service-oriented approaches is discussed since they provide a comprehensive view of the system in both perspectives. The resulting design process allows the identification of component specificationsand can be iterated at several levels of detail. This case-based design illustrates how the PSS design process can be supported at the technical phases.