LEARNING FROM THE LIFECYCLE: THE CAPABILITIES AND LIMITATIONS OF CURRENT PRODUCT LIFECYCLE PRACTICE AND SYSTEMS
Year: 2011
Editor: Culley, S.J.; Hicks, B.J.; McAloone, T.C.; Howard, T.J. & Chen, W.
Author: Gopsill, James Anthony; McAlpine, Hamish Charles; Hicks, Ben James
Series: ICED
Section: Design Information and Knowledge Management
Page(s): 141-152
Abstract
Design teams within the High Value Low Volume (HVLV) industry are facing ever-increasing challenges in developing new products. This has been largely due to the paradigm shift towards Product-Service Systems (PSS), the growing importance of demonstrating Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and stricter environmental legislation. With the variant nature of the design process within HVLV industry and the longevity of the product life-cycles, it is recognised that learning from previous products is essential for new product innovation and development. The ability to do this depends upon the company’s product lifecycle practice and systems, and its inherent capability/limitations. To explore these issues, the paper maps the data and information flow alongside the systems involved, onto a generalised product lifecycle generated from an extensive literature review. The map is then used to analyse current product data lifecycle practice and considers its capability to provide design teams in the HVLV industry with sufficient data and information with regards to the lifecycle phases of existing products to inform variant product design.