Continuous improvement of mechatronic product development processes

In this paper a methodology for improving mechatronic development processes is presented. The methodology has been developed in the German joint research project MIKADO funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). It describes a comprehensive procedure for process improvement based on a set of reference process models and supported by specific software applications. In a first step the procedure specifies how to generate process models based on an existing process or for planning a new one. In the following analysis phase optimisation potentials in the generated process models are identified. This phase is supported by a set of predefined reference process models that indicate - from a mechatronic view point - at which time during the development and how multidisciplinary coordination activities have to be carried out. A comparison of the generated process models with these reference process models and the application of questionnaires reveals the optimisation potentials that are subsequently used as a basis for improving the generated process model. The improved process model is then used for process control in a workflow management system (WfMS). The methodology has been evaluated against industrial requirements by two medium sized enterprises in the micro-production domain and in the solar energy systems domain. In Section 14.2 the problem statement will be presented. In Section 14.3 the current state of the art in model-based process improvement approaches is presented and the need for the development of new approaches is motivated. Section 14.4 describes the improvement process, the reference process models and the results of the evaluation. Finally Section 14.5 presents the conclusion drawn from the evaluation and future research topics.