Authors: E. Rebentisch, G. Schuh, S. Breunig, A. Pott, K. Sinha
Abstract: Large engineering products like naval vessels are complicated, highly integrated and therefore very complex systems. Due to long development times, multiple design changes occur frequently because of changes in requirements and new technology insights. Changes that seem small on the first sight often lead to substantial product adjustments. A reason for these failures is the lack of understanding the effects of changes in engineering projects due to their complexity. This leads to project delays and budget overruns. Changes in requirements can be realized by adjusting different subsystems or components of the product. Therefore linkages between requirements, functions and involved components must be detected. The impact of change on a specific subsystem or component varies depending on the level of interactions within the system and thus on the product architecture. This paper presents a method to determine the impact of a change on product cost and project delay due to an increase of complexity. The method combines the usage of DSM and DMM with a complexity measurement method. Integration complexity is thereby seen as the strongest contributor to increasing complexity. Empiric studies regarding the effect of structural complexity on product cost and project duration were examined and the results integrated into the method. The method includes an assessment of resulting implications of changes and an evaluation of optimal change alternatives. The evaluation balances the needed time for a change, the required costs and the technical feasibility. Finally a case study of naval vessels focuses on the system breakdown process and measurement of structural complexity. The results allow the conclusion that naval vessels have a high topological complexity. An exemplary case further illustrates the application of the overall method. With this approach it is possible to make the effects of changes more predictable and support a successful decision-making.
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