JP2006011962A - Design process management system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To achieve a design process management system which permits the management of a design process and grasping of progress from the stage of initial designing by converting a design process of integral type architecture into a design process of modular architecture. <P>SOLUTION: In each cell of a matrix formed by taking a longitudinal axis as a subsystem and a horizontal axis as a gate indicating each time unit forming a time axis, a design interface item gate management table describing a design interface item between each subsystems is created by a design interface item gate management table creating part 522 of a server 501, so that it becomes possible to define timing for interfacing between subsystems constituting a product by each cell of the matrix, and even in a design process of the integral type architecture, design process management equivalent to that of the modular architecture can be realized. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a design process management system for managing a design process in a design process in which a large number of designers across a plurality of departments design a product composed of a plurality of subsystems concurrently.

  In general, the product development process is enormous, and companies need to promote the product development process within certain cost and time constraints, but there are cases where the design process becomes a cost / schedule drive. Many.

  The details of the design process in the product development process vary depending on the product characteristics to be developed. Non-Patent Document 1 introduces the concept of product architecture. The product architecture is a basic design concept regarding how to divide a product into components such as parts, distribute product functions there, and design and adjust interfaces between parts. Product architecture is broadly divided into modular and integral types.

A modular architecture product is a product in which functionally independent modules are combined with a standardized interface. Since the interface is standardized, each module is designed independently and combined to function the entire system. Furthermore, when the interface is standardized throughout the industry, it is called an open architecture, and personal computers, package software, bicycles, etc. are typical examples.
When the interface is closed in the company, it is called a closed architecture, and machine tools, general-purpose computers, single-lens reflex cameras, etc. are typical examples.

On the other hand, products with an integral architecture have high functional and structural interdependencies between each part, and the required functions of the entire product can only be achieved by carefully optimizing the parts while fine-tuning each other. A product that can be achieved. Therefore, the integral type architecture tends to be a closed type, and large products such as automobiles, satellites, and airplanes belong to this category. These large products are composed of a plurality of subsystems, and many designers across a plurality of design departments are involved in the design. The present invention relates to a management method and management system for a design process of an integral architecture.
As related technologies, many technologies related to project management and concurrent design have been disclosed.

  Patent Document 1 describes, as project management support, means for linking resource information such as personnel, equipment, capability, qualification, etc. to WBS (Work Breakdown Structure), and a management judgment index such as EVMS (Earned Value Management System). The technology that supports the correct activity for carrying out the project is disclosed by having means for creating the project.

  Patent Document 2 has a means for assigning a score according to importance to a WBS and a means for setting a score as a threshold value as a permission condition for transition to the next process. Disclosed is a technology that prevents the process from going back to the process and returning as a result.

Patent Document 3 discloses a technology that enables appropriate management for each department by having means for defining and referring to WBS from the viewpoint of each department in a project involving a plurality of departments. Yes.
These technologies are WBS-based management methods for the entire project. The management method based on the conventional WBS can be said to be a method of managing by a schedule on the premise that each task forms a tree structure.

  However, in the design process of an integral architecture consisting of multiple subsystems, there are many interrelated tasks in which one output is the other input, and each task constituting the design process is a complex loop. Form a structure. Therefore, the design process of the integral type architecture cannot be broken down, or even if it can be broken down, the number of processes becomes large due to the iteration. Therefore, the conventional WBS-based management method cannot manage the design process of an integral architecture that is composed of a plurality of subsystems and each task forms a complex loop structure. In other words, it is often the case that a project is started without being able to see the cost and schedule risk of the design process without being able to break down the design process.

Patent Document 4 discloses a technique for efficiently performing drawing management based on a drawing plan linked to a production plan.
However, at the initial stage of design such as conceptual design, it is difficult to specify a clear output such as a drawing, and how to define and manage the task completion measure remains a problem.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-92282 (paragraph numbers 0027 to 0058, FIG. 1) Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2003-6399 (paragraph numbers 0014 to 0051, FIG. 1) JP 2000-200308 A (paragraph numbers 0026 to 0108, FIG. 1) Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-84020 (paragraph numbers 0020 to 0042, FIG. 1) Takahiro Fujimoto "Introduction to Production Management 1/2", Nikkei Inc. (2003)

Conventional techniques relating to project management and concurrent design such as Patent Document 1 to Patent Document 4 are a WBS-based management method for an entire project, a method for utilizing stored information, and software for realizing those methods. There are a lot of related functions, and there are the following problems.
In other words, the management method based on the conventional WBS cannot manage the design process of the integral type architecture that includes a plurality of subsystems and each task forms a complex loop structure instead of a tree structure.
Also, at the initial stage of design such as conceptual design, it is difficult to define a clear output such as a drawing, and it is difficult to define a task completion measure for grasping the progress.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems. In the design process of the integral architecture in which each task forms a complex loop structure, each subsystem is composed of a plurality of subsystems. By defining the interface items between them and the timing (gate) for the interface, it is converted into a modular architecture design process, and the design process management enables the management of the design process and the grasp of the progress from the initial design stage. The goal is to obtain a system.

  In the design process management system according to the present invention, in the design process management system for managing the design process of a product composed of a plurality of subsystems, each vertical unit has a vertical axis as a subsystem and a horizontal axis as a time axis. A design interface item gate management table creation unit for creating a design interface item gate management table in which design interface items between subsystems are described in each cell of the matrix formed as a gate indicating the design, and this design interface item gate management A progress calculation unit is provided that calculates the ratio of the number of completed design interface items to the total number of design interface items between each subsystem in the design interface item gate management table created by the table creation unit as the progress of the design. It is a thing.

  As described above, the present invention provides a design process management system for managing a design process of a product composed of a plurality of subsystems. In the design process management system, the vertical axis represents the subsystem, and the horizontal axis represents each time unit forming the time axis. A design interface item gate management table creation unit for creating a design interface item gate management table describing a design interface item between subsystems in each cell of a matrix formed as a gate to be shown, and this design interface item gate management table A progress calculation unit is provided that calculates the ratio of the number of completed design interface items to the total number of design interface items between each subsystem in the design interface item gate management table created by the creation unit as the design progress. Integral type that each task forms a complex loop structure Even in architecture products, it is possible to define the interface timing on the design interface item gate management table which is a simple matrix format, thereby realizing design process management equivalent to the modular architecture, The progress of the design can be calculated even at the initial stage of design where it is difficult to define a clear output, such as a drawing.

Embodiment 1 FIG.
Embodiments of the present invention will be described below.
1 is a block diagram showing a design process management system according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.
In FIG. 1, the system configuration of Embodiment 1 of the present invention is a client / server system, and a server 501 is connected to a plurality of client terminals 502 via a network 503.
The server 501 includes a database unit 511 and a control unit 521. The database unit 511 includes a design interface item gate management table 512, a target man-hour 513, and an actual man-hour 514. The control unit 521 includes a design interface item gate management table creation / editing unit 522, a target man-hour setting unit 523, an actual man-hour collecting unit 524, a progress degree calculating unit 525, and a display unit 526.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the project operation of the design process management system according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a design interface item gate management table of the design process management system according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
In FIG. 3, the vertical axis indicates the subsystem 101, the horizontal axis indicates the interface timing between the subsystems, the gate 102 indicating each time unit forming the time axis, and the design interface items between the subsystems in each cell. 103 is described. In the design interface item 103 between the subsystems, the output is indicated by ● and the input is indicated by ○.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing interfaces between subsystems of the design process management system according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.
In FIG. 4, the interface type is an electrical interface or a mechanical interface.
FIG. 5 is a sample diagram of the target man-hours of the design process management system according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 6 is a sample diagram of the actual man-hours of the design process management system according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 7 is a sample diagram of a display screen of the design process management system according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

Next, the project operation will be described with reference to FIG.
In FIG. 2, a design interface item gate management table new creation operation 602 and a target man-hour setting operation 603 are performed as preparation operations 601 before the project starts. After the start of the project, the actual man-hour counting operation 606, the progress confirmation operation 607, and the project status confirmation operation 608 are performed as normal project operations 605. The normal project operation 605 is repeated until the project is completed.

Hereinafter, each operation will be described in detail according to the project operation flowchart of FIG.
The design interface item gate management table new creation operation 602 of the preparation operation 601 before the start of the project will be described.
As shown in FIG. 3, the design interface item gate management table 512 has a matrix format in which the vertical axis represents the subsystem 101, the horizontal axis represents time 102, and each cell describes the design interface item 103 between the subsystems. It is.

  The project manager or designer creates a new design interface item gate management table 512 using the design interface item gate management table creation / editing unit 522. The gate 102 on the horizontal axis is a time axis set according to the project, and progress management is performed for each gate. The gate interval depends on the project scale, but can be set, for example, every month. The subsystem 101 on the vertical axis is a subsystem that constitutes a product.

In the first embodiment of the present invention, the design process of an integral type architecture composed of ten subsystems from subsystem 1 to subsystem 10 is targeted. The interface between each subsystem is shown in FIG. The interface type in FIG. 4 means an electrical interface or a mechanical interface.
For example, the subsystem 1 and the subsystem 2 have interfaces through the interface type 1. In addition, the subsystem 2 needs to be designed in coordination with the subsystem 1, the subsystem 3, the subsystem 4, the subsystem 5, the subsystem 6, and the subsystem 7. That is, the design change of the subsystem 2 may affect these six subsystems.

  In the design interface item gate management table 512 of FIG. 3, the subsystem 2 outputs the interface type 1 to the subsystem 3 at the gate # 1 and obtains the interface type 1 from the subsystem 1 as an input. Further, interface type 2 is output to subsystem 7 at gate # 2, interface type 1 is output to subsystem 4 at gate # 3, and interface type is output to subsystem 5 and subsystem 6 at gate # 4. This means that 1 is output.

In a product with many development elements, it may be difficult to define design interface items 103 between each subsystem in advance before the project starts. In a product with many development elements, the design interface items 103 between the subsystems may have to be determined sequentially, so the design interface item gate management table creation / editing unit 522 also has an editing function. ing.
If there are many uncertainties, the design interface item 103 between the subsystems is set to interface type 1 (1-2) level 1 and interface type 1 (1-2) level according to the level of completeness. 2 may be defined.

Next, the target man-hour setting operation 603 will be described.
The project manager or designer sets the target man-hour 513 by the target man-hour setting unit 523. The target man-hour 513 is consistent with the subsystem 101 and the gate 102 of the design interface item gate management table 512, and as shown in FIG. 5, each cell of the matrix having the subsystem as the vertical axis and the gate as the horizontal axis. Set to The above is the preparation work 601 before starting the project.

Next, the actual man-hour counting operation 606, which is a normal project operation 605, will be described.
The actual man-hour 514 is collected by the actual man-hour collecting unit 524. The actual man-hour 514 can be matched with the subsystem 101 and the gate 102 of the design interface item gate management table 512, and as shown in FIG. 6, each cell of the matrix with the subsystem as the vertical axis and the gate as the horizontal axis. Collect during.
The actual man-hour collection unit 524 may be counted by each worker as needed, or may be automatically collected from existing infrastructure or the like. FIG. 6 is based on the assumption that the design has progressed and the current time is gate # 3.

Next, the progress confirmation work 607 will be described.
The project manager or designer uses the design interface item gate management table creation / editing unit 522 to set the completed items in the design interface item 103 between the subsystems described in each cell of the design interface item gate management table 512. Write a strikethrough.

Finally, the project status confirmation work 608 will be described.
The project manager or designer displays and confirms the progress status on the display unit 526. A sample display screen is shown in FIG. FIG. 7 is a broken line showing the target man-hours, actual man-hours, required outputs, and completed design interface items from the design interface item gate management table 512, target man-hours 513, and actual man-hours 514 at the time of gate # 3. Displayed as a graph. The degree of progress is a value calculated by the number of completions of design interface items / the number of design interface items, and is automatically executed by the progress degree calculation unit 525 at the time of display execution.
That is, the progress degree calculation unit 525 automatically calculates the total number of outputs (●) of the design interface items 103 between the subsystems described in each cell of the design interface item gate management table 512 and the number of completions (strikethrough). Tally. FIG. 7 shows the status of the entire project as an example of the display screen, but it is also possible to display for each subsystem 101 of the design interface item gate management table 512.

Based on the display screen, the project manager will follow the delayed subsystems as necessary. The design interface item gate management table 512 in FIG. 3 is based on the assumption that the design has progressed and the current time is gate # 3, and there is a delay in the design of the subsystem 2 and the subsystem 7, and the subsystem 6 You can see that the design is progressing.
The above is the normal project work 605, which is repeated until the project is completed.

According to the first embodiment, in the design of an integral type architecture that is composed of a plurality of subsystems and each task forms a complex loop structure, the interface items between the subsystems and the interface timing (gate) are determined. By defining, it is possible to convert to a modular architecture design process, and to manage the design process and grasp the progress from the initial design stage.
In addition, design process management utilizing the design interface item gate management table can be realized.
Furthermore, regarding the design process management method, which is one of the main elements of the project in technology related to project management, there were many problems such as the task definition method and the progress grasp method. However, the present invention includes a plurality of subsystems. In the design process of the integral type architecture that is configured and each task forms a complex loop structure, there is an effect that costs and schedule risks can be grasped in advance.
In addition, even in the initial design stage where it is difficult to specify clear output, such as in the drawing, the progress of design is defined as the degree of completion of design interface items between subsystems. The ratio of the determined number of design interface items to the total number of design interface items between systems can be measured as the degree of design progress.

  The present invention is not limited to the embodiment of the present invention described above, and may be appropriately arranged. The system configuration in FIG. 1 and the project operation flowchart in FIG. 2 are merely model cases. For example, regarding a delayed subsystem, mails may be automatically sent to related parties.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS It is a block diagram which shows the design process management system by Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the project operation of the design process management system by Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the design interface item gate management table | surface of the design process management system by Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the interface between each subsystem of the design process management system by Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a sample figure of the target man-hour of the design process management system by Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a sample figure of the performance man-hour of the design process management system by Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a sample figure of the display screen of the design process management system by Embodiment 1 of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

101 Subsystem 102 Gate 103 Design Interface Item 501 Between Subsystems Server 502 Client Terminal 503 Network 511 Database 512 Design I / F Item Gate Management Table 513 Target Man-Time 514 Actual Man-Time 521 Control Unit 522 Design I / F Item Gate Management Table Creation / editing unit 523 Target man-hour setting unit 524 Actual man-hour collecting unit 525 Progress calculation unit 526 Display unit 601 Preparatory work 602 Design I / F item gate management table new creation work 603 Target man-hour setting work 604 Project start 605 Normal project work 606 Actual man-hour counting work 607 Progress confirmation work 608 Project status confirmation work 609 Project completion

Claims (3)

  In the design process management system for managing the design process of a product composed of a plurality of subsystems, each matrix of the matrix formed as a gate indicating each time unit forming the time axis on the vertical axis is the above-mentioned subsystem on the vertical axis. Design interface item gate management table creation unit for creating a design interface item gate management table describing design interface items between subsystems in the cell, and design interface items created by this design interface item gate management table creation unit A design process management system comprising a progress calculation unit that calculates a ratio of the number of completed design interface items to the total number of design interface items between each subsystem of the gate management table as a design progress. .   2. The design process management system according to claim 1, further comprising a display unit for displaying the total number of the design interface items and the number of completed design interface items.   In each cell of the matrix formed as a gate indicating each time unit forming the time axis with the vertical axis as the subsystem, a target man-hour setting unit for setting a target man-hour, in each cell of the matrix The design process management system according to claim 1, further comprising: an actual man-hour collecting unit that collects an actual man-hour for the target man-hour, and a display unit that displays the target man-hour and the actual man-hour.

Images