WO2014126906A1

WO2014126906A1 - Method and system for task oriented engineering in a multidisciplinary engineering system

Info

Publication number: WO2014126906A1
Application number: PCT/US2014/015766
Authority: WO
Inventors: Oswin Noetzelmann; Rami Reuveni; Victor Robert HAMBRIDGE; Marine DUREL; Tim OERTER; JR. Christopher Patrick PORTWAY; Dirk VIELSAECKER; Sarvananthan RAGAVAN; Cyprien Pacome NGUEFACK MBOGNING; Daniela Stederoth
Original assignee: Siemens AG; Siemens Corp; Siemens Product Lifecycle Management Software Inc
Current assignee: Siemens AG; Siemens Corp; Siemens Industry Software Inc
Priority date: 2013-02-18
Filing date: 2014-02-11
Publication date: 2014-08-21
Anticipated expiration: 2015-08-18

Abstract

A method for task oriented engineering in a multidisciplinary engineering environment including: presenting a first set of tasks of a project to a user of a multidisciplinary engineering system (630); receiving first input from the user to perform a first task of the first set of tasks (610); and presenting a second set of tasks of the project to the user based on the received first input (640), wherein the first task is associated with a first application and, when the first task is performed, the first task is considered performed in a second application.

Description

METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR TASK ORIENTED ENGINEERING IN A MULTIDI SCEPL1 ARY ENGINEERING SYSTEM

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims priority to U.S. provisional application no. 61 /765,882, filed February 18, 2013, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

This application is related to PC ! application entitled "M ETHOD AND SYSTEM FOR VISUALIZING ENGINEERING TASKS IN A MU LTI DISC I PLINAR Y ENGINEERING SYSTEM", attorney docket no.

2013P02904WO (8706-1425), and PCT application entitled "METHOD AND

SYSTEM FOR OPTIMIZED PROJECTION IN A MULTIDISC1PLINARY

ENGINEERING SYSTEM", attorney docket no. 2G13P02901 WO (8706-1427), the disclosures of which are incor orated by reference herein in their entireties.

The present invention relates to multidisciplinary engineering systems.

2, Discussion of the Related Art

A multi-disciplinary engineering system is a system that allows engineers from multiple disciplines to work on common or connected data. For example, a factory planner can work together with a mechanical engineer, an electrical engineer and an automation engineer to plan a new production line for a car door assembly. An example of a multi-disciplinary engineering system 100 is shown in FIG. 1 ,

Traditionally, the disciplines work separated from a data point of view and manual synchronization of the discipline specific da ta is very time consuming and error prone. For example, when the automation engineer introduces a new programmable logic controller (PLC) to the project, which he needs to automate the line, this information needs to be transported to the electrical engineer, so he can place it in the right electrical cabinet and plan its wiring. If this information is not transported or is distorted, it can have serious impact on the quality of the work of the electrical engineer and vice versa. Data connections between the different disciplines can potentially be used to allow the system to support various functions: notification/communication between disciplines (e.g., departments), change propagation (e.g., rule based), formalization of workflows (e.g., sign off procedures), multi-disciplinary report generation and usage of interdisciplinary common data structures.

An automation engineering application is a system which helps engineers to design and implement their factor}_' plant automation. They can add their resources, like robots or conveyors, organize them in functional and physical areas, connect them to PLCs, etc. The goal of all this plant configuration and preparation is to generate data that can directly be used to setup and run the factory: electric diagrams to connect all the resources together, PLC code to download in the PLC^'s in order to run the machines, and Human Machine Interface (HMI) screens to view and input data into the machines via touch screen panels in the factor}'.

The fact that this data is generated will save a considerable amount of time, since the engineers will not have to draw the electric diagrams themselves, or write the PLC or HMI code from scratch. In order to obtain the most accurate generated data, the preparation work made in the automation engineering application is very important. The resources have to be connected the right way, all the network addresses have to be setup correctly for the PLC connections to work, etc. An example of generated da ta 200 from engineers input is shown in FIG. 2.

In FIG. 2, the first arrow with DATA is data input from the user, for example the type of robot used (e.g., specific model), the type of motor to run the conveyor, which resources are connected to which PLC, etc. This is not generated but is instead manually entered by the engineer and considered as the preparation work, The other arrows in FIG. 2, e.g., outputs from the Automation Application, is data which is this time generated. It is in this case PLC code, HMI screens and Electric diagrams. The Automation Application processes this user input to generate those outputs.

If this prepara tion work is not correctly done, for example a robot has not been associated to a PLC, the generated results would be wrong, which can have a very serious impact on the factory plant, for example, robots behaving in an unexpected way,

Traditional engineering applications provide limited guidance to the user to input the right data during the engineering work, e.g., preparation of automation

9 hardware and software, Indeed, if the user did not fill correctly the required data, the existing systems will either: display an error message to the user if he tries to generate the output of the project, or if the user asks, the system will give a status of the missing/ wrong information.

The prior systems will often not guide the user through the process of inputting his data while he is preparing his project. Instead, most engineering systems provide purely workplace oriented user interaction. The means that in order to fulfill a task, the user will have to visit different places in one or more workspace environments and perform a step of the task workflow in each.

An example for such a "scattered" workflow is the task of adding a sensor to an engineering project. In traditional engineering this would mean a user has to visit the workspace in a mechanical engineering system to add the three-dimensional (3D) model of the sensor to the design, then visit multiple automation workspaces to have the data variable representing the sensor in the PLC software as well as define which PLC ports the sensor is connected to. Then the user would have to visit an electrical engineering system to define the electrical connections as well as perform the cabling work for the sensor. FIG. 3 illustra tes an example 300 of the aforementioned engineering task.

As can be seen, the user would have to check that he entered the data needed and find the right place to fill the information if something is missing.

Existing systems that provide any sort of task oriented workflows are doing so purely based on the data of one discipline, e.g., in existing automation software a dialog for adding PLC hardware will only create an automation specific representation of the PLC, which does not have sufficient mechanical or electrical information to use it in those disciplines.

Similarly, tasks in prior systems do not consider data from other disciplines and thus cannot support interdisciplinary workflows.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a method for task oriented engineering in a multi disciplinar engineering environment, comprising: presenting a first set of tasks of a project to a user of a multidisciplinary engineering system; recei ving first input from the user to perform a first task of the first set of tasks; and presenting a second set of tasks of the project to the user based on the received first input, wherein the first task is associated with a first application and, when the first task is performed, the first task is considered performed in a second application,

The second task is the next task to perform, in the context of the first application, to progress to completion of the project.

The method further comprises: receiving second input from the user to perform the second task; and presenting a third set of tasks of the project to the user based on the received second input, wherein the second task is associated with the first application and, when the second task is performed, the second task is considered performed in a third application.

The first task includes a plurality of subtasks and each subtask of the first task is directly linked to a user interface (US) element of all applications it has to be fulfilled in.

The method further comprises guiding the user from one UI element used for a subtask of the first task to another UI el ement used for another subtask of the first task.

The multidisciplinary engineering system receives input from a plurality of different engineering systems, each of the different engineering systems having a different application workspace than the other engineering systems and each of the different application workspaces having a different UI element than the other application workspaces.

A task is an association of an action to an object, wherein the action is data input associated with the object.

According to an exemplar}' embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a system for task oriented engineering in a multidisciplinary engineering environment, comprising: a memory device for storing a program; a processor in communication with the memory device, the processor operative with the program to: present a first set of tasks of a project to a user of a multidisciplinary engineering system; receiv e first input from the user to perform a first task of the first set of tasks; and present a second set of tasks of the project to the user based on the received first input, wherein the first task is associated with a first application and, when the first task is performed, the first task is considered performed in a second application.

The second task is the next task to perform, in the context of the first application, to progress to completion of the project. The processor is further operative with the program to: receive second input from the user to perform the second task; and present a third set of tasks of the project to the user based on the received second input, wherein the second task is associated with the first application and, when the second task is performed, the second task is considered performed in a third application.

The first task includes a plurality of sub tasks and each subtask of the first task is directly linked to a UI element of ail applications it has to be fulfi lled in.

The processor is further operative with the program to guide the user from one UI element used for a subtask of t he first task to another UI element used for another subtask of the first task.

The muitidisciplinary engineering system receives input from a plurality of different engineering systems, each of the different engineering systems having a different application workspace tha the other engineering systems and each of the different application workspaces having a different UI element than the other application workspaces.

According to an exemplar embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a computer program product for task oriented engineering in a

muitidisciplinary engineering environment, comprising: a non-transitory computer readable storage medium having computer readable program code embodied therewith, the computer readable program code comprising: computer readable program code configured to perform the steps of: presenting a first set of tasks of a project to a user of a muitidisciplinary engineering system; receiving first input from the user to perform a first task of the first set of tasks; and presenting a second set of tasks of the project to the user based on the received first input, wherein the first task is associated with a first application and, when the first task is performed, the first task is considered performed in a second application.

The steps further comprise: receiving second input from the user to perform the second task; and presenting a third set of tasks of the project to the user based on the received second input, wherein the second task is associated with the first application and, when the second task is performed, the second task is considered performed in a third application.

The first task includes a lurality of subtasks and each subtask of the first task is directly linked to a UI element of all applications it has to be fulfilled in.

The steps further comprise guiding the user from one UI element used for a subtask of the first task to another UI elemen t used for another subtask of the first task.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the present in vention, there is provided a method for task oriented engineering in a muitidisciplinary engineering en vironment, comprising: presenting a first set of tasks of a project to a user of a muitidisciplinary engineering system: receiving, from the user, a new object for the project; and presenting a second set of tasks of the project to the user, wherein the second set of tasks includes the first set of tasks and a new task associated with the new object, wherein the first task is associated with a first application and, when the first task is performed, the first task is considered performed in a second application, and wherein the new task is a function to be performed relative to the new object.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the present in vention, there is provided a method for task oriented engineering in a muitidisciplinary engineering en vironment, comprising: presenting a first set of tasks of a project to a user of a muitidisciplinary engineering system: receiving, from the user, the deletion of an object in the project; and presenting a second set of tasks of the project to the user, wherein the second set of tasks includes the first set of tasks without the tasks associated with the deleted object, wherein the first task is associated with a first application and, when the first task is performed, the first task is considered performed in a second application, and wherein the deleted tasks were functions to be performed relative to the deleted object.

According to an exemplary embodiment of die present invention, there is provided a method for task oriented engineering in a muitidisciplinary engineering environment, comprising: presenting a first set of tasks of a project to a user of a muitidisciplinary engineering system; receiving, from the user, a modification for an existing object in the project; and presenting a second set of tasks of the project to the user, wherein the second set of tasks includes the first set of tasks and a new task associated with the modification of the existing object, wherein the first task is associated with a first application and, when the first task is performed, the first task is considered performed in a second applica tion, and wherein the new task is a function to be performed relative to the modification of the existing object.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an example of a muitidisciplinary engineering system:

FIG. 2 is an example of data generated from engineers input;

FIG. 3 illustrates traditional working on an engineering task;

FIG. 4 illustrates communication between applications and a task system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 illustrates an example use of the task system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 illustrates automation project completion with a task method according to an exemplar}_' embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 illustrates an implementation of a task system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 8 illustrates a computer system in whi ch an exemplary embodiment of the present invention may be implemented.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

The principl e of task oriented automation, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, is to present a set of tasks to the user in a wizard-style way, and to complete his engineering project, he just has to fulfill the tasks given to him. Each task will lead him to the right action to perform, in the context of the application, in order to input the data that will complete the task.

As the data is shared between the different applications of the multi-disciplinary engineering system, when a task is completed in an application, it also appears completed in all the other applications. FIG. 4 shows an example of communication between applications 410a-d, a task system 420 and a multi-disciplinary engineering system 430.

Once there are no tasks left, the user knows that the project is complete and does not need any more input from him in order to generate the output data, like PLC code, HMI screens or electrical diagrams.

This new way of doing the engineering work is a lot more efficient and therefore faster than how the previous engineering applications were dealing with user input. Indeed, the user does not have to go through the different menus and user interfaces to search where he has to input information: when he wants to execute a task from his task set, the application will directly find and open the right user interface where data should be filled/changed. FIG. 5 illustrates this principle in further detail.

FIG. 5 shows the set of subtasks 520a~h that have to be completed in order to execute the task "Add Sensor" 510, in the context of a multi-disciplinary engineering system 570.

Each subtask 520a-h inherited from the main task "Add Sensor" 510 is directly linked to the UI element 530 of the application it has to be fulfilled in. For example, the first task 520a of placing the sensor on the 3D graphics has to be done in the 3D graphics area 540a of the 3D factor}_' layout part 550a of the Mechanical Engineering System 560a.

That way, when the user has to position his sensor in the 3D view, he doesn't have to search where or how he can do that, he just follows the task system that will lead him to the exact right interface.

An aspect of the present in vention is the concept of task in the context of an engineering project. For example, a task is an association object-action that will collect user input. It basically means: in order to complete my project, I need to perform this action (data input), on that object.

Examples of actions are: assign function, assign location, assign PLC, select template component, etc.

Examples of objects are: robot, conveyor, PLC group, etc.

In this regard, a set of tasks would be for example: assign a function to the robot, assign a location to the conveyor, assign a PLC to the PLC group, select the sensor components of the conveyor, etc.

The method for task oriented automation engineering may be as follows.

The system processes the data and checks if anything is missing for the project to be complete. Note that the status of "missing" information can be acquired from the multi-disciplinary engineering data repository or any engineering application that the task system integrates with. This also means that task status can either be system defined through the design of a domain specific engineering application/the multi-disciplinary engineering repository, or it can be user defined through the user defined extension of the multi-disciplinary engineering model. If an input is missing, the system creates a task corresponding to die association object-action to accomplish the input of the missing data.

Anytime the user executes an action, the system analyzes his input and the status of the multi-disciplinary engineering model to see if a task is completed or in the case of an object edition or deletion, if a new task needs to be created.

The project is considered completed and ready when all the tasks have been completed.

FIG. 6 shows the sequence of interactions between the user 610 and the task system 620 for an example workflow.

When the user/ engineer 610 starts his project, the task system 620 indicates that there are 3 tasks to fulfill 630. The user 610 enters some input, that the task system 620 analyzes, and indicates that Task 2 is completed 640. The user 610 enters some more data, which, the same way, fulfills Task 1 650. The user 610 then changes or deletes some data, which triggers the task system 620 to compute and indicate that Task 2 is not completed anymore 660.

After some more input from the user 610, the task system 620 finally indicates when the project is ready, when all the tasks are completed 670.

The engineering tasks and subtasks come with additional information. For example, discipline. Here, depending on the action associated with the task, the system can determine the discipline it belongs to (e.g., assign PLC would belong to automation, assign location to a device would belong to electrical). If the user chooses to only display the tasks of a certain discipline, only the tasks associated with that discipline will show up.

Another example is sequence. Here, the system is also able, depending on the actions and objects associated with the tasks, to determine if there is a specifi c order between them. Thus, if the user has to complete them according to a specific sequence (e.g., the user has to choose the sensor components of a conveyor before he can include it in an automation process), he will then be able to sort the tasks according to this sequence and once again work more efficiently.

Another example is impact analysis. Here, tasks and changes to the engineering model can have an impact on various engineering domains and applications that belong to a multi-disciplinary system. The task system is connected to the multi-disciplinary data repository and thus can evaluate impact potential changes and provide corresponding previews, This can help a user in assessing the workload and effort necessary for complex engineermg tasks, but also increase his level of knowledge about a project status.

The discipline informatio in the task system also helps the user to understand his work in the context of other engineering disciplines and the interdisciplinary dependencies that the manipulated data has.

FIG. 7 is an example implementation of a task system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention integrated into a multi disciplinary engineering system.

The lower part in FIG. 7 is a server 750, for example, Siemens Teamcenter. Its role is to hold and manage data and its different revisions, as it is a product lifecycle management (PLM) software.

Teamcenter, with the integrated multi disciplinary system, is a common platform that different engineering applications can connect to and use to communicate between eac other. In this example implementation, the task system 730 would be embedded into the server 750.

Each engineering application 710 is connected to the Teamcenter server 750 (over a network 760), and exchanges information with the server 750. Each of the applications 710 displays tasks thought a task visualization system 740, which, connected to the task system 730 located in the server 750, allows UI updates thought the event mechanism .

An example workflow would be:

-a Line Designer engineer adds a robot to a plant layout. When the engineer saves, this data is sent to the shared platform Teamcenter 750 thought the network 760, and stored. The storage could be in one of databases 770.

-the task system 730, embedded into the multi disciplinary system server 750 integrated into Teamcenter, processes the new information and decides that a new task has to be created for Automation Designer, which is to assign a Function to this new robot.

-a notification is sent to the Automation Designer application (leftmost 710), which updates its task visualization system 740 with the new task "Assign Function" for the new robot. In accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a user can be aided with knowledge about project status as well as with na vigation in complex engineering environments and thus reduces engineering time. The invention provides a direct clear overview of the preparation work that is to be done in order to complete the project. Due tasks and project status are easy to find and comprehend. This results in less errors and conflicts being produced during an engineering project. These inventive features result in shortened time to prepare an automation project, a shortened time to market for complex engineering projects and thus save investment and reduce risk for engineering companies.

As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, aspects of the present invention may be embodied as a system, method or computer program product. Accordingly, aspects of the present invention may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment (including firmware, resident software, micro-code, etc.) or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects that may all generally be referred to herein as a "circuit," "module" or "system." Furthermore, aspects of the present invention may take the form of a computer program product embodied in one or more computer readable medium(s) having computer readable program code embodied thereon.

Any combination of one or more computer readable medium(s) may be utilized. The computer readable medium may be a computer readable signal medium or a computer readable storage medium. A computer readable storage medium may be, for example, but not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. More specific examples (a non-exhaustive list) of the computer readable storage medium would include the following: an electrical connection having one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disc read-only memory

(CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. In the context of this document, a computer readable storage medium may be any tangible medium that can contain, or store a program for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device. A computer readable signal medium may include a propagated data signal with computer readable program code embodied therein, for example, in baseband or as part of a carrier wave. Such a propagated signal may take any of a variety of forms, including, but not limited to, electro-magnetic, optical, or any suitable combination thereof. A computer readable signal medium may be any computer readable medium that is not a computer readable storage medium and that can communicate, propagate, or transport a program for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device.

Program code embodied on a computer readable medium may be transmitted using any appropriate medium, including but not limited to wireless, wireline, optical fiber cable, RF, etc., or any suitable combination of the foregoing.

Computer program code for carrying out operations for aspects of the present invention may be written in any combination of one or more programming languages, including an object oriented programming language such as Java, Smalltalk, C++ or the like and conventional procedural programming languages, such as the "C"

programming language or similar programming languages. The program code may execute entirely on the user's computer, partly on the user's computer, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the user's computer and partly on a remote computer or entirely on the remote computer or server. In the latter scenario, the remote computer may be connected to the user's computer through any type of network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or the connection may be made to an external computer (for example, through the Internet using an Internet Service Provider).

Aspects of the present invention are described with reference to flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems) and computer program products according to embodiments of the invention. It will be understood that each block of the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions may be pro vided to a processor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, create means for implementing the fimctions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.

These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer readable medium that can direct a computer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other devices to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer readable medium produce an article or manufacture including instructions which implement the function-'act specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.

The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other devices to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer, other programmable apparatus or other devices to produce a computer implemented process such that the instructions which execute on the computer or other programmable apparatus provide processes for implementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.

Referring now to FIG. 8, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a computer system 801 can comprise, inter alia, a central processing unit (CPU) 802, a memory 803 and an input/output (I/O) interface 804. The computer system 801 is generally coupled through the I/O interface 804 to a display 805 and various input devices 806 such as a mouse and keyboard. The support circuits can include circuits such as cache, power supplies, clock circuits, and a communications bus. The memory 803 can include RAM, ROM, disk drive, tape drive, etc., or a combination thereof. Exemplary embodiments of present invention may be implemented as a routine 807 stored in memory 803 (e.g., a non-transitory

computer-readable storage medium) and executed by the CPU 802 to process the signal from a signal source 808. As such, the computer system 801 is a general-purpose computer system that becomes a specific purpose computer system when executing the routine 807 of the present invention.

The computer system 801 also includes an operating system and

micro-instruction code. The various processes and functions described herein may either be part of the micro-instruction code or part of the appl ication program (or a combination thereof) which is executed via the operating system. In addition, various other peripheral devices may be connected to the computer system 801 such as an additional data storage device and a printing device.

The flowchart and block diagrams in the figures illustrate the architecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementations of systems, methods and computer program products according to various embodiments of the present invention. In this regard, each block in the ilowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portion of code, which comprises one or more executable instructions for implementing the specified logical fimction(s). It should also be noted that, in some alternative implementations, the functions noted in the block may occur out of the order noted in the figures. For example, two blocks shown in succession may, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon the functionality involved. It will also be noted that each block of the block diagrams and/or ilowchart illustration, and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, can be implemented by special purpose hardware-based systems that perform the specified functions or acts, or combinations of special purpose hardware and computer instructions.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. As used herein, the singular forms "a," "an" and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms "comprises" and/or "comprising," when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.

The corresponding structures, materials, acts, and equivalents of all means or step plus function elements in the claims below are intended to include any structure, material, or act for performing the function in combination with other claimed elements as specifically claimed. The description of the present invention has been presented for purposes of il lustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or limited to the invention in the form disclosed. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. The embodiment was chosen and described to best expl ain the principles of the invention and the practical application , and to enable others of ordinar}_'- skill in the art to understand the invention for various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated.

Claims

CLAIMS What is claimed is:

1. A method for task oriented engineering in a muitidisciplinary engineering environment, comprising:

presenting a first set of tasks of a project to a user of a muitidisciplinary engineering system;

receiving first input from the user to perform a first task of the first set of tasks; and

presenting a second set of tasks of the project to the user based on the received first input,

wherein the first task is associated with a first application and, when the first task is performed, the first task is considered performed in a second application.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the second task is the next task to perform, in the context of the first application, to progress to completion of the project.

3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

receiving second input from the user to perform the second task; and presenting a third set of tasks of the project to the user based on the received second input,

wherein the second task is associated with the first application and, when the second task is performed, the second task is considered performed in a third application.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the first task includes a plurality of subtasks and each subtask of the first task is directly linked to a user interface (UI) element of all applications it has to be fulfilled in.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising guiding the user from one U I element used for a subtask of the first task to another UI element used for another subtask of the first task.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the muitidisciplinary engineering system receives input from a plurality of different engineering systems, each of the different engineering systems having a different application workspace than the other engineering systems and each of the different application workspaces having a different UI element than the other application workspaces.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein a task is an association of an action to an object, wherein the action is data input associated with the object.

8. A system for task oriented engineering in a multi disciplinary engineering environment, comprising:

a memory device for storing a program;

a processor in communication with the memory device, the processor operative with the program to:

present a first set of tasks of a project to a user of a multidisciplinary engineering system;

receive first input from the user to perform a first task of the first set of tasks; and

present a second set of tasks of the project to the user based on the received first input,

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the second task is the next task to perform, in the context of the first application, to progress to completion of the project.

10. The system of claim 8, wherein the processor is further operati ve with the program to:

receive second input from the user to perform the second task; and

present a third set of tasks of the project to the user based on the received second in ut,

11. The system of claim 8, wherein the first task includes a plurality of subtasks and each subtask of the first task is directly l inked to a user interface (UI) element of all applications it has to be fulfilled in.

12. The system of claim 11 , wherein the processor is further operative with the program to guide the user from one Ul element used for a subtask of the first task to another UI element used for another subtask of the first task.

13. The system of claim 8, wherein the multidisciplinary engineering system receives input from a plurality of different engineering systems, each of the different engineering systems having a different application workspace than the other engineering systems and each of the different application workspaces having a different UI element than the other application workspaces.

14. The system of claim 8, wherein a task is an association of an action to an object, wherein the action is data input associated with the object.

15. A. computer program product for task oriented engineering in a multidisciplinary engineering environment, comprising:

a non-transitory computer readable storage medium having computer readable program code embodied therewith, the computer readable program code comprising: computer readable program code configured to perform the steps of:

presenting a first set of tasks of a project to a user of a multidisciplinary engineering system;

recei v ing first inp ut from the user to perform a first task of the first set of tasks; and

16. The computer program product of claim 15, wherein the second task is the next task to perform, in the context of the first application, to progress to completion of the project.

17. The computer program product of claim 15, the steps further comprising:

18. The computer program product of claim 15, wherein the first task includes a plurality of subtasks and each subtask of the first task is directly linked to a user interface (UI) element of all applications it has to be fulfilled in.

19. The compu ter program product of claim 18, the steps further comprising guiding the user from one UI element used for a subtask of the first task to another UI element used for another subtask of the first task.

20. A method for task oriented engineering in a multidisciplinary engineering environment, comprising:

receiving, from the user, a new object for the project; and

presenting a second set of tasks of the project to the user, wherein the second set of tasks includes the first set of tasks and a new task associated with the new object, wherein the first task is associated with a first application and, when the first task is performed, the first task is considered performed in a second application, and wherein the new task is a function to be performed relative to the new object.

21. A method for task oriented engineering in a multidisciplinary engineering environment, comprising:

receiving, from the user, the deletion of an object in the project; and presenting a second set of tasks of the project to the user, wherein the second set of tasks includes the first set of tasks without the tasks associated with the del eted object,

wherein the first task is associated with a first application and, when the first task is performed, the first task is considered performed in a second application, and wherein the deleted tasks were functions to he performed relative to the deleted object.

22. A method for task oriented engineering in a multidisciplinary engineering environment, comprising:

receiving, from the user, a modification for an existing object in the project; and presenting a second set of tasks of the project to the user, wherein the second set of tasks includes the first set of tasks and a new task associated wit the modification of the existing object,

wherein the first task is associated with a first application and, when the first task is performed, the first task is considered performed in a second application, and wherein the new task is a function to he performed relative to the modification of the existing object.