Structuring requirements as necessary premise for customer-oriented development of complex products: A generic approach
Abstract: Purpose: Complex
products like for example intra-logistical facilities make high demands on
developers and producers and involve high investment and operating costs. When
planning and developing and also making buying decisions the facility
utilization and the thus ensuing requirements on the facility and its
components are inadequately considered to date. Nevertheless, with regard to
customer-directed product design, these requirements must all be taken into
account – especially as they can contribute to possible savings. In this
context, it is necessary to survey and systematically regard requirements from
a large number of areas like for example the operator, the facility producer
and also requirements of external parties such as the law and to implement into
adequate product characteristics to produce customer-oriented products. This
is, however, a difficult task because of the diversity of stakeholders involved
and their numerous and often divergent requirements. Therefore, it is essential
to structure the requirements, so that planners and developers are able to
manage the large amount of information. Structure models can be used in this
context to cluster requirements. Within the German Collaborative Research
Centre 696 a 10-dimensional model has been developed. This model allows
structuring of all requirements on intra-logistical facilities or respectively
complex products in general. In the context of dealing with hundreds of data
records, structuring requirements is mandatory to achieve accuracy, clarity and
consequently satisfactory results when transforming requirements into product
characteristics which fit customer needs. In the paper an excerpt of this model
is presented.
Design/methodology/approach: In literature a multitude of methods which
deal with the topic of structuring exist. The methods have been analysed
regarding their purpose and their level of specification, i.e. the number of
differentiated categories, to check if they could be applied in the regarded
area of intra-logistics. Also potential stakeholders have been identified to
ensure that the surveying of requirements is not incomplete. Based on these
analyses an own model has been developed which combines, adepts and enlarges
the existing methods.
Findings: A 10-dimensional model has been developed for structuring
requirements on intra-logistical facilities. This model is holistic, because
additionally it allows capturing the stakeholders’ feedback to the
requirements’ fulfilment. The dimensions of the model can be divided into four
groups. The first one serves to structure the requirements regarding their
content. These are the dimensions obligations, surroundings, information,
qualification, technical-functional requirements and qualification. The second
group serves to structure the reference object to which the requirements refer
and includes the dimension product. Weighted level of performance and customer
satisfaction are part of the third group, which encompasses the evaluation of
the requirements’ fulfilment. The fourth group is for the temporal structuring
of requirements and includes the dimension time. For applying the model it has
been implemented for data processing as component of a large data processing
system. The developed model is presented in this paper.
Research limitations/implications: A 10-idimensional model for structuring
requirements is presented in this paper. Thereby, a sub-division of the
dimensions into categories and sub-categories has been made to ensure a topical
classification of the requirements and additionally a structuring according to
their level of specification. Considering individual dimensions and/or selected
categories of dimensions allow a thematic focus to be placed on certain groups
of requirements. This is particularly important, not only for the
implementation of requirements into solutions but also for focusing on the
needs of individual stakeholders, if e.g. requirements on maintenance have to
be observed. Using the model, working with lots of requirements should be
facilitated. Thereby, clustering and weighting of requirement should be advanced.
Practical implications: For applying the model and handling the great
amount of requirements, the model has been implemented for data processing.
This allows the stakeholder to easily sort the requirements into the model.
Thereby, the system offers many assistance functions which should facilitate
the matching for example matching of the same requirement by other stakeholders
can be shown or matching of similar requirements.
Originality/value: In contrast to the existing structuring methods the
developed model is holistic and generic. It allows to capture the stakeholders’
feedback to the requirements fulfilment and hence a comparison between nominal
and actual condition. Moreover, it can be applied not only the area of
intra-logistics, for which it has been originally developed, but to complex
products in general. Even if an adaption of the dimensions’ categories might be
necessary.
Author: Sandra Klute, Robert
Refflinghaus
Journal Code: jptindustrigg110042
