INTERNATIONAL DESIGN CONFERENCE - DESIGN 2016 Dubrovnik - Croatia, May 16 - 19, 2016.
APPROACH OF PARTIALLY AUTOMATED MODELLING OF A PROCESS MODEL A. Laukemann, H. Binz and D. Roth Keywords: knowledge management, process modelling, process analysis, process improvement, knowledge based engineering
1. Introduction Knowledge management in general, including various process-oriented knowledge management approaches, has recently attracted increasing attention. Since [Nonaka and Takeuchi 1995] explained the transformation of tacit knowledge into explicit knowledge in an entrepreneurial environment for the first time, a large number of knowledge management methods and knowledge management tools have been provided and continually flooded the market with knowledge management solutions in the early 2000s. Several of these methods lack applicability in industrial environments due to their complex handling as well as limited acceptance among employees involved. A study by [Haufe 2014] discovered that small and medium-sized enterprises in Germany use their own knowledge insufficiently, although different knowledge management solutions still exist on the market. The reason why company-specific knowledge management in Germany is experiencing a kind of "renaissance" these days is the many discussions about the fourth industrial revolution (Industry 4.0). The major topics of Industry 4.0 are "Big Data", the "Internet of Things" and cyber-physical-systems [BMWi 2015]. Each of these topics provides or needs a huge amount of data, which should then be transformed into information and finally connected to knowledge contents. In order to face these new challenges, companies have to establish a holistic knowledge management system. However, it is widely acknowledged that a generic knowledge management support method that is universally applicable throughout every business process does not exist. Due to the lack of direct practical applicability in industrial environments, most knowledge management solutions are still not accepted. Reasons for this may be that several knowledge management approaches force companies to rearrange their established business processes or that there is no recommendation for target-oriented implementation within the supported business process [Remus 2002]. These and other challenges can be faced with a detailed capture of the process, supported by knowledge management solutions. Furthermore, the preparation of a digital process model, based on the experiences of the capturing process, provides new opportunities to apply suitable knowledge management solutions.
2. Problem statement and objective A detailed delimitation between the terms "knowledge management approach", "knowledge management system" and "knowledge management solution" is presented in [Laukemann et al. 2015a]. As mentioned in the introduction, a process-oriented knowledge management approach offers possibilities to provide company-specific and target-oriented assistance by means of a holistic knowledge management support method. Instead of striving towards a generic knowledge management support method which is universally applicable, huge potential is offered by focusing only on
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knowledge-intensive business processes. [Eppler et al. 1999] examined all business processes within an entrepreneurial environment and proposed the criteria "process complexity" and "knowledge intensity" to classify business processes with regard to knowledge management. One result of this examination was a matrix categorising business processes with regard to process complexity and knowledge intensity in order to choose suitable knowledge management solutions. One of the most complex and most knowledge-intensive business processes is the product development process [Eppler et al. 1999]. As previously stated, a product-development-process-specific knowledge management method provides further advantages. [Laukemann et al. 2015b] presented a holistic framework (see Figure 1) of a productdevelopment-specific knowledge management process for small and medium-sized enterprises (called WMKMU). This framework is based on the fundamentals of the generic product development process in conformity with VDI guideline 2221 [Verein Deutscher Ingenieure 1993] and the approach of the modelling language "Knowledge Modeling and Description Language" (KMDL) [Gronau et al. 2004]. Stages
Task/Working step
Work result
Applicable methods
1
Planning of the knowledge management system
Project plan
Critical path, Gantt project plan, project structure plan
2
Identifying and defining requirements
Specifications
Structured interview, KM main activities as main characteristics
Peparation phase
3
Analysing the companyspecific product development process
Process and activity view of the product development process
Identify and prioritise relevant processes
1
Product idea
2
Market analysis
3
Patent search
Structured results of creativity techniques
... Analysis phase
Characterising the identified processes
Fact Sheet
Lk
Bearbei ter
Datum
Call for Bachelorproject
18.07.2015
Support of the Bachelorproject
Title of the process
Design task
Collect build core competencies in scientific work and thus to prepare for the dissertation, as well as basic experience in project management / the Community Editing a parent topics.
Contact the group
regular appointments for monitoring of results
Using the fact sheet to characterise processes
Objective of the process
St art of the process (event)
fact sheet
End of t he process (event)
Call for projects by Mrs. Hahn (IAO)
Listen to presentations
Make the final report to Mrs. Hahn organisation
education
science
Evaluate Bachelorproject
industry
Category of the process
Complete Bachelorproject
Mrs. Hahn, academic staff
Process owner
Executed process steps
Acadamic staff, Prof. Binz, students
Involved persons
Involved working areas
AT/CAE/MPE/TD
Ext ernal working areas
single
daily
weekly
monthly
__________ SS/WS
Time frame
Additional requierements
Relevant documents
From the start of lectures until the end of semester (WS/SS) message list, tasks, evaluation sheet, report template
- registration period - evaluation sheets - give Feedback - meeting room - report template - email addresses of the students - Presentation time - ZLW- key competence Relevant information related to process steps
Relevant software
Relevant equipment
Others
Start and apply the tool x
Ho w is the first task defi ned? How is the first ta sk def n i ed?
Do you use an i nforma tio n sy stem to work ou t the working res ults?
x x
tas k
Do yo u use an i nformatio n syste m to work ou t the wo rking resu lts? IS
Using the fact sheet to answer the query (establishing of the DSM in the background)
Figure 1. Section of the WMKMU framework with highlighted contribution of this paper The framework of WMKMU can be categorised into four stages (preparation phase, analysis phase, synthesis phase, maintenance phase). Each stage contains different working steps or tasks which have to be passed. In sum, there are eight consecutive working steps. Excluding the preparation phase, the working steps of the analysis, synthesis and maintenance phases can be executed iteratively. The work result of each task is a necessary input for the following working step. Therefore, the quality of the work results directly influences the holistic knowledge management support which is to be developed. There
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is a huge number of different methods available for ensuring high-quality results. The framework of WMKMU recommends the application of several methods. However, each company has to decide on its own which method suits to their entrepreneurial environment. In addition to the suggested existing methods and tools, WMKMU provides its own tools to reduce the workload of several working steps. Especially in the analysis phase, the initial working step (3) "analysing the company-specific product development process" is time-consuming and error-prone. The reasons for this are the high knowledge intensity as well as the high complexity and the varying degree of formalisation of the analysed product development process [Eppler et al. 1999]. Hence, a detailed modelling of the company-specific product development process is mandatory for the subsequent working step (4). The main objective of this paper is to present an approach for a partially automated modelling of a digital KMDL process model within capturing the product development process in order to reduce the workload involved in the capture (see Figure 2). As a consequence, the research question can be formulated as follows: "How must an information technology tool be structured so as to facilitate capturing a product development process in order to develop a process model (by means of KMDL)?" This paper therefore contains the approach and the structure of the tool whose application is highly recommended by WMKMU. Besides the placement within the framework, a detailed insight of the tool requires theoretical knowledge of process capturing in general, the modelling language "Knowledge Modeling and Description Language" (KMDL) and furthermore also the method "Design Structure Matrix" (DSM), which will be presented in the following chapter. Current situation (not supported) Product development process
Target situation (supported by DSM-KMDL-tool) Pr oduct development process
KMDL process model
KMDL process model Person B
Person A
Person A
Informat ionsobjekt
Person A
Wissensobjekt
Informationsobjekt
Wissensobjekt
Person B
Wissensobjekt
Person A
Person B
Person A
Person B
Person A
Person A
Informationsobjekt
Person A
Wissensobjekt
Informationsobjekt
Wissensobjekt
Person B
Wissensobjekt
Person A
Person B
Abstrakte Konversion
Informationsobjekt Abstr akte Konversion
Informationsobjekt
Informat ionsobjekt
Person A Informationsobjekt
Person A
Wissensobjekt Komplexe Konversion
Wissensobjekt
Atomare Konversion
Person A
Wissensobjekt Komplexe Konversion
Wissensobjekt
Atomare Konversion
Informat ionsobjekt
Informationsobjekt
How can the first task be defined? Task
Do you use an information system to work out the working results? IS
Figure 2. State of the art concerning process capturing and target support method
3. State of the art This chapter examines the state of the art regarding the capture of processes in general, the modelling language "Knowledge Modeling and Description Language" (KMDL) and additionally the method "Multidomain Matrix" (MDM) as a sub-type of the method "Design Structure Matrix" (DSM). 3.1 Process capturing The analysis of business processes plays a key role for process-oriented knowledge management [Eppler et al. 1999]. First, the notation business process has to be defined. Within the context of the relevant literature, there are several descriptions concerning the analysis and formalisation of business processes (cf. [Koch 2011], [Verein Deutscher Ingenieure 2015], [Wagner et al. 2015]). Furthermore, there is a huge number of approaches, theories and tools for analysing and capturing business processes. [Wagner et al. 2015] recommend implementing a four-step method within the context of a process lifecycle. The first two steps include the identification, delimitation and the subsequent capturing of the process. Regardless of the chosen approach, the overarching goal of capturing a business process is to increase the process transparency. Process modelling is an important instrument for process capturing as a means of achieving this objective. [Koch 2011] notes that process models are simplified illustrations of company-specific processes and represent the chronological and logical sequence of activities. The documentation of the process which should be captured is the basis for any process modelling and has a direct influence on the accuracy of the process model as well as the duration of the process capturing. DESIGN PROCESSES
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In contrast to generic and literature-based business processes, the documentation of real processes in an entrepreneurial environment is often insufficient and does not represent the actual state of the situation [Schwegmann et al. 2012]. Besides increasing transparency in the context of process-oriented knowledge management, process modelling is also intended to indicate information flows, knowledge transformations and personal knowledge of the business process. Existing modelling methods such as ARIS [Scheer 1991], INCOME [Remus 2002] or PROMOTE [Hinkelmann 2003] were not originally designed to support the visualisation of knowledge transformations within knowledge-intensive business processes. [Gronau et al. 2004] identified this shortcoming and developed a modelling language which facilitates the combination of knowledge-intensive business processes and the principles of dynamic knowledge creation. The "Knowledge Modeling and Description Language" (KMDL) focuses on the emergence of process-specific knowledge and the distribution of related information. KMDL is not just a modelling language. [Gronau et al. 2004] provide a procedural model which contains nine phases to support a consistent KMDL project. However, this paper only considers the modelling language of KMDL, which will be presented in more detail in the next chapter. 3.2 KMDL - a modelling language to capture knowledge-intensive business processes The "Knowledge Modeling and Description Language" (KMDL), latest version KMDL 2.2, constitutes a semi-formal and graphic modelling language. The language consists of a clearly defined set of symbols and a given syntax. In contrast to other modelling languages, a huge advantage of KMDL is the distinction between three different views (e.g. process view, activity view) [Gronau et al. 2004]. For each view, a defined set of objects with different characteristics is available in order to model the process. The superordinate process view contains objects such as tasks, roles, process interfaces, information systems and different joint operators (see Figure 3 above). The major KMDL object of this view is the task, which describes a general stage of the examined business process. [Laukemann et al. 2015a] showed how the process view can be derived in the context of a generic and literature-based description of the product development process to create an accurate KMDL process view. Here, the KMDL object "task" represents a set of activities. Successive tasks make up the superordinate process structure. Each task may be connected with the KMDL object "role", which comprises one or more persons involved from the same area of responsibility. An "information system" represents information or communication technology that is used in business processes and determines the requirements of conversions (see KMDL object "conversion"). "Process interfaces" are designed to connect partially processes to process chains. The individual "joint operators" manage the control flow and display the possible paths [Gronau et al. 2004]. Based on the modelled process view, the more detailed activity view can be derived in the next step. The KMDL objects of the activity view, such as conversion, information object, knowledge object, requirement as well as employee-related objects like the person, undefined person and team, are therefore required to develop a KMDL activity view (see Figure 3 below). Objects of process view PI
Process interface
Task
Role
IS
Task
Role
Information system
XOR
OR
AND
Joint operators
Objects of activity view Employee-related objects
Person
Undefined
Team Team
Information flow- and knowledge transformation-related objects Knowledge object
Information object
Conversion
Requirement
Figure 3. KMDL objects of the process and activity views (adapted from [Gronau et al. 2004])
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With the provided set of objects from the activity view, it is possible to visualise information flows and knowledge transformations. The KMDL object "conversion" describes the transformation of tacit to explicit knowledge and the inverse transformation of explicit to tacit knowledge. Hence, the SECI (Socialisation, Externalisation, Combination, Internalisation) model of knowledge dimensions by [Nonaka and Takeuchi 1995] has been taken into account to visualise the knowledge transformation in the process model. By means of the KMDL object "conversion", the main activities of knowledge management can be addressed. The following main activities related to knowledge management result from various empirical studies conducted by [Probst et al. 2010] (see Table 1). Table 1. Main activities of knowledge management to describe the KMDL object "conversion Knowledge identification Knowledge use Knowledge preservation
Knowledge distribution Knowledge development Knowledge acquisition
In order to perform conversions in a structured way, certain requirements must be fulfilled. The KMDL object "requirement" can be met by the knowledge of individuals or teams, or through the functions of an information system. The "requirement object" therefore represents the recommendations for applying one of the main activities of knowledge management defined by [Probst et al. 2010] within the examined activity. Another important KMDL object of the activity view is the object "person". There are different types of "persons". If the person/employee who is involved in the activity step cannot be identified or named, the notation of the object will be "undefined". If more than one person/employee can be referenced to an individual knowledge object, however, the KMDL object "team" will be used. Due to the fact that knowledge objects are always person/employee-related, the process participants can be indicated as knowledge carriers. However, the KMDL objects "information object" and "knowledge object" are of particularly central importance. The "information object" contains information that can be stored in various ways (text, images etc.).
Process view Idea fact sheet
Idea provider
Evaluation method
Evaluation team
Visualisation software
Manager Evaluation team
Manager Idea fact sheet
R&D
Idea sources
PI
Idea capturing
Initial evaluation
Activity view
Market analysis
Initial selection
1. Idea itemisation
...
PI
Idea provide r
Analysis of the competitive situation and identification of ideas
Market knowledge and understanding of the issues
Preparation of the issues
Idea description
Fact sheet
R&D PI
Research and Development Process interface
Figure 4. KMDL process model (process and activity view)
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Thus, the "information object" can be the input or output object of a conversion (see KMDL object conversion). Depending on the type of information, this information can exist independently of employees and contains their explicable knowledge (e.g. technical drawing). "Knowledge objects" are exclusively related to employees and represent process-specific knowledge of these respective persons. Like "information objects", "knowledge objects" can equally be input or output from a conversion (see KMDL object conversion). The knowledge creation within the process can be linked to the various conversions. Figure 4 shows a process model that includes an example of the superordinate process view and the derived activity view. This exemplary process represents a part of the IKTD idea evaluation process, which represents the continuous sample process of this paper. For reasons of clarity, this sample only includes one activity view for the first task (idea capturing) of the superordinate process view. 3.3 DSM - a method to model cross-linked systems The "Design Structure Matrix" (DSM) is a method to represent the structure of a cross-linked system which contains a huge amount of elements [Browning and Eppinger 2012]. The work by [Steward 1981] on systems of equations forms the basis for further DSM developments. In the basic configuration, a DSM describes a square matrix where the diagonal cells characterise system elements and the offdiagonal cells characterise relationships between these elements. [Browning and Eppinger 2012] describes three different application areas for the "Design Structure Matrix" (DSM models of products, organisations and processes). However, [Steward 1981] originally developed the DSM to analyse the structures of processes. Since one of the topics of this paper is to establish a process model, only the DSM-process-specific type will be used. Processes may be characterised using individual process architectures [Koch 2011]. These process architecture models comprise at least three requirements [Browning and Eppinger 2012]: 1. Hierarchical decomposition 2. Input and output relationships between activities 3. Other types of activity relationships In order to develop a KMDL process model of a business process by means of a "Design Structure Matrix", each of the three requirements has to be fulfilled. For this reason, DSM is well suited to facilitating the capture of a company-specific product development process [Browning and Eppinger 2012]. In order to model the superordinate KMDL process view (see chapter 3.2) with its limited set of objects, the use of a simple DSM is sufficient. However, in order to capture the more complex KMDL activity view (see chapter 3.2), the further development of DSM in the form of the "Multidomain Matrix" (MDM) should be used. MDM allows the modelling of multiple domains which are connected by various relationship types. The numerous objects, in particular, which are available to develop the KMDL activity view require a "Multidomain Matrix" to represent all sorts of relationships. In contrast to the KMDL process view, and depending on the pursued granularity, the KMDL activity view can lead to a highly cross-linked system with a huge number of related elements [Gronau et al. 2014]. As regards the applicability of combining KMDL with MDM, the different views and the huge number of objects provided by KMDL offer high potential for analysis and optimisation (see Figure 5). Figure 5 represents a fragmented "Multipledomain Matrix" (MDM) of the KMDL process model (see Figure 4). The first domain obtains the superordinate KMDL process view including all dependencies between modelled objects. The dependencies among the objects are marked with a cross in the respective column and row. As stated previously, each task of the process view can be modelled in more detail by developing an activity view. The KMDL activity view of an individual task can be described with the second domain. Again, the dependencies of the KMDL activity view objects are characterised with a cross in the respective column and row. Furthermore, in accordance with [Nonaka and Takeuchi 1995], the conversion of process-specific knowledge can be explained with the SECI (Socialisation, Externalisation, Combination, Internalisation) model in the third domain. The SECI model describes the four modes (tacit-tacit, tacitexplicit, explicit-tacit, explicit-explicit) of how tacit and explicit knowledge can be converted.
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KMDL process view
x
KMDL activity view “Idea capturing“
Market knowledge Market analysis Idea description Analysis and identification Preparation of the issues
...
Research and Development
x x
Per son
...
...
Idea provider
...
...
Fact sheet
...
Analysis and identification Preparation of the issues
Re quirem ent
x
x x x x
x
x x
x x
Fact sheet Idea provider
x x
Conver sion
...
x
...
Inform ation objec t
Market analysis Idea description
x
x x
KMDL activity view “Idea capturing“
x
...
x
Knowledge objec t
...
x
Manager
Evaluation team
Idea provider
...
...
Evaluation method Visualisation software
x
1. Idea itemisation
2nd domain
x
Market knowledge
KMDL process view
Initial selection
Idea fact sheet
...
x
Idea capturing Initial evaluation
Role
IS
1. Idea itemisation
Initial selection
Initial evaluation
1st domain
Idea capturing
Task
x Socialisation (S)
3rd domain
Externalisation (E)
X S
E
C
I
(I) Internalisation
(C) Combination
Figure 5. MDM of different KMDL views considering knowledge transformation (example)
4. Approach for partially automated modelling of a product development process Based on the problem statement and the described objective, this chapter represents an approach for a tool to assist the third work step within the analysis phase of WMKMU. The three topics (process capturing, KMDL and DSM) dealt with in the state of the art (see chapter 3), have served as a basis for the development of the tool. The first step of capturing a business process is to identify the process which should be examined [Koch 2011], [Wagner et al. 2015]. [Eppler et al. 1999] recommend categorising business processes using two criteria: "process complexity" and "knowledge intensity". The complexity of the examined processes can be identified by a set of attributes such as, for example, the number of process steps or the dynamic of a process. In order to define the knowledge intensity of a business process, [Eppler et al. 1999] provide several characteristics such as, for instance, contingency (weak contingency if process activities are defined) or decision scope (strong decision scope if participants of the process have several possibilities) of a process. Within the scope of WMKMU, an identification of the business process is not necessary due to the product-development-process-specific orientation of WMKMU. Nevertheless, it is appropriate to start a rough analysis of the several sub-processes of the company-specific product development process concerning process complexity and knowledge intensity. The rough examination could be performed by DESIGN PROCESSES
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applying creative techniques such as brainstorming, method 635 or the gallery method [Pahl et al. 1988]. After the examination as to which sub-processes of the company-specific product development are of interest, these sub-processes should be prioritised before characterising them using a fact sheet. There are various methods available on the market for prioritising and subsequently preselecting the gathered sub-processes [Pahl et al. 1988]. In consideration of company-specific demands, it is useful to use an employee-accepted method or to develop an individual tool (e.g. company-specific selection chart with own defined criteria) while considering the needs of the employees. The next working step is the characterisation of the identified sub-processes of the product development process. Therefore, [Koch 2011] recommends the use of a defined set of questions. [Wagner et al. 2015] provide a structured fact sheet to describe the process in detail. The process description sheet of WMKMU is adapted from the fact sheet of [Wagner et al. 2015] and outlines similar main aspects (see Figure 6).
Title of the process
Lk, Me
Editor
Fact Sheet
Idea capturing
Date 18.01.2015
Idea evaluation process
Initial evaluation
Practical and applicable supporting of enterprises by identifying the most promising product ideas and shortening of product development times due to early recognition of risks.
Initial selection
Objective of the process
1. Idea itemisation
Start of the process (event)
Marketing analysis, R&D
End of t he process (event)
Evaluated ideas, prepared working results Product development
R&D
Marketing
Rough assessment
Sales
Category of the process Process owner Involved persons Involved working areas External working areas single
Rough selection Innovation manager Innovation team, marketing team, R&D team Product developement, marketing, sales Universities, research institutions daily
Time frame
weekly
monthly
________ __
2. Idea itemisation Executed process steps
- Fact sheet - Idea pool - Think tank - Evaluation criteria - Evaluation tool - Database
Additional requierements Relevant documents
Fact sheet, evaluation criteria, market analysis
Relevant software
MS Office
Relevant equipment
Relevant information related to process steps
Others
Figure 6. Completed WMKMU fact sheet of the IKTD idea evaluation process The completed WMKMU fact sheet allows to establish a structured basis (prior knowledge), which is necessary for an efficient use of the WMKMU tool. Before explaining the approach in more detail, an overview and placement within WMKMU will be presented (see Figure 7 derived from Figure 1).
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Identify and prioritise relevant processes
Characterising the identified processes
Start and apply the tool
fact s heet C h
P ro z e s b e s ch e r i
e
b u g n We c l hn e rP o z es s
c k
mö c h t e n Si e l rP e il o rez We c l m h on ed e e ns ?s mö c h t e n Si e l rP e il o rez We c l m h on ed e e ns ?s mö c h t e n Si e l rP e il o rez We c l m h on ed e e ns ?s mö c h t e n Si e l rP e il o rez We c l m h on ed e e ns ?s
How is the first ta sk def n i ed?
mö c h t e n Si e l rP e il o rez We c l m h on ed e e ns ?s mö c h t e n Si e l rP e il o rez We c l m h on ed e e ns ?s mö c h t e n Si e l rP e il o rez We c l m h on ed e e ns ?s
O R
A N D
mö c h t e n Si e l rP e il o rez We c l m h on ed e e ns ?s mö c h t e n Si e l rP e il o rez We c l m h on ed e e ns ?s mö c h t e n Si e l rP e il o rez We c l m h on ed e e ns ?s mö c h t e n Si e l rP e il o rez We c l m h on ed e e ns ?s mö c h t e n Si e mo d e l e il re n ?
Fact Sheet
1
Pro duct i de a
2
Mark et ana y l si s
3
Pate nt s earch
St ructured results of creativity techniques
...
Do you use a n infor mation system to work out the wor k resu lts?
Lk
Bea rb ei te r
D atum
Call for Bachelorproject
18.07.2015
Support of the Bachelorproject
Title of th e process
Design task
Collect build core competencies in scientific work and thus to prepare for the dissertation, as well as basic exper ience in project management / the Community Editing a parent topics.
Using the fact sheet to characterise processes
Contact the gro up
regular appo intments for monitor ing of results Objective of the process
St ar t of the p rocess (event)
End o f the pr ocess (event)
Call for projects by Mrs. Hahn (IAO)
Listen to presentatio ns
Make the final report to Mrs. Hahn organisation
education
sc ience
Eval uate Bach elorp ro ject
industry
Category of the pr oce ss
Complete Bachelorproject
Mrs. Hahn, academic staff
Pr oce ss own er
Executed pr ocess steps
Acadamic staff, Prof. Binz, students
Involved per sons
Involved wor king ar eas
AT/CAE/MPE/TD
Exter nal working areas
single
dail y
weekly
monthly
__________ SS/WS
Time fr ame
Additional r equierements
Relevant documents
From the start of lectures until the end of semester (WS/SS) message list, tasks, evaluation sheet, report template
- registration period - evaluation sheets - give Feedback - meeting room - report template - email addresses of the students - Presentation time - ZLW- key competence Relevant informat ion rela ted to process st eps
Relevant software
Role
x
Market knowledge Market analysis Idea description Analysis and identification Preparation of the issues
...
Manager
Research an d Develo pmen t
Evaluatio n team
...
Idea provider
...
Evaluatio n meth od Visualisation software
x x
x
Per so n
E
...
...
...
Requ irem en t
x
x x x
x x
Has th e infor mation been comb n i ed?
x x
Fact sheet Idea provider
Has th e infor mation been exter nalised?
x x x x x
Idea provider
Co nver si on
...
I nform ati on o bj ec t
x
...
x
...
KMDL activity view
x
Kno wled g e o bjec t
x
S
x x
x
Fact sheet
...
Idea fact sheet
x x
...
Initial selection 1. Ide a itemisation
...
Initial se lection
1. Idea itemisation
Initial evaluation
Idea capturing Initial evaluation
Market analysis Idea description
Info rma tion obje ct Is th ere a ny re quirem ents r elated to th s i activity?
x x
KMDL process view
Research and Development
... ...
...
Per son
x
x x
Idea provider
Re quirem ent
x
x
Manager
Evaluation team
Idea provider
...
...
Evaluation method Visualisation software
x x x x
Fact sheet Idea provider
x
x x x x x ...
x Market knowledge Market analysis Idea description Analysis and identification Preparation of the issues
Conver sion
...
x
...
I nform ati on obj ec t
Analysis and identification Preparation of the issues
1. Ide a itemisation
KMDL activity view
x
Kno wledge obj ec t
Role
IS
Idea capturing
Which info rma tion do you ne ed to proce ss the t ask?
x x
x
...
x
...
Initial selection
Person
KMDL activity view
Ma y you assig n a r ole for this task ?
Initial evaluation
Fact sheet
...
Idea fact sheet
1. Idea itemisation
Initial selection
x
Ide a ca pturing
IS
x
Initial evaluation
Idea ca pturing
Resea rch and Development
Ma nager
Evaluation tea m
Ide a provider
...
...
Do you use a n infor mation system to work out th e working re sults?
...
x
x x x x x
Market analysis Idea description
x
...
Evaluation me thod Visualisation softwa re
Ide a fact shee t
x
...
...
x x
x
Has th e infor mation been socialised?
KMDL process view Task
Role
IS
Market knowledge
1. Ide a itemisation
x
KMDL process view
Initial se lection
Tas k
KMDL activity view
KMDL process view
Initial evalu ation
...
x
Ide a ca pturing
Task
SECI
rd domai n
Who is invo lved in th is activity? KMDL process view
IS
1. Ide a itemisation
Initial selection
Initial evalu ation
Ide a capturing
Task
3
KMDL activity view
nd domai n
How is the first ta sk define d? Role
Analysis and identification Preparation of the issues
2
KMDL process view KMDL process view
...
1
st domai n
Other s
Market knowledge
Relevant equipment
x
Requirement
Socialisation (S)
Externalisation (E)
X S
E
C
I
(I) Internalisation
C
(C) Combination
Figure 7. Overview of the sequence of process steps using the WMKMU tool The first two steps constitute a comprehensive preparation before using the tool. Instead of performing a paper-based expert interview with the process owner, the third step of the presented approach, i.e. to capture the product development process, comprises a guided investigation using the tool provided. According to [Koch 2011], a defined set of questions are asked at the beginning of the investigation. Furthermore, the aspects of the fact sheet have to be entered into the tool. So far, the compiled database is sufficient enough to ask detailed questions concerning the information previously entered (taking KMDL and DSM into account).In addition to this, the tool automatically compiles the notations and rules of DSM in combination with KMDL. For this reason, irrelevant information or error-prone data will not be gathered in the first place. Moreover, the capturing process probably requires less time due to the fact that the time-consuming modelling of the KMDL process model is assumed by the tool. At the same time, the reproducibility and standardisation of the capturing process is ensured by the presented approach. A further advantage is that experts in knowledge management or process capturing are no longer necessary for capturing a company-specific product development process. In order to create a new project, the completed WMKMU fact sheet (see Figure 6) is necessary to answer the first query (WMKMU fact sheet) about the examined process. After this rough description of the process, the tool will prepare all relevant information for the next working steps (e.g. "Process owner" as KMDL object "Role", or "Relevant software" as KMDL object "Information system" etc.). The prior knowledge of the previous working steps is now transferred to the tool and serves as a basis for further target-oriented queries (see Figure 8). The graphic user interface (GUI) of the WMKMU tool has a similar structure to the WMKMU fact sheet and supports the transfer of information. On the basis of the working results by the preparation steps (identified process, fact sheet), the WMKMU tool uses the input data in order to develop a DSM (or in subsequent steps also MDM) in the background (see Figure 9, arrows and crosses). When all necessary inputs are made and queries have been completed, the DSM/MDM is developed and the KMDL process model can be modelled automatically. In summary, KMDL provides all objects required for developing a process model, although the objects must be structured by the process manager, who also has to be familiar with knowledge management and the applied modelling language. This work step (even for the less complex process view) is as timeconsuming as it is error-prone and offers a high potential to be supported by means of DSM [Gronau et al. 2014]. As mentioned in the problem statement (see chapter 2), the development of a tool is motivated by lack of applicability of the current approach to capture the product development process in order to develop a KMDL process model. The information and explicable process-specific knowledge captured by the tool constitutes the basis for combining each KMDL process model into a holistic KMDL process model for the company-specific product development process (including all process interfaces). This will be the content of the next working step (4) of WMKMU.
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Figure 8. Transfer of information from the fact sheet to the WMKMU tool
Figure 9. Example of using the DSM (MDM) to model a KMDL process view
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5. Discussion of the results The formulated research question of how a tool must be structured to facilitate capturing a product development process in order to develop a process model (by means of KMDL) has been addressed by presenting a logical, step-by-step approach including a tool. The presented approach has still not been finally evaluated. An initial evaluation with an expert has taken place. The results achieved should be viewed positively, but have to be treated with caution in terms of their generalisability. For this reason, a comprehensive evaluation in industry is still pending. The explanation of the detailed functionalities of the tool (especially the combination of DSM and KMDL) was not part of this paper and will be presented in further publications. However, the rough approach of a partially automated modelling of a digital KMDL process model within capturing the product development process has been demonstrated and the overall context for the framework of WMKMU has been described.
6. Conclusions and outlook Based on the described problem statement and the lack of applicability of current approaches to the capture of the product development process, the presented approach was developed based on research in the literature and the gathered empirical knowledge of experts. Most of the described working steps were iteratively implemented and optimised in a research-institution-specific project. At present, a quantitative evaluation of the results is not possible due to a lack of industrial project partners. However, the support potential of DSM by modelling a KMDL process model of a company-specific product development process can be drawn. The next step of the research is the further development of the automatic process modelling concerning the notation of KMDL. Furthermore, the subsequent expansion with additional information of each KMDL object should be implemented in the tool. The further development of the intuitive user interface and the preparation of a manual are also research topics. After this, a comprehensive evaluation with different industrial partners is planned and should be used to prove the presented approach in industrial environment. References BMWi - Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Energie, "Erschließen der Potenziale der Anwendung von 'Industrie 4.0' im Mittelstand", Study, 2015. Browning, T. R., Eppinger, S. D., "Design Structure Matrix Methods and Applications", MIT Press, 2012. Eppler, M., Seifried, P., Röpnack, A., "Improving knowledge-intensive processes through an enterprise knowledge medium", ACM SIGCPR Conference, New Orleans, 1999, pp. 222-230. Gronau, N., Weber, E., "Management of Knowledge-Intensive Business Processes", In: Desel, J., Pernici, B., Weske, M. (Ed.), Business process managemen, Potsdam, Springer, 2004, pp. 161-178. Haufe Lexware GmbH & Co. KG, "Productive handling of knowledge in the company", Study, Freiburg, 2014. Hinkelmann, K., "PROMOTE - Methodologie und Werkzeuge für geschäftsprozessorientiertes Wissensmanagement", In: Geschäftsprozessorientiertes Wissensmanagement: Effektive Wissensnutzung bei der Planung und Umsetzung von Geschäftsprozessen, Berlin, Springer, 2003, pp. 65-90. Koch, S., "Einführung in das Management von Geschäftsprozessen - Six Sigma, Kaizen und TQM", Heidelberg, Springer, Berlin, 2011. Laukemann, A., Binz, H., Roth, D., "Approach for modelling knowledge management solutions within the product development process using the 'Knowledge Modeling and Description Language'", In: Proceedings of the 20th International Conference on Engineering Design, Milan, 2015a, pp. 1-10. Laukemann, A., Binz, H., Roth, D., "Konzept eines produktentwicklungsspezifischen Wissensmanagementverfahrens für kleine und mittlere Unternehmen", In: Binz, H., Bertsche, B., Bauer, W., Roth, D. (Ed.), Stuttgarter Symposium für Produktentwicklung 2015, Stuttgart, 2015b. Nonaka, I., Takeuchi, H., "The knowledge-creating company: How Japanese companies create the dynamics of innovation", New York, Oxford University Press, 1995. Pahl, G., Beitz, W., "Engineering Design", Springer, Berlin, 1988. Probst, G., Raub, S., Romhardt, K., "Wissen managen: Wie Unternehmen ihre wertvollste Ressource optimal nutzen", Wiesbaden, Gabler, 2010. Remus, U., "Prozessorientiertes Wissensmanagement: Konzepte und Modellierung", Regensburg, Fakultät Wirtschaftswissenschaften, 2002.
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Schwegmann, A., Laske, M., "Istmodellierung und Istanalyse", In: Becker, J., Kugeler, M., Rosemann, M. (Ed.), Prozessmanagement - Ein Leitfaden zur prozessorientierten Organisationsgestaltung, Heidelberg, Springer Berlin, 2012, pp. 165-194. Steward, D. V., "The Design Structure System: A Method for Managing the Design of Complex Systems", IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management, Vol.28, 1981, pp. 71-74. Verein Deutscher Ingenieure (VDI), "2221 - Systematic approach to the development and design of technical systems and products", Beuth, Berlin, 1993. Verein Deutscher Ingenieure (VDI), "3682 - Part 1 - Formalised process descriptions - Concept and graphic representation", Beuth, Berlin, 2015. Wagner, K. W., Patzack, G., "Performance Excellence", Carl Hanser, München, Wien, 2015. Alexander Laukemann, Dipl.-Ing. University of Stuttgart, Institute for engineering design and industrial design Pfaffenwaldring 9, 70569 Stuttgart, Germany Email:
[email protected]
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