Assessing Principles of Set-­‐Based Concurrent Engineering Using a Design Game

Abstract

Product development is a strategic function in many companies and its management has been evolving throughout the industrial era. This project contributes to the emerging field of Lean Product Development, one of the current applied strategies that has high potential to manage the resources invested to bring new products to market. The objective of this thesis is to identify some of the key factors and practices to apply one of the Lean Product Development principles, Set-­‐Based Concurrent Engineering. Although the Set Based Concurrent Engineering approach has been identified as one of the key practices to succeed in Lean Product Development, it doesn’t exist a standard methodology for applying it despite of the industrial sector and the projects characteristics. In this thesis, experimental data were gathered through experimentation with groups of people using a design simulation called “Delta Design Game” originally developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The game is modified in order to reach conclusions during the research and to enable future pedagogical and research activities regarding set-­‐based strategies applied in a multidisciplinary context. The thesis concludes with several recommendations and reflections about the important factors that enable or hinder set-­‐based concurrent engineering.