Realising the potential of product data engineering

The increased pressures of competing in the global marketplace have compelled industries to seek innovative ways to increase their competitive edge. Immediate access to information has rapidly become a key to success. The use of information technology in information management makes such access to computer-based information a real possibility. Product data technology provides mechanisms for the management of product-related information. It offers approaches for business enterprises to design and implement their product information systems. Research results lead to the hypothesis that the benefits of product data technology can only be fully realised through its planned and controlled introduction, namely, product data engineering, and through the implementation of changes to the business processes that this leads to. The European Computer Manufacturers' Association's Reference Model for Open Distributed Processing (RM-ODP) provides five viewpoints from which an information system may be viewed. A product data engineering methodology based upon RM-ODP was established and used by a research project, MOSES, in collaboration with industry.