Component sharing in complex products and systems: challenges, solutions, and practical implications

In this paper, we explore whether a multiproject management approach is helpful in complex products and systems (CoPS) environments. CoPS are high cost, engineering-intensive products and systems, tailor-made according to client's specifications. The focus of this paper is on the possibilities for sharing components between projects in CoPS multiproject environments. Component sharing is the process through which technological components and platforms are transferred and shared between projects. The vast majority of evidence about component sharing is based on empirical research in mass-producing companies. Little has been reported in the CoPS literature about similar processes. To contribute to this gap, this paper discusses challenges faced and solutions applied by a supplier of CoPS, an aerospace company, when attempting to share components between projects in its multiproject environment. Three main areas are examined that facilitate sharing between projects given the unique strategic context of CoPS: coordination and communication mechanisms that facilitate linkages across projects; knowledge transfer mechanisms; and an organizational form that centralizes some of the development activities. This paper concludes by offering managers and engineers a set of tools to consider component sharing in a CoPS environment.