A method to design process architecture in a distributed product realization environment

Globalization, collaboration and competition are forcing product realization processes to become faster and more distributed. The requirements for higher efficiency, lower cost, and better product quality lead to challenges in the design of a product realization process in which concurrency and distribution are important. A distributed process structuring method (DPSM) is presented to help engineers design process architectures, based on characteristics of the distributed environment. DPSM also provides a framework for managing collaboration. With DPSM, a process is represented hierarchically by partitioning the process and reorganizing the activities. Four typical architecture templates, sequential, parallel, integrated and distributed architectures are presented. Process architectures are constructed by mapping the process representation into the templates. DPSM is a state-of-the-science method for structuring the distributed product realization process, while ensuring its modularity and robustness. An engineering case is investigated, and the distributed architecture is implemented using agent technology.