Using the design structure matrix and systems thinking to develop a requirements driven automotive closures design process

Abstract

Thesis Outline and Flow: Chapter 1. We begin by first reviewing the predominant industry and company dynamics driving the automotive industry today. We establish the need for shorter product development cycles as well as the need to create products to specifications. A review of relevant prior work is also presented to show where others have worked in this space. The problem statement and motivation for this work evolves subsequently. Chapter 2. We discuss product development activities as they relate to automotive development. We present automotive product development in the context of the system's engineering system-V. We also review the significant role of the virtual development process that is key to modern product development and why we must consider more than just geometric compatibility when evaluating designs for completeness. Chapter 3. Introduces the reader to automotive closures, specifically to side doors. A broad review is completed to facilitate the reader's understanding of subsequent chapters. Also, a view of how requirements are created and a description of the predominant requirements in automotive closures is included. Chapter 4. We get to the more technical and analytical section of this thesis. We begin with an overview of the design structure matrix and then explain the process used to create the case study DSM. We also discuss the art of architecting a DSM so it may be used as a very effective corporate knowledge base. Chapter 5. Represents the closures created DSM and the real world application of the requirements integrated design process. We present the DSM created for this thesis and discuss the nature of its content and then its structure. Chapter 6. Runs a Monte Carlo simulation on the As-Is DSM to create a benchmark. The average process completion time and standard deviation resulting from this simulation are used to measure the effectiveness of process improvement proposals. We discuss a number of the process improvements suggested by Auto OEM's subject matter experts (SMEs). These improvements are then incorporated into the simulation. Conclusions from our research are summarized. Chapter 7. Reflecting on this work completed in this research, chapter 7 shares practical insights gained during this research. Chapter 7 ends with suggestions on what future work may completed.7102 System Design and Management Program.