Design for Configuration

Product Structuring for Design Reuse, Product Platform systems, Configuration and Modularisation is gaining growing attention in global operating companies as means to enhance productivity in manufacturing of customised product variants. th In that situation it was a great opportunity to get the 5 Product Structuring Workshop to Tampere. The special theme of the workshop was chosen Design for Configuration. We see that Knowledge Systematisation is an important research area for Product Structuring. We made a decision to apply Knowledge Systematisation for the workshop itself: we used the small group working method-Double Team Method- in workshop discussions for creating adding values based on presented papers, and after workshop we have made a synthesis for crystallizing results from papers and group works. On the behalf of organisers I thank for the enthusiastic participation on the all of workshop and Finnish Academy and Tampere Centre of Expertise for stages funding the workshop and publication of this book. I am sure that all participants would like to join to my many thanks for the workshop secretary, Ms Jenni Kauppila for her efficient organisation work. After workshop she has made excellent work as our editorial secretary.

This book contains the contributions presented in the 5th WDK Workshop on Product Structuring in Tampere, Finland, in February 2000. Special theme was Design for Configuration. Besides the papers it includes developed summaries from the discussions of the expert group. Thus, the book provides the reader with a review of the latest discussion in the ongoing process of Product Structuring. Even though the meeting was of academic nature, the papers include many practical examples of industrial applications. In order to give a comprehensive picture of the aspects of Design for Configuration the papers are organised in four sections: - Analysis of customers, markets and technology; - Development of product portfolios and module systems; - Metrics and methods for modularity and configurability; - Supporting modeling and IT-tools. This book is the first publication of the newly established Design Society.