Company Classification: A New Perspective on Modelling the Engineering Design and Product Development Process

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Abstract
This paper distinguishes between, and provides a critique of, the development of ‘models’ in engineering design and product development. Many of these models are general in their scope and prescriptive in nature, and have in consequence a number of inherent shortcomings, not least of which is the need for the user of these models to interpret them in the context of their company's environment and a particular project's requirements. It is argued that, given the consensus of current design and development models, the need is not for the derivation of new models per se, but for extensions of the existing understanding of the process of design to allow individuals to make informed decisions about the nature of models to adopt in the context of their own circumstances and company attributes. A new perspective is postulated, based on the concept of company classification, as a logical step forward to identify those generic and company specific features of engineering design and product development and how generic models might be tailored to reflect these characteristics.

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