Supporting Potential Innovation in the Early Phase of PGE – Product Generation Engineering: Structuring the Development of the Initial System of Objectives

Products are developed over generations. This coherence is described by the PGE – Product Generation Engineering. Accordingly, a new product generation is based on reference products. Especially in the early phase of development projects there is still a need to further concretize this aspect and thereby not only increase customer benefits for a new product generation, but the provider benefit and thus also the innovation potential. For this it is necessary not only to describe solution-open differentiation goals in the product profile. It is necessary to establish specific references to solution-specific information, such as existing production- or validation systems. Based on empirical studies, requirements for methodical support for the development of the initial system of objectives in the context of the PGE are derived. Using the example of automotive development, this contribution introduces a product model that enables the structuring of the initial system of objectives. Based on this, a procedure model is presented which specifically relates solution-open and solution-specific elements of the system of objectives and thus increases the maturity level of the product profile. ... mehrThe results are evaluated by the example of chassis development in an OEM. Based on the procedure model introduced in this paper, concrete methods can be developed which increase the innovation potential of future product generations.