Supporting Research and Development Processes 171Copyright © 2005, Idea Group Inc. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without writtenConcept Overview
To solve the existing problems, the concept is oriented along the integrated
production development process of TAT (Figure 3). Project management is done very
well and clearly defined by internal processes, but information and knowledge inter-
change must be increased and structured. As a conclusion from the analysis phase, the
concept concentrates on communication via different stages, structured and informal
information, know-how transfer, and documentation of relevant or critical information
handover.
TAT’s integrated development process follows the defined process for develop-
ment of new products which is based on the strategic development program. The first
two stages, “Development Program” and “Product Definition,” are mainly influenced by
the Trumpf Group, which defines every three years development visions for the
subsidiary companies. The vague specifications of the development program define the
direction of future R&D efforts. Derived from this input, the local subsidiary defines new
products or product families in a more detailed way such as a functional specification and
technological details, which are worked out in more details in the development depart-
ment. This functional specification is a starting point for the integrated product devel-
opment and provides the first input for the knowledge management concept phase — the
Initialization Phase.
As shown in Figure 3, the concept consists of five main phases, of which some are
partly overlapping. These overlapping parts are necessary to handle preparation activi-
ties (e.g., planning workshops), although the actual phase is not completed. Phases I
(Initializing), II (Development), and III (Transfer) focus on the product development
process and the ongoing interaction of all included departments (development, con-
struction, production). Phase IV (production support) accompanies the whole develop-
ment project and contains activities and measures to support tasks that are performed
in phases I, II, and III. Caused by the identification of optimization potentials beside the
interface of development and construction department, we developed Phase V (project-
independent activities) which contains activities and measures to increase transparency
and information transfer in the whole organization.
The following sections will describe the five phases of our approach and the
included measures in more detail.
Procedure Model in Detail
Figure 4 shows a closer look on Phases I and II. The special task here is the target
definition workshop, which is responsible for the definition of knowledge goals,
responsibilities, exchange and feedback, information, and communication tasks, which
are necessary for project execution (for details take a look at regarding chapter).
Initializing Phase (I)
Phase I (Initializing) handles all preparation activities for the execution of the
development phase, which starts overlapping with it. Preparation means securing
ongoing information exchange, communication, and exchange of experiences between
all participating departments.