Product life cycle information and process analysis methodology: Integrated information and process analysis for product life cycle management

Abstract

In the manufacturing industry, collaborations between various departments, from planning, to the development and production phases, are becoming more and more important. Product life cycle management is the integrated management of information related to all phases of the product life cycle, from the analysis of customer requirements and product planning, to the maintenance and recycle phases. This makes product life cycle management one of the emerging strategies for organizing production information that is able to satisfy the various requirements of the manufacturing industry, such as a rapid product development and collaboration. Today, manufacturing companies are introducing a variety of data management systems, such as product data management and manufacturing process management. Business process reengineering is an essential process in the construction of these systems. It analyzes existing task procedures and work environments through “as-is” process analysis and defines “to-be” processes. However, existing task analysis methodologies, such as unified modeling language, architecture of integrated information systems, and computer-integrated manufacturing open system architecture, cannot address the required characteristics of product life cycle management as the purpose of those methodologies is to analyze and model specific attributes such as workflow and information. The aim of this research is to develop a methodology that can be applied in the business process reengineering phase for the effective construction of a product life cycle management system. We analyzed the objectives and characteristics of product life cycle management based on the existing product life cycle management definition analysis. Through this, we analyzed the strengths and weaknesses of the existing process modeling methodology. Finally, we developed the product life cycle information and process analysis methodology to integrate the analysis and design of task procedures, information, and work environments.