Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design & Management Program, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 86-88). / Appearance of the product is a discerning factor for the consumers purchase decisions. Time from concept to product creation is a critical factor in the competitive automotive industry. The period to develop a product is dependant on the people, content and the technology changes that constitute a large majority of expense allocation, and time invested. The greater the degree of change from something established and successful, the more difficult it becomes to incorporate the change into a product. Being successive in the automotive industry relies on the ability to maintain market presence with new and innovative products, while shortening the cycle time associated with new product design, development, and its introduction. Increasing capability to manage changes becomes more challenging as product complexity and customer demands increase and product life cycles decrease. How automotive manufacturers manage these changes during the critical product definition phase through process, tools and methods is the central discussion of this paper. The intent of this thesis is to identify the processes and key enablers that allow a rapid development process for appearance related systems, in particular the interior environment of the vehicle. Five cases that effect the interior trim environment will be reviewed to understand the methods, which allow the migration of novelty. Situations that will be studied will be introductions to aspects of: new technology, strategies, and the impact of late additions. To compare and contrast the degree of change occurring in these cases, a framework is essential to identify novelty. The ability and skills which an organization can perform changes is defined as organizational capability. This term / (cont.) describes how people within the organization manage to perform work. Specific case studies will be analyzed--reviewing the novelty introduced to the program, the organizational capability utilized, and the artifacts and processes employed to develop a final product within the division of the Sport Utility Vehicle Body on Frame, of Ford Motor Company, and contrasting comparisons to similar areas within Nissan Corporation, and Toyota Motor Corporation. Through these cases different types of novelty are revealed and its impact upon the interior trim system. It is argued that allotting more time in the preparation and early planning stages will reconcile problems that may arise later on. The approaches that these departments use: formal, informal meetings, conference calls, and written communication to manage novelty will be reviewed and compared in order to provide recommendations for improvement. / by Lara Daniv Zarewych. / S.M.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design & Management Program, 2000. / "February 2000." / Includes bibliographical references (p. 137). / by Howard R. Gerwin. / S.M.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design & Management Program, 2000. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 88-89). / by Paul A. Soukup. / S.M.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design & Management Program, 2000. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf 69). / by Edwin Elberg. / S.M.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design and Management Program, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 134-137). / This research is comprised of a detailed study of attribute management processes at a North American Automotive OEM (NA OEM) that has just introduced a new product development system intended to drastically reduce product cycle time and expedite product time to market. In specifics, the product development processes and organization that manage the delivery of a vehicle system design that meets or exceeds customer expectations for noise, vibration and harshness (NVH) are studied. Systems engineering principles, methods and tools are applied to the current processes to assess if process lead time, resources and product quality improvement can be realized. The systems engineering Design Structure Matrix (DSM) method for product development process modeling is applied to the current process used to manage the highly cross functional vehicle attribute known as second order NVH. Second Order NVH represents a vehicle system attribute that is owned by a single subsystem, yet controlled by design parameters owned by many other subsystems. The DSM method enables the NA OEM PD organization to understand the current process of managing this highly cross functional attribute and serves as a powerful tool for process restructuring. Process data is collected such that the DSM process model can be input into a simulation program which predicts stochastic process lead time for the current process and tests the impact of process restructuring ideas. This research also studies the methods and tools used at NA OEM to facilitate vehicle attribute trade-off, decomposition and cascade to the subsystem and component level. Then, a systems engineering approach is suggested to improve the attribute engineering knowledge base which could enable improved attribute trade-off, decomposition and cascade. / by Michelle Lorraine Sacka. / S.M.

Thesis: S.M. in Engineering and Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design and Management Program, 2016. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (pages 37-39). / The past couple of years, we have observed the rise of the Digital Wallet, a potentially game changing technology application in the financial industry. Digital Wallets allow consumers to pay for purchases through digital devices, and the technology has created a battle among payment networks, banks and technology firms. In this paper, we analyse how the Digital Wallet is impacting the technology space, including the level of disruptiveness and future potential. We have two hypotheses regarding Digital Wallets: H1: The Digital Wallet is disrupting the credit card network. H2. The Digital Wallet is disrupting the physical plastic card. / by Vaibhav Naik. / S.M. in Engineering and Management

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design & Management Program, 2000. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 101-104). / An integrative methodology for architecture development in a product development environment is described. The methodology combines the use of the design structure matrix technique with constraint-based modeling to create a process that satisfies the following requirements: 1. Provide a means for modeling the system that provides the capability to gain feedback on proposed decisions. This promotes rapidly system learning. 2. Provide a definition of the linkage between product requirements and design parameters. 3. Provide documentation that makes the architecture explicit and enables others to have access to the architectural knowledge. 4. Increase confidence in the proposed system so that product design can proceed with a minimum of risk. The application of the methodology in the context of the development of the xerographic module architecture for color printing system is described. The project was a clean sheet design using a new color architecture and implementing seven new technologies. A significant result is that once the architecture was accepted and placed under change control, the architecture has not changed in four years. Traditionally, similar projects have had to make significant changes as the design matured. Based on the case study, there is anecdotal evidence to support the hypothesis that the methodology can be successfully used to develop complex systems. It is shown that the methodology is closely aligned to the product development process. During the pre-concept and concept phases, the models were used to develop the system architecture. During the detailed design phase, the models can be used to maintain the integrity of the architecture as the design and technologies mature. Finally, in order for the methodology to be successfully applied it must have the full support of program management and the design and technology organizations. / by Michael J. Martin. / S.M.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design and Management Program, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 115-116). / Central to optimizing a wastewater system's operations is the collection of alarm and operational data from various remote locations throughout a municipality, hence the basic need for supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA). The process of providing SCADA systems to municipal clients, from conception to implementation, is typically a cumbersome process involving a wide variety of stakeholders. Municipalities have historically been slow to change, often being among the last in adopting new processes and technologies. Municipal SCADA systems usually are deployed without considering how they will specifically create value for municipality end-users and without defining metrics to gauge their effectiveness. Lean enterprise principals suggest a focus on the value stream can reduce waste and improve the value municipality end-users derive from SCADA systems. The author performs a lean analysis of the process of implementing SCADA within a municipal wastewater operation. The municipality's current systems integrator-centric model for SCADA delivery is examined. An alternate lean vision is proposed for the integrator's operations and their relationship with the municipality. This vision reduces SCADA implementation time and costs while improving the effectiveness of the SCADA solution. / by Stanley J. Prutz. / S.M.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design and Management Program, February 2008. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 60-61). / To be competitive and successful within the automotive industry the Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) have to bring new products with features fast to market. The OEMs need to reduce the Product Development cycle time. Prototype builds are common in automotive product development. Reducing the number of prototype builds and the related builds issues is very important. This research examines one automotive company's product development process. Issues pertaining to electrical system typically top the list of build issues. The electrical issues for different vehicle programs were studied. Interviews were conducted with key stake holders of the electrical distribution systems to understand the issues. Finally, based on the study's analysis and results, effective corrective actions are identified and recommendations for their incorporation are made. / by John Chacko. / S.M.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design and Management Program, 2009. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 119-128). / The objective of this thesis is to understand the unique features of Professional Services Firms and the challenges associated with effective knowledge management in these firms. A framework is developed to analyze innovations in this industry, based on: type and process of innovation, readiness of the firm for the innovation, alignment criteria, and the effect of the marketplace. Many firms are attempting to implement a Web 2.0-based knowledge management tool to institutionalize the knowledge of their employees. Cognizant is one of the very few who, at this writing, have rolled out a firm-wide Web 2.0-based tool. This innovation is analyzed through the framework, and recommendations are made for Cognizant and other firms in the industry seeking to harness the elusive-yet critical-tacit knowledge carried by employees, for competitive advantage. / by Shridhar Waman Kulkarni. / S.M.