COLLABORATIVE TOOLS FOR INNOVATION SUPPORT IN EARLY PRODUCT DESIGN PHASES: A CASE STUDY
DS 32: Proceedings of DESIGN 2004, the 8th International Design Conference, Dubrovnik, Croatia
Year: 2004
Editor: Marjanovic D.
Author: Merlo, C.; Legardeur, J.
Section: SUPPORTIVE TECHNOLOGIES
Page(s): 787 - 792
Abstract
During early phases of product design projects, co-operation processes are quite informal and the confrontation of the different actors’ points of view leads to unstructured information exchanges. However these phases are strategic for the introduction of technological innovation. We realise a study of the innovative process in Renault VI. We demonstrate that a collaborative tool must be proposed to help actors to structure information and to use specific collaborative functions. We propose first the configuration of a PDM system (Windchill Project Link-PTC). Second we develop a specific collaborative tool named ID². Then we discuss about these two approaches and their integration in large companies.
Keywords: innovation, network implications on collaborative design, empirical studies of design support, internet-based collaborative environments, PDM