Two sides of the story: Visualising Products and Processes in Engineering Design

Abstract

This paper describes research on the use of multiple views for modelling products and processes in the design of complex products. Single visual representations of design models only provide a limited perspective, hiding important information from the designer. Based on an industrial case study with an engine company, the utility of multiple views in analysing model data is demonstrated. The case study showed an industrial need for improved visualisation techniques, as the currently used method -Gantt charts of design tasks - did not provide enough information in order to properly steer the design process and predict process behaviour. This approach of using a variety of different visualisation techniques together with improved techniques for modelling and simulating design processes provides insight into the hidden dependencies between the design artefact (the product) and its design process