MULTILAYER NETWORK MODEL FOR ANALYSIS AND MANAGEMENT OF CHANGE PROPAGATION
Year: 2011
Editor: Culley, S.J.; Hicks, B.J.; McAloone, T.C.; Howard, T.J. & Dong, A.
Author: Pasqual, Michael C.; de Weck, Olivier L.
Series: ICED
Section: Design Methods and Tools Part 2
Page(s): 126-138
Abstract
A pervasive problem for engineering change management is the phenomenon of change propagation. This paper introduces a multilayer network model integrating three layers of product development that contribute to change propagation: namely, the product, change (process), and social layers. A baseline repository of tools and metrics is developed for the analysis and management of change propagation using the model. The repository includes a few novel tools and metrics, most notably the Engineer Change Propagation Index (Engineer-CPI) and Propagation Directness (PD), as well as others already existing in the literature. A case study of a large technical program is employed to demonstrate the model’s practical utility. The case study discovers a correspondence between the propagation effects of an engineer’s work and factors such as his/her organizational role and the context of his/her assignments. The study also confirms the counterintuitive possibility of indirect propagation between nonadjacent product components. Lastly, the study finds that propagation was generally infrequent and always stopped after five, and rarely more than four, generations of descendants.
Keywords: NETWORK MODEL; MULTILAYER; ENGINEERING CHANGE MANAGEMENT; CHANGE PROPAGATION