A knowledge-based Assistant for real-time Planning and Execution of PSS Engineering Change ProcessesMichael Abramovici, Youssef Aidi

IT in Mechanical Engineering (ITM)

Ruhr University Bochum, Germany

7th CIRP IPSS Conference

Saint-Étienne, May, 22th, 2015

ITM © Dipl.-Ing. Y. Aidi – 7th CIRP IPSS, May, 22th, Saint-Étienne 2

Outline

Current Situation and Requirements

The Knowledge-based Engineering Change (EC) Assistant

EC Modeling Assistant

EC Information Assistant

EC Ontology

EC Change Engine

Conclusion and Future Work

ITM © Dipl.-Ing. Y. Aidi – 7th CIRP IPSS, May, 22th, Saint-Étienne 3

Engineering Changes (EC)

Technological

Environmental

Economic

Political

Social

…

Triggers

Improvement

Corrective

Iteration

Adaptive to new Requirements

…

Types

Whole product

Component

Software

Service

…

Change Objects

The Process of Requesting, Determining Attainability, Planning, Implementing, and Evaluating of Changes to a System

Engineering Change Process

ITM © Dipl.-Ing. Y. Aidi – 7th CIRP IPSS, May, 22th, Saint-Étienne 4

Current Engineering Change Processing Approach

EC Process Manager

Planning Execution

Fix planned EC Processes for all Changes

Poor Responsiveness to Unforeseeable Events

Delays and exceeded Costs

Changes occur at Provider Side during the Creation Phase

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Customer

Product-Service-Systems requires a new Engineering Change Processing approach

Provider Suppliers

Services

Selling “value in use” Instead Simple Products

Shared Value Creation during the Lifecycle of PSS (Provider, Customer, Supplier)

Adaptability of PSS to Changing Boundary Conditions

Paradigms of PSS

Creation Operation

Prompt Reaction to Unpredictable Changes

Consideration of Process Knowledge

Real-time Definition and Execution of Process Activities

Requirements to EC Processing

ITM © Dipl.-Ing. Y. Aidi – 7th CIRP IPSS, May, 22th, Saint-Étienne 6

Outline

Current Situation and Requirements

The Knowledge-based Engineering Change (EC) Assistant

EC Modeling Assistant

EC Information Assistant

EC Ontology

EC Change Engine

Conclusion and Future Work

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How can EC Process Managers be Supported by real-time Planning and Exection of EC Processes?

Change Process Manager

What must be achieved?How it could be achieved?Which human Resources are required?Is the Process running smoothly?

Goal-oriented Process Modeling

Adequat Defintion of Activities Permanent Process Evaluation Optimal Assignment to human

Ressources Information Aquisition

A knowledge-based Assistant for Real-time Planning and Execution of PSS Engineering Change Processes

Adaptive Change Process

ITM © Dipl.-Ing. Y. Aidi – 7th CIRP IPSS, May, 22th, Saint-Étienne 8

Adaptability is given by the Distinction between WHAT must be achieved and HOW it is to be achieved

Company Specific Abstract EC Process Model

Hierarchy of Goals

Milestones within the EC Process

WHAT to achieve?

HOW to achieve

Goal

Subgoal

Activity pool

Consideration of the EC Context

Selection of Appropriate Activites

Asignment to Available Ressources

ITM © Dipl.-Ing. Y. Aidi – 7th CIRP IPSS, May, 22th, Saint-Étienne 9

EC Process Manager

Enterprise Systeme (PLM, ERP, …)

EC Process Engine

Goal-oriented Process Modeling Approach

Intuitive Process Information Provision

Knowledge-based Process Evaluation

Real-time Definition and Execution of Process Activities

Close Integration of Partners and Flexible Integration within the Enterprise System Landscape

Agile and intelligent Approach to tackle Changing Boundary Conditions

ITM © Dipl.-Ing. Y. Aidi – 7th CIRP IPSS, May, 22th, Saint-Étienne 10

Outline

Current Situation and Requirements

The Knowledge-based Engineering Change (EC) Assistant

EC Modeling Assistant

EC Information Assistant

EC Ontology

EC Change Engine

Conclusion and Future Work

ITM © Dipl.-Ing. Y. Aidi – 7th CIRP IPSS, May, 22th, Saint-Étienne 11

Goal-oriented Requirement Language (GRL)

Description of the Hierarchy of Goals, which are achieved by Execution of an EC Process

Modeling and Reasoning of Goal Structures

Higher Level of Modeling

Integration of Goals, Activities and Roles.

Contribution

Decomposition (AND, OR, XOR, NOR)

Dependency

Belief

Relationships

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Goal-oriented Change Process Model

Analysis of Common Reference Change Processes

Identification of Change Process Goals

Identification of Process Activities

Definition of Relationships

Assignment to Actors

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Outline

Current Situation and Requirements

The Knowledge-based Engineering Change (EC) Assistant

EC Modeling Assistant

EC Information Assistant

EC Ontology

EC Change Engine

Conclusion and Future Work

ITM © Dipl.-Ing. Y. Aidi – 7th CIRP IPSS, May, 22th, Saint-Étienne 14

Document View

Activity View

Goal View

Information Assistant for a better EC Process Understanding (1/4)

Actor View

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Document View

Actor View

Activity View

Goal View

Information Assistant for a better EC Process Understanding (2/4)

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Document view

Actor view

Activity view

Goal view

Information Assistant for a better EC Process Understanding (3/4)

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Actor View

Activity View

Goal View

Information Assistant for a better EC Process Understanding (4/4)

Document View

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Outline

Current Situation and Requirements

The Knowledge-based Engineering Change (EC) Assistant

EC Modeling Assistant

EC Information Assistant

EC Ontology

EC Change Engine

Conclusion and Future Work

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Ontology for EC Process related Knowledge Description

Formal Representation of Knowledge as a Hierarchy of Concepts within a Domain

Description of the Elements and the Context of a Change Process

Knowledge Modeling through Complex Relationships and Rules

Integration of Instance Information

Reasoning Mechanisms Allowing the Generation of Knowledge

Classes (concepts)

Attributes

Relations

Rules

Axioms

Events

Components

Classes of the EC Process Ontology

ITM © Dipl.-Ing. Y. Aidi – 7th CIRP IPSS, May, 22th, Saint-Étienne 20

The Engineering Change Process Ontology

Change Content Change Object Administrative Change

Document Operative Change

Document

Change Organization Change Partner Change Organization Change Actor Change Role

Change Process Change Phase Change Process Goal Change Process Activity

ITM © Dipl.-Ing. Y. Aidi – 7th CIRP IPSS, May, 22th, Saint-Étienne 21

Example for EC Process Knowledge Description using an Ontology

Activity

Goal

RoleActor

Document

Contribute to

Has role

Is executed by

Is generatedduring

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Example for EC Process Knowledge Description using an Ontology

Describe Problem

Problem Report released

Change Initiator

Machine Operator

Problem Report

Contribute to

Has role

Is executed by

Is generatedduring Describe

Problem

Problem Report released

Machine Operator

Problem Report

Contribute to

Is executed by

Is generatedduring

Is generatedby

Is involvedby

Reasoned Evidences

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Outline

Current Situation and Requirements

The Knowledge-based Engineering Change (EC) Assistant

EC Modeling Assistant

EC Information Assistant

EC Ontology

EC Change Engine

Conclusion and Future Work

ITM © Dipl.-Ing. Y. Aidi – 7th CIRP IPSS, May, 22th, Saint-Étienne 24

Execution of EC Process Activities

Engineering Change Engine

WebserviceWebservice

Enterprise Systemes (PLM, ERP, …)

Instantiation of Process

Activities

Execution of Activity Steps

Control of the Process

Interaction with Human

Tasks

Recording of Events

Goal

Activity

ITM © Dipl.-Ing. Y. Aidi – 7th CIRP IPSS, May, 22th, Saint-Étienne 25

Outline

Current Situation and Requirements

The Knowledge-based Engineering Change (EC) Assistant

EC Modeling Assistant

EC Information Assistant

EC Ontology

EC Change Engine

Conclusion and Future Work

ITM © Dipl.-Ing. Y. Aidi – 7th CIRP IPSS, May, 22th, Saint-Étienne 26

Conclusion and Future Work

Modeling of Company Specific Ontology

Validation in the Industry

IT Infrastructures

Challenges

The proposed EC Process Assistant provides:

Goal-oriented Process Modeling Environment

Ontology for EC Process Knowledge Representation

Permanent Evaluation of EC Processes

Navigation-based EC Process Information Provision

Standard BPEL Workflows for Real-time Execution of Process Activities

Conclusion

Integrated IT Solution

Coupling of the Change Ontology to Product Ontologies

Impact and Propagation Evaluation

future work

ITM © Dipl.-Ing. Y. Aidi – 7th CIRP IPSS, May, 22th, Saint-Étienne 27

Prototype

PSS Structure

Process Goals

Available Actors

Appropriate Roles

Appropriate Activities

Appropriate Documents

Views

Process Goal

Decomposition

Contribution

Process Activity

Assigned Actor

Reports about Plausibility of

Actions

ITM © Dipl.-Ing. Y. Aidi – 7th CIRP IPSS, May, 22th, Saint-Étienne 28

Contact

Dipl.-Ing. Youssef Aidi

Ruhr-University BochumChair of IT in Mechanical Engineering (ITM)Universitätsstraße 150D-44801 Bochum

Tel: +49 234 32 26370Fax: +49 234 32 14443Mail: Youssef.Aidi@itm.rub.de

www.itm.rub.de"It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives.It is the one that is most adaptable to change"

Charles Darwin1809-1889

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ITM © Dipl.-Ing. Y. Aidi – 7th CIRP IPSS, May, 22th, Saint-Étienne 30

EC process manager

Enterprise Systeme (PLM, ERP, …)

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InformationAssistant

Modeling Assistant

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PSS to Change

PSS Changed

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Known Engineering Change Management Approaches

DIN 199

technical product

documentation

ISO 10007:2003

guidelines for

configuration and

release management

VDA 4965

recommendation for

engineering change

management

CMII

configuration

management II

PLM

ERP

Templates

Routine Administrative Workflows

Process-oriented and Deterministic Workflows

Limitation for Corporate Innovation Skills

Poor Responsiveness to Unforeseeable Changes

Goal

Orientat ion

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Engineering Change Management Needs more Flexibility

Technological

Environmental

Economic

Political

Social

…

Triggers

Prompt Reaction to Unpredictable Changes

Consideration of Process Knowledge

Real-time Definition and Execution of Process Activities

Adaptive Change Process

PSS to Change PSS Changed

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