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2001
Papers:
(listed in reverse chronological
order for 2001)
ESD-WP-2001-06:
Three Perspectives on Modularity –
A Literature Review of a Product Concept
for Assembled Hardware Products
by
Sebastian Fixson
In
recent years, modularity as a design strategy
has received renewed interest. The term
modularity, however, is often used to describe
phenomena that are similar yet slightly
different, for different products, and in
different industries and contexts. Therefore,
it is unclear whether there is a way to
operationalize the concept of modularity
across these different uses. This paper
reviews the concepts of modularity used
in the literature representing different
thought worlds (engineering and management)
and different occupations (academia and
industry).
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ESD-WP-2001-05:
Managing the Global knowledge-creation Network:
A Sense Making Perspective
by
Susan Albers Mohrman, Janice A. Klein, David
Finegold
We
have entered the era of the knowledge economy,
a period when knowledge has replaced natural
resources and capital as the most important
economic resource. Increasingly, corporations
are reaching out globally to secure the
best talent available at the most reasonable
cost to serve world-wide markets.
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ESD-WP-2001-04:
Extracting the Essence of Flexibility in
System Design
The
modest purpose of this paper is to review
the concept of flexibility as discussed
in various fields of investigations, and
to extract its characteristic features.
In order to discuss any subject matter clearly,
it is necessary to begin with a clear set
of definitions. Indeed much can be gained
through careful and consistent definitions
of terms alone. Flexibility however is a
word rich with ambiguity. While it is being
increasingly used in various fields, few
attempts have been made to formally define,
quantify, and propose ways for achieving
flexibility. This paper proposes to fill
in part this gap by synthesizing a clear
and consistent definition of flexibility.
It will do so by reviewing the usage of
the term in various fields of inquiries,
and show that it is indeed possible to clearly
and unambiguously characterize flexibility,
and to disentangle it from closely related
concepts.
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ESD-WP-2001-03:
Initial Top-Level Characterization of the
Air Force Sustainment System
by
Dr. Kirk Bozdogan and Prof. Joseph
Sussman, in collaboration with Prof.
Thomas
Allen and Prof. Wesley Harris
This
draft white paper presents an initial top-level
characterization of the Air Force sustainment
system. The first part of the paper gives
an overview of the proposed conceptual framework
for system characterization. The second
part presents an initial top-level characterization
of the system, by using this framework,
and offers some preliminary suggestions
or recommendations. Finally, next steps
in the research process are outlined, placing
the paper in the larger context of the task
on system characterization and transformation.
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ESD-WP-2001-02:
Aircraft System and Product Development:
Teaching the Conceptual Phase
by
Earll
M. Murman, R. John Hansman, and John-Paul
Clark
This
working paper reports the first offering
of a graduate level subject covering the
conceptual phase of aircraft product development.
The output of the conceptual phase is a
system level specification that usually
serves as the input for a traditional undergraduate
capstone on aircraft design.
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ESD-WP-2001-01:
Toward a New Technology and Policy Program
(TPP) Curriculum
by
Rebecca Dodder, Professor Daniel
Hastings, Professor Tom
Kochan, Professor Richard Lester, Professor
David
Marks, Professor Ken
Oye, Professor Joseph
Sussman, Professor Arthur Steinberg,
and Dr. Richard Tabors
This
working paper serves as a discussion piece
by synthesizing many of the ideas and concerns
that have arisen in the process of developing
a new TPP curriculum for September 2001.
The focus point is a draft template for
a new TPP curriculum. In order to provide
a context for this 'strawman' curriculum,
the paper first presents the main findings
of the committee's analysis to date, an
overview of TPP in the context of Engineering
Systems, and a set of criteria for evaluation.
The appendices contain information on other
graduate programs similar to TPP in order
provide benchmarks as well as some philosophical
discussion of the relationship between the
Technology and Policy Program and Integrated
Assessment methods.
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