Pitfalls of engineering change: change practice during complex product design

Jarratt, T.; Eckert, C. and Clarkson, P. J. (2006). Pitfalls of engineering change: change practice during complex product design. In: ElMaraghy, Hoda A. and ElMaraghy, Waguih H. eds. Advances in Design. Springer Series in Advanced Manufacturing. London: Springer, pp. 413–423.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/1-84628-210-1_34

Abstract

The majority of design projects involve adapting a known solution to meet new requirements. Therefore, understanding the issue of engineering change is of vital importance if companies are to deliver product development projects on time and to budget. When a change is made to part of a product, the change is likely to propagate to affect other components or systems. This paper examines the engineering change process within a UK engineering firm and focuses on the issue of change propagation. The findings are compared with an earlier study in the aerospace industry. Four reasons why propagation occurs are proposed and discussed.