BM_VE Architecture Reference Model for Concurrent Engineering

(geographic) location and, consequently, contribute to the product and process quality. In that sense, it is supposed that application of virtual enterprise (VE) organizational principles contributes to the agility of the work teams, that is, to the concurrent engineering (CE) work teams, or team work, organization. With the objective to test the potential of virtual enterprise (VE) organizational principles, in accordance with the BM_virtual enterprise architecture reference model (BM_VEARM), for concurrent engineering team work organization, three different work groups had been created: (1) CE distributed team (virtual team according to literature); (2) CE agile team (agile organization according to BM_VEARM), and (3) CE virtual team (virtual organization according to BM_VEARM), and to each group were equally attributed the same project: to create a Web site (a page or Web site that adds several links and services). It is an entrance gate, or starting point, for navigation called “Virtual University,” making use of information technology to support the educa-