Modeling and Implementing Concurrent Engineering in a Virtual Collaborative Environment

Many companies are creating mterdisciplmary concurrent engineering teams to collaborate on product development projects from dispersed locations. The problems these companies face stem from the lack of understanding of technical, organizational, and procedural requirements for such activities to take place effectively. This paper proposes an integrated conceptual model of the product life cycle, and a virtual collaborative environment to support concurrent engineering. The product life cycle model features the life cycle process itself, but also highlights the corresponding people and technology required for each phase. The virtual collaborative environment framework models the activities that occur, and the underlying infrastructure that must be present for collaboration to be effective. A simple prototype of the model is implemented, and an exploratory study is conducted to gain insight into the issues of concurrent engineering in a virtual collaborative environment, and to identify future research directions.