IDEF Family of Methods for Concurrent Engineering and Business Re-engineering Applications

" It must be remembered that there is nothing more difficult to plan, more doubtful of success, nor more dangerous to manage than the creation of a new system. For the initiator has the enmity of all who would profit by the preservation of the old institution and merely lukewarm defenders in those who would gain by the new ones "-Machiavelli, " The Prince, " 1513 AD. Introduction In today's environment, system implementors in Corporate Information Management (CIM), Concurrent Engineering (CE), and Computer Integrated Manufacturing face two overwhelming challenges. Besides their primary responsibility for introducing a new system into their engineering and manufacturing organizations, they also have an underlying need to introduce a new system of processes for developing these implementations. These new system development processes must employ an integrated frameworkof modeling methods. That is, the development process uses a structured collection of methods, rules, procedures, and tools to support the development and evolution of systems. The framework guides the user in applying the appropriate method 2 within the system development life-cycle. The goal of this paper is to provide some insight into the purpose of modeling, particularly from the perspective of a CIM or CE project manager/engineer who must select, use, and evaluate the results of modeling efforts in support of systems development. For all the rapid advances in computer hardware and specific software technology (e.g., databases), the bane of large-scale information systems development continues to be the lack of effective, well and widely understood methods for engineering such systems. With additional requirements for the system to be integrated and evolving, the complexities become truly overwhelming. A solid base of methods support is essential to these types of system development efforts. Complex, large-scale, evolving, integrated systems require multiple, diverse methods, each for a specific purpose. Thus, there is clearly a critical need for the development of effective methods. As a result, many methods remain to be developed. A two-prong approach to method development is necessary. The goal of the first approach is to identify the methods needed to support an evolving, integrated information system (EIIS) and develop these methods. In the context of this paper, emphasis is placed on analysis and design methods needed to support EIISs for CE and CIM. Part of this method development includes developing precise, mathematical-based formalizations of the individual methods, as well as capabilities for translating among the methods. The second approach is to …