Modelling & Management of Engineering Processes

Engineering processes are the "glue" that hold the activities within product development and design together. Engineering processes structure these tasks appropriately and ensure the correct and timely use of the appropriate approaches & procedures, methods, data, and tools in order to improve the design process, improve products and services, and properly document product development, processes and the products themselves. It is the aim of this group to contribute to a smart and smooth definition, application, and navigation of Engineering Processes within the scope described above.

We are a Special Interest Group of the Design Society. Our membership is a diverse group of academics, researchers and practitioners from different industries. The group is jointly led by Professor Sandor Vajna of the University of Magdeburg and Professor John Clarkson of the University of Cambridge.

Our aims are:

  • to use models to describe and enhance the understanding of processes
  • to provide methods and tools for modelling
  • and to improve the management of engineering processes

As a group, we wish to develop, define, describe, and apply strategies, approaches, methods, and tools ("classical", IT-based, knowledge-based) for modelling, building up, optimizing, working with, and managing dynamically engineering processes. This will include outlining dynamic approaches and establishing procedures and appropriate metrics for their evaluation. We believe our work should be continuously verified in industrial applications.

Over the next few years, we would like as a SIG to accomplish the following objectives:

  1. Establish a biennial SIG Conference - the first conference in the series was held in Cambridge, United Kingdom, from July 19th to July 20th 2010. Please visit the MMEP Conference website for full details.
  2. Establish a European Practitioners Group on Innovation and Engineering Processes. The Inaugural Meeting in Cambridge, United Kingdom on July 21st 2010 was held immediately after the MMEP 2010 conference.
  3. Promote greater interaction among SIG members and interested third parties through workshops at conferences such as the ICED, ASME and DESIGN series, through summer and winter schools, and the SIG website. Details of the agenda for the SIG Meeting at ICED 2011 now available.
  4. Develop a Research Roadmap (MMEP 2020) to elucidate and shape the research agenda for the next decade - which is now available as a White Paper
  5. Consolidate the different modeling views to enhance mutual understanding among researchers and practitioners