Paper received: 27.04.2010 Paper accepted: 21.10.2010 Adaptive Change Management for Industrial Product-Service Systems Michael Abramovici - Fahmi Bellalouna - Jens Christian Gobel* Information Technology in Mechanical Engineering (ITM), Bochum Ruhr-University, Germany Compared to single physical products or services, Industrial Product-Service Systems (IPS2) are characterized by a very high degree of dynamic changes not only during their planning, but throughout their entire life cycle. These changes have to be managed, tracked and documented by a change management process and supported by a change management system. As IPS2 changes and change processes are very difficult to plan during the development phase of IPS2, existing static and deterministic change management solutions are not appropriate to be used for IPS2. This paper describes a new concept of an adaptive change management for IPS2. The concept described allows for appropriate redesigning, adaption and execution of change processes of IPS2 throughout its entire life cycle to carry out an IPS2 change most efficiently with regard to time and costs. ©2010 Journal of Mechanical Engineering. All rights reserved. Keywords: adaptability, adaptive processes, goal-oriented process modeling, intelligent agents, engineering change management (ECM), industrial product service systems (IPS2) 0 INTRODUCTION Industrial Product-Service System is defined as "an integrated industrial product and service offering that delivers value in use" [1]. This paper describes the concept of an adaptive change management for IPS2. The development of this concept is based on a goal-oriented process modeling method that defines a business process by using loosely coupled intelligent agents. These agents are coupled during the process execution, in real time and depending on the main process issues. The developed concept has been prototypically implemented und validated by means of a case study. The concept presented in this paper has been developed in the research project Transregio 29 "Industrial Product-Service Systems -Dynamic Interdependency of Product and Service in the Production Area". 1 CURRENT SITUATION Competitive IPS2 providers must be able to adapt their share of products and services within an integrated IPS2 to quickly respond to unforeseeable changes in their environment throughout its lifecycle. Various factors - the so called change drivers -, can cause such changes. They can be technological (e.g. emergence of new technologies), environmental (e.g. increasing shortage of resources), political (e.g. legislation amendments), social (e.g. new customer demands), or economic (e.g. decrease in customer demand due to the current economic downturn). Hence the prompt reaction to these unforeseeable changes along the overall IPS2 lifecycle has a significant impact on the economic success of the companies involved in the IPS2 network. This challenge can only be met by an adaptive engineering change management. In the last decades, several methods and standards such as part 4 of DIN 199 (Technical Product Documentation), ISO 10007:2003 (Guidelines for configuration management and Release Management) and Recommendation VDA 4965 (Engineering Change Management) have been developed for the management of technical changes. The focus of these methods and standards is the management of technical changes of physical products (not of services), which is why they are strongly geared towards the life cycle processes of these products. However, the life cycle processes of IPS2 are much more complex than those of technical products. For instance, IPS2 producers are as a rule also responsible for the delivery of IPS2 and have to optimize and dynamically and promptly adapt them to customer needs during the use phase. Therefore, current change management methods and standards can only consider specific *Corr. Author's Address: Mechanical Engineering (ITM), Ruhr-University Bochum, Universitätsstraße 150, 44801 Bochum, Germany, jenschristian.goebel@itm.rub.de characteristics of IPS2 to a small extent and can only support an efficient carrying out of IPS2 change management processes in a limited way. The following points serve as examples for the most important weaknesses of current change management methods and standards with regard to IPS2 change management: • Existing change management methods focus exclusively on the development and manufacturing phases and neglect the delivery and use phases of the product lifecycle. • Existing change management methods cannot sufficiently consider the complexity of IPS2, which arises from the networking and mutual influence of technical products and services as well as from change dynamics during the delivery and use phases. • Previous change management methods do not provide a fast reaction to changes that occur within the delivery and use phases of IPS2. • Existing change management methods only support or provide static and deterministic change processes. • Existing change management methods do not provide an appropriate adaptation during the process runtime. • Existing change management methods do not allow an integrated view of the product and service share of an IPS2. • Existing change management methods limit corporate innovation skills and the responsiveness to unforeseeable changes. In contrast to today's solutions, the required new change management approaches for IPS2 should be applicable to the delivery and use phases as well. Furthermore, these new approaches should not prevent but facilitate the adaptability and changeability of IPS2 throughout the entire life cycle. 2 REQUIREMENTS Current obstacles to IPS2 adaptability are deterministic and fix-planned static change management processes, which serve as a basis for the implementation of all activities within Engineering Change Management (ECM). Such processes limit corporate innovation skills as well as the responsiveness to unforeseeable changes. Within a given scope, adaptive change processes can make an important contribution to IPS2 adaptability. They automatically respond and immediately adjust to new conditions. Thus ECM process build-up and implementation priorities of the process activities must be determined automatically in real time and must be adequate to and in accordance with the conditions that apply at that time. Adaptive change processes should enhance IPS2 adaptability via: • an integrated consideration and analysis of the technical products and services as a hybrid performance package (IPS2) during ECM process implementation, • a continuous and prompt optimization of the various interacting IPS2 modules (i.e. technical product and service) to grant the best possible customer benefit, • enhancement of the real-time responsiveness of IPS2 providers (fast and adequate to the situation) to the unpredictable and permanently changing customer requirements during the IPS2 delivery and use phases, • real-time definition of executable ECM process activities and their execution priorities depending on ECM contents, context, objectives and the current conditions (i.e. adaptive process design and management), • prompt configuration and immediate startup (e.g. continuous real-time plan-and-execute rather than static plan-the-execution) [2], • the management of changes during IPS2 development and delivery phases, • taking into account all aspects of the complexity of IPS2 during the change management, which arise through strong networking and the interdependency of IPS2 modules and which are thus not directly visible to IPS2 developers, • taking into consideration the great uncertainties which arise in the IPS2 development and delivery phases during the ECM process execution, • ascertaining the effects and determining the spread of the IPS2 module change on the whole IPS2 and its environment throughout its lifecycle, • auto-ascertaining ECM process variations in the implementation of IPS2 changes and adaptations, • integration and close interaction of all IPS2 network partners during IPS2 change (product manufacturers, service providers, IPS2 providers, IPS2 customers, etc.). 3 RELATED WORKS AND METHODS 3.1 Related Works In recent years, numerous pieces of work have been carried out with a focus on change management. In the following, the outcomes of the most relevant research activities that are related to this work project are listed and briefly discussed. The work of Burmeister et al. [3] is one of the important works that deal with the issue of developing agile process modeling methods. For this, they combined agent technology and the goal-oriented modeling method to model and implement agile business processes. The developed approach was applied and validated in line with a case study in the domain of engineering change management of technical products. The demands arising due to the high complexity and the permanent changeability of IPS2 were not taken into account in this work. In several research projects Eckert et al. [4] to [6] addressed the question of how designers can be made aware of the impact of a proposed change before they implement it. The main result of these projects is the implementation of a tool to evaluate change proposals during ongoing design processes in which the state of the development of parts is taken into account. This presents an extension of the Cambridge Change Prediction Method, which assesses the risk of changes propagating between two parts. The research works only concentrated on the change of technical products arising during the design phase and they did not consider those that arise during the delivery and use phases of technical products relating to the added services. Conrad et al. [7] also propose an approach to support the process of analyzing and assessing the effects of changes in the product development process. This approach is based on the CPM/PDD theory (Characteristics-Properties Modeling / Property-Driven Development) and the FMEA method (Failure Modes and Effects Analysis). The proposed approach only deals with the effect of changes in the CAD models during the design phase of technical products. Amaral et al. [8] suggest an NPD model (New Product Development) named PDP Net, the singular characteristic of which is the integration between a business process reference, a maturity model and a change management model in order to support the full product development change cycle. This work also focuses on the development phase of technical products and does not consider the special requirements of IPS2 change management. In order to investigate the behavior of change management processes in practical work and to develop a close-to-practice change management approach, several case studies [9] to [11] have been conducted in various industrial sectors. However, the aspects of the adaptive change management for IPS2 were not in the focus of these approaches. The research works presented on the topic of Engineering Change Management only focus on technical product design and do not consider in particular the needs of the IPS2 in the delivery and use phases. This paper aims at addressing these issues. 3.2 Current Process Management Methods Since the 1990s, several process management approaches and methods (e.g. ARIS, SA, OMEGA, SADT) have been developed to design, administer, execute and control ECM processes and related data. They are commonly known as BPR (Business Process Reengineering), BPM (Business Process Management) or CPI (Continuous Process Improvement). These methods have been integrated into various IT tools (e.g. ARIS Design Platform, PAVONE Process Modeler, Bonapart) to support companies with the carrying out of company-specific ECM processes. In view of ECM process adaptability and thus also of company adaptability, current process management methods, however, show the following weaknesses among others: • The processes can only be mapped as fixed and static sequences or as a concatenation of activities. • Existing Continuous Process Improvement (CPI) methods aim at improving the adaptation of process models to changing boundary conditions in order to optimize business processes [12]. Still, these methods also only allow the presentation of fixed sequences of activities. The adaptation to changed boundary conditions must thus be made a priori. This is a very time-consuming process, as the process manager does not receive systematic support in their solution determination. • The automation of processes by workflow management systems allows in principle for an adaptation of these processes. However, this adaptation is limited with more complex process models (both run and design time). This leads to processes that can be executed efficiently, but possess limited reactivity towards changes. This makes it even more difficult for a company to respond quickly to new standards and market situations [13]. • Objectives and goals of a business process are not defined and modeled explicitly and are thus not always visible. Hence, adaptations and changes to processes evoke the necessity to ascertain that, in the end, the original aim of the process is indeed reached. • Process flexibility can only be achieved by defining additional process variants. That way processes become ever more extensive, unclear and complex. • In most cases the executed processes do not correspond to those planned a priori, as the implementation of change processes is rather elaborate and expensive ("shadow processes" may arise). • For the most part, defined and mapped processes only serve as information material (process wallpapers) and not as a working basis, because these processes only represent the ideal state of business activities. They are not designed to illustrate the real state. Today, Work Flow Management Systems (WFMS) are used to execute modeled ECM processes. They are made available as additional modules to process management tools. The usual WFMS cannot support the adaptability of ECM processes. Their weaknesses include: • WFMS can only apply process activities that have a fixed, predefined flow. • Ad-hoc workflows and unspecified case-related workflows must be fully defined prior to process initiation. The Work Flow user must be aware of all alternatives for each individual process step. They must be able to interpret them independently and without IT support to define further process steps [14]. • ECM processes that are modeled by standard BPM tools cannot be directly adopted and executed by WFMS. As a rule, implementation or programming work is required. Therefore, ECM process startup is very time-consuming. • ECM process changes and adaptation cannot be implemented promptly during runtime. Adaptive ECM processes are important prerequisites for IPS2 adaptability. To design ECM processes adaptively, new process management methods are required. These methods shall warrant systematic process design and control. On the other hand, they shall leave enough space for creativity and permanent changeability. ECM processes shall thus be designed and executed in a way that ensures continuous IPS2 adaptability to new and unpredictable situations. The new process management methods shall be goal-oriented, not activity-oriented. Thus, ECM processes are to be defined and modeled in real time, i.e. during process runtime, whilst taking into account newly occurring conditions and requirements. They should no longer be defined a priori as fixed processes. This will also render the entire process clearer and more intelligible, which is a prerequisite for a fast adaptation, change and transformation of ECM processes. 4 GOAL-ORIENTED PROCESS MANAGEMENT METHOD This section introduces a new goal-oriented process management method for modeling adaptive processes. The method is based on the Business Process Management approach by [3], which was defined by Daimler AG and Whitestein Technologies. The aim of this new goal-oriented management method is to replace those processes that are planned fixed, sequential and a priori with dynamic, adaptive processes. When executed, the latter allow for near-independent and real-time responses in specified situations. In order to reach these goals, the processes are defined and modeled by the new method according to the following principles (Fig. 1). • First and foremost, the processes shall capture and characterize the defined business goal independently of the solution. Goals can contain further sub goals. : Process 1 f-Q-Q M /" _ _ _ _N h> Process 2 : Process 2 ______ ■e>- Process n : Process n nUr' vu— ~—^ Process 1 S abased on> Process-Ontology Legend: (Sub-)Goal Activities (achieved by intelligent Agents or by people „process responsible") Fig. 1. Goal-oriented process management method • Each goal is assigned a generic implementation plan, which is merely made of independent tasks or activities without any predefined execution sequence or priorities. • The specifications of tasks or activities and the order in which they are carried out are determined during process execution, in real time and depending on the main process issues and the current situation (rules) of the process. Within the process, the tasks or activities are defined as intelligent agents. They represent the adequate road to the (sub) goal appropriately, independently and subject to the rules. They also provide the persons involved in the process with recommendations for decision-making in view of the occurrence of further process steps. The agents described above are modeled as modular, intelligent services according to the BDI principle (Belief-Desire-Intentions) [15]. The services are fitted with assumptions about their environment (Belief), knowledge of the target issue (Desire), and the purposes of how that issue can be reached (Intentions). To possess the required knowledge (Belief, Desire and Intentions) during process runtime, the intelligent services shall have access to process ontology. The process ontology is to serve as a common basis for process data management and as a source of knowledge generation for real-time process control (Fig. 2). Belief N[ Cut y I acti Decision supporting for the process responsible Current activity Decision Supporting / Automatic Decision Automatic identification and Invoking of the next activity Fig. 2. Intelligent agents (process activity) according to the BDI principle The main differences between current process management methods and the new goal-oriented method are summarized in Table 1. Based on the newly defined process management method, process execution and control resemble a GPS system: once the goals and sub goals as well as any further boundary conditions have been entered, the route is calculated dynamically and in real time taking into account all possible disturbances. Divisional routes are chosen autonomously or they are presented to the driver's assistance. 5 ADAPTIVE CHANGE MANAGEMENT APPROACH FOR IPS2 This section introduces an approach to adaptive change management that supports and enhances IPS2 changeability and adaptability. At the core of this approach stands an adaptive ECM process that maps the activities of an IPS2 change order based on the goal-oriented principle (as described in section 5). In addition, this paper defines a top level IPS2 ontology as a knowledge source of real-time ECM process execution and control. Table 1. Comparison of current process management methods and the goal-oriented method Characteristics Current New Methods Method Process fixed sequence goals, activities, modelling of activities rules "3 Process in the design in the execution & _ optimization phase phase (real "3 time) is •e Process control central decentralized / « h autonomous O Separation yes no Process Definition/ Execution IT technology rigid Workflow adaptive Management Service- — System Oriented e o Architecture ] V ECR .Reason [string] % Çhange_Çomple»ty [string] ?H Design_Relevance [string! Cost_ReJevance [stnrg] Safty.Relevafxe [strmg] Qui! ty .Relevance [string] rPS$_use_Mod«l [string] ECR .Necessity [string] 'fH Technical Jltst; [string] 5b Rnanoal.Risk [stmg] ?>> ScheduleJUsk [string] (x) DeosKjn X g nsl:Deosion Mext_ECR_AcbvitY [stnng] ECR-Input-Parameter ? GoaJ_IP55_ECR_InQjred H Add Sample Data (5? Add sample data for message part: Change _Clasftficabon_Pnonsa ton oncerned.Parbes.Oetermnatwn ■ I PS'.Cus tenner ® | OK | [ Cancel ] Next_Goal_De termina bon ^^ chanfle-Res'30risi>le-DeCwm,na,'< I Reply: Activity.Deasjon Process Activities Fault Handlers Event Handlers Source Properties [l> Problems £3 X^Tasks Error Log Fig. 5. The list of implemented process parameters for real-time ECM process execution and control • Additional customer employees training is necessary to produce ^m parts. • Both, customer and IPS2 provider employees must be deployed to produce ^m work pieces. • The change estimate must not exceed €100,000. • The upgraded machine must possess a minimal technical availability of 90%. • The change must be implemented within a maximum of 6 months. • Annual maintenance by the IPS2 provider must not exceed €10,000 and must not take more than 4 working days. • The entire ECM process must be carried out within a maximum of 4 weeks. In view of the description of the change and the boundary conditions, the ECM process parameters (see Table 5) have been defined. These parameters were partly concluded from the IPS2 ontology and were partly input (acquired from the change context or from experience) by the process user. In this case study, the execution of the ECM process has lead to the following main decisions [20] and [21] (Fig. 6): • enhancement of the EDM machine by an additional portable rotary spindle, • this rotary spindle is mounted on the machine table of the EDM system by means of an adaptive clamping system, • this rotary spindle is incorporated into the production process by an integrated IT control system, • the entire maintenance concept of the EDM machine is adjusted, • the entire training concept of the EDM machine is adjusted. Table 5. Excerpt from the ECM process parameter for EDM machine enhancement_ Parameter Parameter Value ECM_Activator IPS2_Customer ECM Reason IPS2_Enhancement Change Complexity High (basic IPS2 structure is changed) Design Relevance • Product Design • Service Design Cost Relevance IPS2_Change_Cost < 100,000 € Safety Relevance No Quality Relevance IPS2_Quality IPS2_Use_Model Availability_Oriented > 90% Necessity High Technical Risk High Financial Risk High Schedule_Risk High 8 CONCLUSION AND OUTLOOK IPS2 has been developed to permanently meet the demands of the customer through the synergy of technical products and industrial services. Its prerequisites are integrated planning, development, delivery and the use of both, service quotas as well as their dynamic adaptability throughout the entire IPS2 life cycle. rotary spindle drive motor drive lbelt rotary EDM spindle workspace graphit brush machine bed Fig. 6. Illustration of the enhancement of the EDM machine To support this method, the paper has dealt with the development of a new goal-oriented process management method. Contrary to the classical process management methods, it allows for an adaptive process design. By applying this new method, an adaptive change management approach for IPS2 has been developed. This approach enables adaptive responses in the ECM process. This means that during their execution, ECM processes can, to a certain degree, respond and adapt to specific situations autonomously and in real time. In the course of this paper, the developed adaptive change management approach for IPS2 has been prototypically implemented by means of the standard process description language WS-BPEL4People. A case study of an IPS2 (EDM machine) change management has validated the approach. In the future, further case studies will be conducted in various other business sectors. Their aims are to enhance ECM process parameters, rules and the axioms of the IPS2 ontology to increase the self-adaptivity of ECM processes and the transferability of the solutions to other branches. 9 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS We express our sincere thanks to the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) for financing this research within the Collaborative Research Project SFB/TR29 on Industrial Product-Service Systems-Dynamic Interdependency of Products and Services in the Production Area. 10 REFERENCES [1] Datta, P.P., Roy, R. (2009). Cost modelling techniques for availability type service support contracts: a literature review and empirical study. Proceedings of the 1st CIRP IPS2 Conference, Cranfield, p. 216-223. [2] Kernland, M., Hoeffleur, O., Felber, M. (2008). The agility challenge in business process management. Product Data Journal, vol. 1, p. 40-42. [3] Burmeister, B., Arnold, M., Copaciu, F., Rimmassa, G. (2008). BDI-agents for agile goal-oriented business processes. 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