Practical Ways of Dealing with Progress in a DSM Tool
DSM 2010: Proceedings of the 12th International DSM Conference, Cambridge, UK, 22.-23.07.2010
Year: 2010
Editor: Wynn, D.C.; Kreimeyer, M.; Eben, K.; Maurer, M.; Lindemann, U.; Clarkson, P.J.
Author: Waskett, P.; Newton, A.; Steele, J.; Hammond, J.
Section: Planning
Page(s): 71-81
Abstract
The ‘ADePT’ methodology was devised in 1995 and developed into prototype software between then and 2005. The methodology, which has a DSM partitioning algorithm at its heart, has been widely implemented in industrial design projects, primarily in the Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) sector but also in the fields of manufacturing, defence, aerospace, IT, and business management. Examples of implementation have been reported at previous DSM conferences. A decision was made in 2006 to develop ADePT into a commercial software toolset. The availability of the tools, called ‘ADePT Design’, has greatly increased the uptake of DSM – around 200 projects have now used ADePT. This in turn has revealed new challenges: in particular we have seen that Project Managers, designers and engineers in industry often favour well-established practices, even if they are inefficient, over improved processes which have been determined using DSM. The ADePT Design software tools have been amended to now incorporate small but important features to encourage changes in traditional behaviour. Two such examples are described in this paper.
Keywords: ADePT, DSM, Progress Monitoring, Commercial Software, Industrial Implementation.