SUPPORTING THE SELECTION, ADAPTATION AND APPLICATION OF METHODS IN PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT

Besides personal means of method transfer in terms of individual coaching by trainers or consultants, impersonal transfer of product development method know-how by methoddatabases or further multimedia approaches is gaining in importance. Transfer of method know-how basically includes supporting the user in the fields of selection, adaptation and application of product development methods. In order to improve existing supporting systems, we analyse the basic mechanisms for method implementation especially focusing on the selection of product development methods. Further on we specify requirements for a problem, situation and user specific method adaptation and application. The elaborated results are introduced to a method model which is able to serve as a structural basis for a selection, adaptation and application supporting system. We identify method attributes as the key to link methods in-between each other. Thereby sets of method building blocks can be built up, which support the user by providing a tool for a guided navigation within the “methodcontent”.