Toward a multi-agent information management infrastructure for product family planning and mass customisation

Development of complex new products requires numerous decisions by many individuals and groups, which are often geographically and temporally distributed. There is a need to share and coordinate distributed resources and synchronise decisions. Recent advances in Information Technology (IT) pose an untapped potential in assisting the capture, storage, retrieval, and facilitated use of product development information. By sharing assets such as components, processes, and knowledge across a family of products, companies can efficiently develop differentiated products and increase the flexibility and responsiveness of their product realisation process. This paper describes a recent effort in realising an information management infrastructure for product family planning and platform customisation. Particular focus is on current research thrusts:

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