Meta model for representing objects of Product-Service Systems (PSS) development: complementing with case studies analysis and alignment with the engineering operating system (EOS)

Abstract

A product-service system (PSS) is an integrated solution with tangible and intangible artifacts, and it should be developed as such. However, the different natures of PSS objects about abstraction level and detail level may hinder an integrated approach for dealing with PSS development. Those obstacles are even more significant when the initial development phases are considered, where uncertainty and unpredictability are high. One solution that development teams usually use for dealing with such problems is the employment of models for representing the development objects. However, those models may not be appropriately interconnected, reducing the overall understanding of a PSS as a system. One solution for providing a more integrated perspective of development objects is the use of models that are instantiated based on a meta model. This research internship plan is part of a Ph.D. project that aims to propose a meta model capable of integrating the objects resulting from a PSS development (such as requirements, value proposition, concept, architecture, among others) in a logical level. This meta model shall allow the instantiation of multiple models that show different perspectives to support the initial phases of servitization, from the beginning of the development process up to the final PSS architecture. The specific goals of this research internship are: to complement the meta model developed during this Ph.D. project; and to assure adequate alignment of the meta model with the conceptual layers of the Engineering Operating System (EOS). Those goals fit the end of prescriptive and beginning of the second descriptive stages of the Ph.D. project. Those stages comprehend analyzing previous German case studies with the support of German experts for identifying objects and models that may complement the meta model, and validating the alignment of the meta model with the conceptual layers of the EOS by means of a focus group.