Mass customization and product platform design can exploit the benefits of modularity and provide personalized devices at competitive costs through economies of scope. However, customization-intense platforms can have thousands of potential configurations, whose development and verification must be prioritized. This paper develops a value analysis methodology that is able to rank alternative platform configurations according to customers’ preferences. It introduces Logit value, a definition of value based on a well-known stated choice model and explains the five steps of platform-based value analysis. Since product platforms are complex technical systems, particular attention is given to the gathering of information, the automatic generation of platform architectures and the visualization of results. A case study based on Google ARA’s Spiral-2 modular smart phone concept demonstrates an application of the methodology and shows its potential benefits. The case study leverages data from a conjoint analysis and survey of 200 potential customers in Puerto Rico and a generated set of over 21,000 potential configurations of which less than 1% are shown to be non-dominated. The value analysis identifies module types that are compatible with the modular product platform and appear in a high percentage of Pareto architectures. Knowledge pertaining to non-dominated configurations can provide insights into module development strategy and verification/validation activities.

中文翻译：

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可定制模块化产品平台的价值分析：理论与案例研究

大规模定制和产品平台设计可以利用模块化的优势，通过范围经济以具有竞争力的成本提供个性化设备。但是，定制密集型平台可能有数千种潜在配置，必须优先考虑其开发和验证。本文开发了一种价值分析方法，能够根据客户的偏好对替代平台配置进行排名。它介绍了 Logit 价值，这是一种基于众所周知的陈述选择模型的价值定义，并解释了基于平台的价值分析的五个步骤。由于产品平台是复杂的技术系统，因此特别关注信息的收集、平台架构的自动生成和结果的可视化。基于 Google ARA 的 Spiral-2 模块化智能手机概念的案例研究展示了该方法的应用并展示了其潜在优势。该案例研究利用了来自对波多黎各 200 名潜在客户的联合分析和调查的数据，以及生成的 21,000 多个潜在配置集，其中不到 1% 的潜在配置被证明是非主导的。价值分析确定了与模块化产品平台兼容并出现在帕累托架构中的高比例的模块类型。与非支配配置相关的知识可以提供对模块开发策略和验证/验证活动的洞察。该案例研究利用了来自对波多黎各 200 名潜在客户的联合分析和调查的数据，以及生成的 21,000 多个潜在配置集，其中不到 1% 的潜在配置被证明是非主导的。价值分析确定了与模块化产品平台兼容并出现在帕累托架构中的高比例的模块类型。与非支配配置相关的知识可以提供对模块开发策略和验证/验证活动的洞察。该案例研究利用了来自对波多黎各 200 名潜在客户的联合分析和调查的数据，以及生成的 21,000 多个潜在配置集，其中不到 1% 的潜在配置被证明是非主导的。价值分析确定了与模块化产品平台兼容并出现在帕累托架构中的高比例的模块类型。与非支配配置相关的知识可以提供对模块开发策略和验证/验证活动的洞察。