Operation and maintenance of product configuration systems in project-based small and medium-sized enterprises

This thesis presents methods to support companies in the operation and maintenance of product configuration systems and investigates the impact configurators can have on operational performance of project-based companies. Product configuration entails the action of combining individual components or modules to create a complete product specification.

This process can be automated using product configuration systems, which are a class of IT systems made to support the configuration process by use of rules and constraints dictating what product variants are allowed to be specified. Much research have been conducted in relation to the development, implementation and impacts of product configurators.

However, challenges still exist in relation to the operational phases of configurators, including their maintenance and impact on operational performance. Hence, this research is focused on the following areas: (1) actionable methods to structure, implement and maintain product configurators in non-object-oriented software; (2) identification of approaches and capabilities needed for product configurators to support operations in project-based companies (i.e., from sales, design, engineering and production); and (3) the impact of product configuration systems on operational performance dependent on how well product configurators are operated and maintained.

This thesis provides research to address those challenges by determining improved methods to design and implement configuration systems to support the operations and maintenance of product configurators and by investigating how different operational and maintenance efforts can impact operational performance.

This research project used case studies and design research. The results include suggestions for improved product configuration model representation structures; a theoretical framework for multistage configuration with empirical evidence of its feasibility; and a case study describing product configuration maintenance of knowledge bases, its potential impacts and its operational performance.