Implementing Product Platforms: A Case Study

The paper describes a case study dealing with the process of creating and implementing a product platform. The paper espessially deals with the fact that to obtain the benefits of platforms a permanent change in behaviour in product development must be ensured. This change in behaviour requires acceptance and approval from the organisation in general and the commitment from management to enforce agreed-upon decisions.

The case study itself was performed in the Danish company LEGO Group. The case study had two objectives: To create a technical architecture and align this architecture with the manufacturing setup; And to create procedures for using and maintaining the system and getting the commitment and approval of the platform.