Design of a re‐configurable workflow system for rapid product development

This paper presents the design of a re‐configurable workflow system which is based on a product definition schema with the objective to expedite the product development activities. This proposed system is characterised by its ability to cope with unexpected changes during the early stages of product development by re‐configuring the workflow of relevant processes, thereby significantly enhancing the agility of the entire system. A novel approach based on a four‐layered product definition schema is adopted to provide the conceptual foundation for the development of a rapid product design system which has to cope with the frequent change requests due to ever‐changing customer demands in an increasingly competitive marketplace.