ProSTEP iViP Association - Our method
The ProSTEP iViP method
Within the ProSTEP iViP Association, members work together to meet the challenges that the average working day in distributed product development brings. The solutions they develop help shape not only the future of engineering but also future business success.But how are harmonized solutions created in the ProSTEP iViP Association? How is the quality of these solutions assured, and how are these solutions implemented?The Association has developed a reliable method that is used in all the projects. The core elements of this method are:
- user-driven standardization
- uvalidation of results in pilots
- usupport for implementing the results in marketable solutions
It is initially the members themselves who approach the Association with their requirements. These can, for example, involve the need for solutions related to change management or project management. These requirements are defined in more concrete detail in workshops run by the Association and are formulated as use cases, i.e. a series of application scenarios that need to be supported. If the subject matter attracts interest, the initial workshops give birth to a project. This project runs for a specific period of time and has as its objective the creation of a recommendation or standard. This is referred to as the specification phase.
Once a project is launched, the previously formulated use cases are discussed and the results are channeled into data or process models, depending on where the focus of the project lies. On the basis of these initial work results, harmonization with other ProSTEP iViP projects, as well as other initiatives, projects and organizations, now begins. One important basic priniciple that applies to all activities is that the work carried out should build on established solutions and standards – there is no need to reinvent the wheel. This saves time and money, ensures a high level of compatibility and acceptance, and improves the quality of the results.
The data and process models created provide the foundation for a corresponding ProSTEP iViP Recommendation – a recommendation made by the Association how to approach certain problems or challenges in order to achieve the best possible results. The ProSTEP iViP Recommendation give the project results a more binding character prior to their submission to the appropriate international bodies, e.g. ISO or the OMG, for standardization purposes. At the same time, it provides a binding basis for the pilot phase during which the results are subjected to practice-related testing. The insight gained from the pilot implementations is, in turn, incorporated into the recommendation – a measure that enhances quality assurance and increases relevance to practice. Best practices are drawn up subsequent to pilot testing. These instructions are intended for implementors and users and provide with information on how to apply the results to every day work life, which procedures produce the best results, and how the solutions should be integrated into existing system environments.
The implementor forums contribute to and support the best practices and standards developed and facilitate their implementation in marketable products. System vendors meet at regular intervals to discuss any problems that have arisen and exchange experience gained thus far. The Association provides test environments for interoperability tests between the individual implementations. This ensures that the requirements that were compiled at the beginning of a project are satisfied by the ultimate result. With this in mind, the Association also performs benchmarks involving marketable products. These measures ensure that the standards developed within the framework of the ProSTEP iViP Association are harmonized and put to use.