System team composition for a complex system to enable integration and attribute management

The automatic transmission is a very complex system in a modern automobile with several hundred components performing mechanical, hydraulic and electronic functions. System integration and attribute management are key challenges in the design and development of an automatic transmission. The system and sub system team structure can play a key part in the success of this development. A properly structured team can enhance the communication between the engineers designing the individual components, ensure that all interfaces between the components are properly managed and appropriate design actions are in place for best in class attributes. This thesis analyzes the current team structure and composition that is in place in the Automatic Transmission Division at Ford Motor Company and offers recommendations to improve the composition to better align the sub system teams with the actual workings of the transmission. The main tool that is used to enable this work is the Design Structure Matrix (DSM). Communication between individual team members is compared to components that physically touch or exchange energy through hydraulic means, or exchange electrical signals and preferred team compositions for effectively engineering these sub systems are proposed. The efficacy of these teams to manage attributes like noise and shift quality is also discussed.

Department dc:contributor.department

System Design and Management Program.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2004

Author dc:creator

• Krishnaswami, Ram, 1966-

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Daniel Whitney.

• System Design and Management Program.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/34799

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/34799