Key Elements of the Product Integration Process

The integration phase represents a highly critical part of the product development process as components are combined and should work together. Errors and problems in product integration result in delays and rework as the results are needed for later phases. Standards and other reference models that include guidelines for product integration are available, but are not always used. Our proposal is that is that the current descriptions in standards and reference models are insufficient and need to be consolidated to help development organizations improve the product integration process. The presented research includes a number of case studies and analyses that have resulted in a superset of practices, i.e. a combination of the activities included in the different reference models. Through the case studies performed in seven different product development organizations, a connection between problems that are observed and the failure to follow the recommendations is identified.