Advanced User Interfaces for Product Management Systems

Few of today’s EPDM (electronic product data management) systems make use of valuable approaches in user interface design and information visualization as suggested by researchers. In this paper, we describe a design approach addressing the problems of searching, browsing, visualizing and filtering information in hierarchically structured graphs. The main problem areas we identified are the amount of data, the possibly complex hierarchical structure in combination with a chronological versioning system and last the collaboration between different users. Working with such data spaces it is hard for users to keep a good overview on the one hand and to narrow the information space as required by the user tasks on the other hand. Additionally, the design of interaction and filter concepts for complex hierarchical networks remains a great challenge. We propose a design concept that makes use of different visualization and interaction techniques based mainly on overview and detail, filtering and zoomable components. In solving the visualization, search and filter problems of such PLM/EPDM data spaces we take a step forward to a fully optimized product lifecycle and the integration.