Concurrent Engineering Software Tools – A Trade-Off for efficient Learning in Blended Teaching Scenarios

Abstract

Concurrent engineering is an approach to the development of complex systems that is characterised by direct communication between the disciplines involved. Key to this approach is the access to the most current design data by all participants at all times. This can be done via a dedicated software solution, for which both commercial and open-source software tools are available. How these tools influence the outcome of the class itself, has been discussed extensively in a separate publication.

This contribution presents the experience that we gathered with different concurrent engineering software tools. The aim of this contribution is to offer other teachers and students some guideline for selecting a concurrent engineering software solution and implementing it in course work, in a way that using the tool itself does not become the central learning challenge of the course. The results might be of interest beyond university courses, as some requirements, like short times to get familiar with the software or certain interface requirements, also apply to other environments in research and development.