Changeability of requirements — Usable indicators for product development

The reuse of information and knowledge is an established principle for designing variants of a mechatronic product subject to changing requirements. To assist in the application of this principle a new way of classifying requirements into changeable and unchangeable is introduced. This approach focuses on those requirements that remain unchanged and are therefore associated with design knowledge that can be reused. From the set of changeable and unchangeable requirements indicators are derived to assess the effort needed for the development of a new variant. This, in turn, aids in choosing an appropriate product variant as the starting point for the development of a new variant, such that the development, production and service effort is reduced.