Meta-design for agile concurrent product design in the virtual enterprise

The area of collaborative design is well-researched and many factors, including IT and other tools and techniques, which contribute to more effective collaboration, have been demonstrated. However, the implementation of these techniques in order to achieve a more agile collaborative environment is relatively under-researched, particularly at the design stage where agility is less well defined than at the manufacture stage. The article investigates the level of adoption of these factors in the defence and aerospace industry in Northern England, and their benefits to the level of agility in a collaborative design project. Furthermore, the article introduces meta-design as an early adoption technique for implementing agile tools and demonstrates the potential benefits of this method through data gathered by industrial questionnaire.