Background and Problem Statement

Manufacturing small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are increasingly confronted with volatile markets, disrupted supply chains, a shortage of skilled workers, and political and technological upheavals. Their resilience to these disruptions depends not only on production and their supply chain, but to a large extent on the effectiveness of product-related engineering structures—that is, on how products are planned, developed, and integrated into the value chain. However, existing resilience approaches mostly focus on operational processes or IT security and neglect an integrated view of product architecture (PA) and enterprise architecture (EA) in the engineering context of SMEs. There is a lack of a systematic evaluation framework that makes the interactions between PA and EA visible with regard to resilience and supports SMEs in guiding their actions. This highlights the need to develop a concept that is practical for SMEs, one that transparently assesses engineering resilience and enables the derivation of concrete improvement measures.

Research objective

The goal of this research project is to develop a scientifically sound yet practical framework for engineering resilience in manufacturing SMEs that systematically maps the relationships between product architecture and enterprise architecture and makes this information usable for evaluating and designing resilient engineering structures. To this end, the project aims to (i) assess the current state of product-related enterprise architecture and product architecture in selected SMEs and derive resilience-relevant requirements, (ii) target visions and design principles for resilient engineering structures will be developed, (iii) a maturity model with clearly defined dimensions, indicators, and maturity levels will be designed and implemented in a self-assessment tool, and (iv) these approaches will be validated in pilot companies and prepared for broad transfer to the SME landscape.

Approach and Methodology

The goal of this research project is to develop a scientifically sound yet practical framework for strengthening the engineering resilience of manufacturing SMEs. This framework will systematically map the relationships between product architecture and enterprise architecture and make this knowledge usable for evaluating and designing resilient engineering structures. To this end, the project aims to (i) assess the current state of product-related enterprise architecture and product architecture in selected SMEs and derive resilience-relevant requirements, (ii) develop target visions and design principles for resilient engineering structures, (iii) a maturity model with clearly defined dimensions, indicators, and maturity levels will be designed and implemented in a self-assessment tool, and (iv) these approaches will be validated in pilot companies and prepared for broad transfer to the SME landscape.

The project is divided into the following work packages:

Expected results and benefits for SMEs

The project culminates in an integrated framework for engineering resilience that systematically describes the role of product and enterprise architecture in the context of product development at SMEs and provides theoretically grounded criteria for assessing resilience. The central artifact is a maturity model tailored to SMEs, which, together with a self-assessment tool, enables a structured self-assessment of engineering resilience, visualizes maturity profiles, and identifies prioritized areas for action. In addition, practice-oriented design principles, target state descriptions, and a procedural methodology are developed, enabling decision-makers in SMEs to plan concrete measures for designing more robust and adaptable products, processes, and IT systems. Through validation in pilot companies and accompanying transfer activities (e.g., workshops, guidelines, training sessions), the project will deliver an immediately applicable contribution to strengthening the competitiveness and crisis resilience of manufacturing SMEs.

Additional information about the project