Improving configurator development: a coordinated performance assessment approach

Purpose: Configurators support product and service specification processes by automating tasks, such as producing quotes, operation plans and bills of materials. However, misalignment between configurator objectives and development processes poses threats to the success of configurator projects. To address such problems, this research presents a coordinated approach to improve configurator development and reduce the likelihood of project failure, through the use of coordinated performance assessment. Design/methodology/approach: The suggested approach was developed by organizing existing configurator performance measurement methods, which were identified through a literature review. A longitudinal, action research–based case study was conducted on a large energy company that operates offshore oil and gas platforms in Denmark. The case study evaluates the usefulness of the proposed approach through a maintenance work configurator developed in the case company. Findings: The case shows that early-stage co-scoping of a configurator and its performance metrics can ensure the alignment of configurator objectives and performance measures and can secure the data required to achieve comprehensive performance measurements. These measures, in turn, support the continuous improvement of the configurator in its subsequent development cycles. The results of the empirical case study suggest that the approach produces considerable benefits in cost reduction and improved efficiency in configurator development. Originality/value: Existing approaches to configurator development and implementation place little emphasis on the derivation and decision-support capability of performance measures. To address this, the proposed approach provides a structured, integrated method to continuously guide the development and implementation of configurator projects through performance assessment.