What is it about?
Designing aircraft and other large engineering systems is extremely complex and often faces challenges such as high costs, delays, and coordination issues among many stakeholders. This research introduces a new approach called Value Enhancement Methodology (VEM) to help engineers and organizations make better design decisions early in development. Unlike traditional methods that focus mainly on technical performance or cost, VEM looks at the full picture of what makes a system valuable - including how different people, such as pilots, airline companies, and air traffic controllers, perceive and define that value. VEM combines and improves upon earlier design methods by adding flexibility, allowing designers to move back and forth between steps as information evolves. It structures the process around four main parts: identifying the problem, understanding who the stakeholders are, organizing their needs, and finally quantifying value. The approach was tested in a real case study within Airbus' OPTIMATE project, which develops advanced flight automation tools. By applying VEM, the research team could identify which stakeholders are most influential in shaping design choices and how their opinions affect the system’s success. The study shows that “value” in aerospace design is not only a technical measure but also depends on human and strategic factors. The new method provides a more holistic and adaptable framework to guide future aircraft development and can be extended to other complex engineering fields as well.
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Why is it important?
The work is particularly timely as the aerospace industry faces increasing complexity, tighter budgets, and sustainability pressures, demanding more efficient and stakeholder-aligned design processes. By merging insights from engineering, management, and systems thinking, VEM provides a bridge between theory and practice, enabling organizations like Airbus to make better-informed choices early in product development. Ultimately, this approach can reduce costly redesigns, accelerate innovation, and inspire a shift toward more adaptive, value-driven engineering across the aerospace sector and beyond.
Perspectives
From my perspective, this research grew out of a clear gap between how “value” is discussed in theory and how it is actually managed in engineering practice. Too often, design choices in aerospace are driven by fixed requirements or cost targets rather than by a real understanding of what stakeholders truly value. Developing the Value Enhancement Methodology allowed me to connect these worlds - to bring flexibility, iteration, and human judgment into a process that is often too rigid and technical. I see this work as a step toward more meaningful, inclusive, and future-proof engineering design.
Rachele Rizzioli
University of Parma
Writing this article was both a challenge and a rewarding experience. The idea behind this work is not simply to review existing methods, but to take on the challenge of measuring “value” from an engineering standpoint. Collaborating with Airbus systems engineers and product architects made this research especially meaningful, as it connected theory with the realities of complex aerospace design. This publication represents the first step of a longer journey toward developing a truly value-based engineering methodology, one that can help make better, earlier design decisions in an increasingly uncertain and competitive environment.
Claudio Favi
Universita degli Studi di Parma
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: A Method to Enhance the Value of Aeronautical Complex Systems, July 2025, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA),
DOI: 10.2514/6.2025-3450.
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