DE10206285A1 - Computer based system for management of options and application functions for a given product platform, whereby options and option descriptors are defined and stored in a database accessed via an information system interface - Google Patents

Abstract

Method for market and application specific description and management of specific product describing entities, especially product options (33), product option types (32), application functions (31) and design elements (36) relating to documents (62) and components (61) of a product platform. Method uses a data processing system with a database and applies a number of steps to link the product platform via application functions to the predefined product options. The invention also relates to a corresponding system.

Description

The invention relates to a computer-aided method and a system to manage options and application functions of a product platform, that is, of permitted options for a product configuration and its components using a product data management system.

Today's product data management systems support the management of Design results, for which documents, such as descriptions, Drawings and work plans count as well as product structures consisting of Product components, such as parts and assemblies. Such Product data management systems are described, for example, in M. Eigner, R. Stelzer; Product data management systems. A guide to product development and life cycle Management, Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg, 2001, and in J. Schöttner; Product data management in the manufacturing industry. Principle, concepts, strategies, Hanser Specialist book, 1999.

The application function describes the use of a product in one specific market with a specific function, such as a Drive motor for a specific product in a defined market.

Entities are generally components or assemblies and documents specified. Starting with the product structure is the case with the existing systems the associated documents can be referenced.

There is also the administrative data, hereinafter referred to as metadata to manage variants and versions of the product components in Dependence on the time and their relations with each other in the foreground.

Existing systems allow classification according to part and document types and support the description of the product structure. Components can over Relations to assemblies can be summarized. Documents can be broken down into individual ones Disassemble parts and assign them to certain assemblies. Thereby the administrative metadata values assigned to it.

Currently known product data management systems support the application or market-related product data management not. Therefore they also support not the application-related product component selection. It remains that System users are left to decide whether they want a component for a Application suitable. When reusing a design solution is the Application relevance, d. H. the context in which a component is used, not directly apparent or only implicitly available.

With the current state of the art, property groups can be defined and assign these to the product components. The relation to an application function, which is the context for the use of a specific product or a Component thereof in a customer-specific process or one Application parameters, for example an operating point of a product, is missing Completely.

A search for suitable components is due to the lack of Context as very difficult if the context or the application and the Operating point of the product are not known. This is for the A solution must be reusable. Only when the context, i.e. defined specifications, Guidelines and standards as well as environmental parameters, such as Temperature, pressure, pollution, vibrations, etc. are known to be targeted suitable solutions are sought.

Currently, existing product data management systems Partial aspects and functions used for classification and management, but both a method as well as an information model for application-specific Modeling of product options, such as the expressions of option types For example, the size, design, performance class of a drive or Describe special equipment features have not yet been implemented.

In today's product data management systems, a lot of describes The so-called type code and option types and their permissible values (Type code) for a product line, which is part of a product catalog.

The type code is used as a document and part of the product catalog maintained and managed independently of a product data management system. The Management of the type code and the associated options is a manual process for which there are no separate information systems and procedures.

By means of a description of the components and documents of a product platform an attempt is made to classify the option as a classifying attribute of a component, i.e. H. as a text field. This is not sufficient, because in reality at least there is a 1: n relationship between component and option, i.e. one Component n options are assigned. Because the option is still not a standalone Entity is modeled is a management of the 1: n relation between option and associated application not given. The lack of an independent entity leads that the validity does not manage an option depending on the time and can be revised. The current state of the art also lacks direct technology Reference to the application and the associated parameters.

For a product line, which in turn can be part of a product platform, must the type code is adapted to different applications or markets and managed depending on the time. This means a high one Maintenance effort and represents a complex process when a product platform, too which belongs to several product lines, continuously over a certain period of time is further developed.

There is no computer-aided method and information system which the type code for the product families offered and the associated ones Options managed depending on the time and an assignment of product options supported to the product applications.

Simple functions for classification based on characteristics, such as according to DIN 4000 already exist. Such methods have a number of properties a family of parts to feature groups. The characteristic groups According to DIN 4000, for example, certain classes of parts such as motors or Assign clutches. A component is assigned to one of these parts families (e.g. Capacitors, screws, etc.). Based on these characteristic groups, the related characteristics are described. There is a hierarchical one Characteristic transfer not possible. Such functions can also be found in today offered product data management systems again. However, how is missing here the required relation to an application function has already been described above.

The invention has for its object a system and a method for Description and management of product data, for example product options, Product option types, application functions and the associated characteristics specify, so that the disadvantages of the prior art are eliminated, wherein in particular a market and application related product data management and an application-related selection of product components is used.

This task is carried out by a computer-aided process for the market and application-specific description and management of specific product-describing entities, such as product options, product option types, Application functions and the associated features with which in claim 1 specified features solved. A system for performing the method and advantageous Refinements are specified in further claims.

A new type of method is used to carry out the method according to the invention Information model which describes the market and application related description and Management of the options and permitted combinations thereof enables. The information model is implemented using a database.

The system and method according to the invention is conventional Product data management systems that manage product applications and product options integrable and takes place both with order-independent and with order-dependent business processes, especially in construction and sales Use.

Due to the task, the validity and the status of an option in Managing time depends on the time reference and the release status of an option really important. The time reference and the release status of an option describes the validity of an option at a specific current time in the Future or in the past. The product corresponds to a specific one Product configuration, consisting of components from a product line or a Product family that are part of a product platform.

Options and application functions become both generic and specific managed in option categories. Options are assigned to an option type and thus represent occurrences of an option type. The option type is in Relationship to the product platform and the product line.

Under generic management of options and application functions is the Management of all permissible options and combinations as part of the type code, for example an order-independent description, a category or a type code to understand.

Whereas the specific management of options and application functions it can be seen that a specific combination of options as part or Describe the category of a reference product, an offer or an order becomes.

The category of an application function thus determines whether an application generally with the category: type code, or specifically with the category: reference, Offer or order that is described.

The set of generic options of the type code category becomes the Type code formed for a product family. This is for different markets and applications or application functions are structured differently and can change over time. Be subsets of options in this category described with combination rules.

The process for describing and managing product options, Product option types, application functions and the associated characteristics are indicated by a Specially developed information system that is supported in its kind as well as the functions required to manage and display the entities differs from the previously used methods in that an assignment from property groups to the product components via the Application function takes place. This captures the context for the description, and the Application-specific search for the components supported.

The context results from the application function, its form and the Local policies and laws that are required for proper and safe Operation of the product are required.

The advantages of the invention can be seen in the fact that a description of Operating points and design elements related to an application function is possible.

With the procedure for application-specific administration and versioning of Options within a product data management system are novel Functions for evaluation and strategy development given.

The method according to the invention includes several modules with special ones Description, management, search and evaluation functions for managing the Data in the extended product data management system for the product platform.

By referring to the application function, the product options for special Applications are defined and related to each other and so it is possible the suitability of a product option for individual applications or markets describe what is a significant advantage over conventional methods for Description of the product key and the structure of a product catalog exists.

The application-related management of the options enables one at any time Current overview of the current status of the options offered in a market and the components available for this. Likewise, the validity of an option be reviewed in the past or set for the future.

By versioning the options in connection with the rules for Combinability results in the release status for a specific product configuration or a single assembly of a product platform.

Furthermore, a set can be selected from a set of options valid at the time Derive a type code that is valid at the time.

A further description of the invention is based on exemplary embodiments, which are shown in the following drawing figures.

Show it:

Fig. 1, the process modules of the management information,

Fig. 2 is a representation of the relations and entities of the information model, and

Fig. 3 is an illustration for explaining the system according to the invention.

Fig. 1 shows a system 10 for managing specific product application options and functions of a product platform.

The system 10 has modules 20 for displaying, processing, versioning and storing the entities, for example application functions 31 , product options 33 and product option types 32 , permissible combinations of option sets 34 , which are referred to below as combination rules, application parameters 35 and design elements 36 .

The option management module 100 contains functions for defining, copying, changing, managing and versioning existing option types 32 and options 33 of a product line. When defining option type 32 , the user describes the affiliation to the product family and the product platform.

The market and application management module 200 supports the creation and modification of application functions 31 .

300 parameters 35 and feature groups are assigned to a specific application in the parameter and feature management module.

The component management module 600 contains the entities for managing components 61 of a product platform and the associated technical documents 62 .

The system 10 can be integrated into a conventional product data management system 40 and, by using functions of the product data management system 40 , is able to manage the release status of an option 33 as a function of time and to control it via a release procedure.

• - die Produktoptionstypen 32 und die Ausprägungen von Produktoptionen 33,
• - die zulässigen Kombinationen von Optionsmengen (Kombinationsregeln) 34,
• - die für die Anwendung gültigen bzw. verwendeten Prozeßparameter, wie Betriebsparameter 35 und Betriebspunkte 37, sowie
• - die für eine Anwendung vorgegebenen oder verwendeten Beschreibungsmerkmale, welche die Gestaltungselemente 36 und die Gestaltungselementgruppen 38 beinhalten,

in Abhängigkeit von der Zeit zu verwalten. In FIG. 2, the representation of the relations and entities is shown within the information model 11 which make it possible

• - the product option types 32 and the characteristics of product options 33 ,
• - the permissible combinations of option sets (combination rules) 34 ,
• - The process parameters valid or used for the application, such as operating parameters 35 and operating points 37 , and
• the description features specified or used for an application, which include the design elements 36 and the design element groups 38 ,

to manage depending on the time.

Model 11 is implemented on the level of system implementation as a relational database schema or physical data model and is used to manage the predefined, configurable, offered and manufactured components of product platforms and the product families produced with them.

For the information model 11 , the entities option type 32 , option 33 , combination rule 34 , application function 31 , operating point 37 , operating parameters 35 , design element 36 , design element group 38 or the components 61 and documents 62 and their relations to one another are shown.

Any number of attributes can be assigned to the entities 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 61 , 62 . The entities 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 61 , 62 of the information model 11 stand over different types of relations, for example "has", "is part of", "is used in", "describes", "Set1""Set2" or "possible at" in relation to each other. The relation type is reflexive with the "is part of relation", ie reference is made to entities of the same type, or associative, ie the relationship between the expressions of a relation is expressed and the amount that can be assigned to an expression, e.g. B. 1 to n occurrences of the target entity.

The options 33 and option types 32 are related to an application or application function 31 . This describes, for example, the suitability of a product option 33 for different applications and different markets. Components 61 and documents 62 of the product platform are also related to the application function 31 . The relationship between option 33 and component 61 is thus established via application function 31 .

The entity option 33 enables a computer-aided method for the administration and versioning of options 33 of a product platform both on a market-dependent and application-related level, the options 33 describing an expression of the option type 32 . The entity option type 32 has attributes that enable it to be assigned to the product platform and the product family, for example the size of a product.

Since the options 33 are each assigned to a specific option type 32 , a combination rule 34 is defined for two sets of generic option forms, which are designated with "Set1" and "Set2", for example the category: "cannot be combined with" or " only in connection with ". This allows permissible combinations to be described.

In addition to the particularity of model 11, the direct relationship between option 33 and application function 31 is represented, the entity application function 31 in turn has relationships to the typical feature groups, for example to the design element groups 38 and / or to the operating points 37 . The operating points 37 and the feature groups 38 which are assigned to those of the specific application functions 31 have attributes which, for example, relate to an offer or order number.

The same applies to the design elements 36 . These describe the non-physical properties of a product, i.e. the qualitative and quantitative properties of an application function, for example permissible materials.

The operating parameters 35 describe the essential physical properties of the process in which the application function 31 is used. From a system perspective, these describe both the system boundary and the essential system parameters of the system components, for example the drive power of an engine.

Any number of operating points 37 can be assigned to an application function 31 . Each application-specific operating point 37 has a set of market and application-specific operating parameters 35 . The assignment of the operating point 37 to the application function 31 enables a much more precise data analysis than in the previously known methods.

Any number of application functions 31 and documents 62 can be assigned to a component 61 . Application functions 31 , components 61 and documents 62 are also hierarchically structured, which is shown in FIG. 2 with the relation: "is part of".

In addition to the product components, documents 62 describe or have a relation to the application functions 31 or the operating points 37 . This has the advantage that further information on an application function 31 can be determined from the database at any time. The information can therefore be referenced context-specifically.

If the documents 62 are assigned generic or specific application functions 31 , they describe the context, for example standards, guidelines and specifications, for an offer or an application function 31 in general.

FIG. 3 shows a representation to explain the system according to the invention, which has a first level for input and visualization 1 , a second level for processing the data 2 and a third level for storing the data 3 .

The first level 1 contains the components relevant to input and display, to which

• - die Markt- und Anwendungsverwaltung 200,
• - die Parameter- und Merkmalsverwaltung 300,
• - die Freigabeverwaltung und Ablaufsteuerung 400
• - die Datenanalyse 500 und
• - die Komponentenverwaltung 600 zählen, sowie

deren Darstellung mittels

• - der Visualisierung der Optionen und Kombinationsregeln 110,
• - der Visualisierung der Anwendungen 210,
• - der Visualisierung der Parametergruppen 310,
• - der Visualisierung des Prozesses 410,
• - der Visualisierung der Auswertungen 510, und
• - der Visualisierung der Produktstruktur 610

realisiert wird. - options management 100 ,

• - the market and application management 200 ,
• - the parameter and feature management 300 ,
• - the release management and sequence control 400
• - the data analysis 500 and
• - Component management 600 count, as well

their representation by means of

• - the visualization of the options and combination rules 110 ,
• the visualization of the applications 210 ,
• - the visualization of parameter groups 310 ,
• - the visualization of process 410 ,
• - the visualization of the evaluations 510 , and
• - the visualization of the product structure 610

is realized.

• - den Erzeugungs-, Änderungs- und Freigabeprozeduren für Optionstypen, Optionen und Kombinationsregeln 120,
• - den Erzeugungs-, Änderungs- und Freigabeprozeduren für Anwendungsfunktionen 220,
• - der Beschreibung und Zuordnung von Parametern und Merkmalgruppen 320,
• - der Arbeitsablaufsteuerung 420,
• - der Verwaltung der Zugriffsfunktionen 520 und
• - den Erzeugungs-, Änderungs- und Freigabeprozeduren für Komponenten 620.

The second level 2 contains the functional system components for data processing, in particular for managing and analyzing the data

• - the creation, modification and release procedures for option types, options and combination rules 120 ,
• the creation, modification and release procedures for application functions 220 ,
• - the description and assignment of parameters and feature groups 320 ,
• - the workflow controller 420 ,
• - the management of the access functions 520 and
• - the creation, modification and release procedures for components 620 .

In the third level 3 , the application functions 31 , option types 32 , options 33 , combination rules 34 , parameters 35 , design elements 36 , operating points 37 , design element groups 38 , features 41 , evaluation procedures 50 as well as the components 61 and documents 62 are shown , which are stored in a database become.

The system 10 further includes functions for outputting the search results and the results of the analysis functions, for example by means of a printer output.

The analysis functions evaluate the database and the options defined so far and application functions in predefined database queries and List representations. These requests can be submitted together with the display specifications in stored in a database.

• - Bei der Definition des Optionstyps 32 beschreibt der Benutzer die Zugehörigkeit zur Produktfamilie und zur Produktplattform.
• - Bei der Erzeugung einer Option 33 wird der Optionstyp 32 und die Kategorie festgelegt sowie die zulässigen Anwendungen für eine generische Option oder eine spezifische Option einer bestimmten Kategorie referenziert. Beispielsweise wird festgelegt, ob eine Anwendung generell mit der Kategorie: Typecode, oder spezifisch mit der Kategorie: Referenz, Angebot oder Auftrag, beschrieben wird.
• - Für generische Optionen 33 einer Produktfamilie werden Kombinationsregeln 34 definiert, wobei der Benutzer zwei Optionsmengen und die kombinatorische Mengenoperation hierauf selektiert.

Using the option management module 100 , the functions of existing option types 32 and options 33 of a product line are defined as follows:

• - When defining option type 32 , the user describes the affiliation to the product family and the product platform.
• - When an option 33 is created, the option type 32 and the category are defined and the permitted applications for a generic option or a specific option of a certain category are referenced. For example, it is determined whether an application is generally described with the category: type code, or specifically with the category: reference, offer or order.
• - Combination rules 34 are defined for generic options 33 of a product family, the user selecting two option sets and the combinatorial set operation thereon.

The creation and modification of the application functions 31 are supported by the module market and application management 200 . The user classifies the application function 31 via the assignment to a market and a generic or specific application function type, the markets being predetermined for a product platform.

When a specific application function 31 is newly created, the user selects, for example, from a predefined list of permitted product functions for a selected market.

The offer-specific definition of application functions 31 and the associated parameters is part of a workflow control 420 for creating an offer and is referred to as an offer workflow (distribution and forwarding of offer-specific data and documents as well as the control and monitoring of work processes). These functions are used from the underlying product data management system 40 .

If an application function for a product is not yet in the database, a new generic application function type is defined. For this is one specific release procedure is required, which is described below.

The module release management and workflow control 400 contains the functions required for the release of options 33 and application functions 31 for visualizing the process 410 . Different predefined release procedures exist for the different categories of options 33 and application functions 31 , which are referred to as workflows. A release procedure consists of any number of subtasks and the objects to be processed have a release status. Through the release procedure, instances of the entities are forwarded to the responsible system users. The module approval management and workflow control 400 essentially uses the workflow control 420 of the product data management system 40 .

The parameter and feature management module 300 is used to assign parameters and feature groups 320 to a specific application. The feature groups are defined in advance or used when preparing the offer. If the feature groups are predefined, they are assigned, for example, to an application function 31 of the reference category. For a selected application function 31 , the existing offer and order-specific parameter and feature groups are searched for, configurations and feature groups found are copied and used for the preparation of the offer in the context of the variant description.

The data analysis module 500 supports the definition and storage of specific evaluation procedures 50 . For this purpose, the module contains data access, data processing and visualization functions. The data access functions are managed in the system component 520 . The evaluations are implemented using the visualization function 510 . These predefined functions are stored as templates, copied and managed in the system component 520 .

Likewise, the currently valid type code including the permissible options 33 is determined using a function of the data analysis module 500 . In relation to this type code, the options 33 offered and commissioned are shown in a specific period of time, the quantity being specified for each specific option category.

Evaluation procedures 50 are adapted to the respective product family. For example, the usage history and the usage frequency of various options 33 relating to markets and application functions 31 are shown. Furthermore, the data analysis module 500 realizes functions for displaying the change history for certain option types 32 , combination rules 34 , markets and application functions 31 .

Claims (28)

1.Procedure for the market and application-specific description and management of specific product-describing entities, in particular product options ( 33 ), product option types ( 32 ), application functions ( 31 ) and design elements ( 36 ), which form part of the components ( 61 ) and documents ( 62 ) Are related product platform, in the context of a product management system ( 40 ), which is realized by means of a data processing device, in which a database is integrated, wherein a) in a first process step, a description of the functions of the information relevant to input and presentation is carried out using process modules ( 100 , 200 , 300 , 400 , 500 , 600 ), b) in a second process step a representation of the entities described, in particular the visualization of the options and combination rules ( 110 ), the visualization of the applications ( 210 ), the visualization of the parameter groups ( 310 ), the visualization of the process ( 410 ), the visualization of the Evaluations ( 510 ) and visualization of the product structure ( 610 ) is carried out, c) in a third method step, the components ( 61 ) and documents ( 62 ) of the product platform relevant for an application are related to the predefined options ( 33 ) via the application function ( 31 ). 2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the product option types ( 32 ) and the characteristics of the product options ( 33 ), the permissible combinations of the option sets ( 34 ), the process parameters ( 35 , 37 ) valid or used for the application and the Descriptive features ( 36 , 38 ) specified or used for an application are related to one another, are displayed in a data visualization unit, and are managed, processed and stored as a function of time. 3. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that an assignment of property groups to the components via the entity application function ( 31 ) is carried out. 4. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that an arbitrary number of entities of the type application function ( 31 ) are assigned to a component ( 61 ). 5. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that operating points ( 37 ) and design elements ( 36 ) are described by means of an application function ( 31 ). 6. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the options ( 33 ) and application functions ( 31 ) are managed as independent entities. 7. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a relationship between product options ( 33 ) and components ( 61 ) is established by means of the application function ( 31 ). 3. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that by using the application functions ( 31 ) of the product data management system ( 40 ) the release status of a product option ( 33 ) is managed as a function of time and is controlled by means of a release procedure. 9. System for the market and application-specific description and management of specific product-describing entities, in particular product options ( 33 ), product option types ( 32 ), application functions ( 31 ) and design elements ( 36 ), which lead to the components ( 61 ) and documents ( 62 ) Are related product platform, in the context of a product data management system ( 40 ), which is implemented by means of a data processing device, in which a database is integrated, the system a) Process modules ( 100 , 200 , 300 , 400 , 500 , 600 ) for describing the input and display-relevant information, which are set up to display the information in the modules for visualizing the entities ( 110 , 210 , 310 , 410 , 510 , 610 ), b) has process modules with the functional system components ( 120 , 220 , 320 , 420 , 520 , 620 ) for managing and analyzing the information and which are set up to process the information by means of access functions, and c) has memory modules for storing the information. 10. System and method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it can be integrated into an existing product management system ( 40 ). 11. System according to claim 9 or 10, characterized in that the validity and status of the objects to be processed, for example an option ( 33 ) can be described by means of a time reference and a release status and can be stored in a release procedure. 12. System according to claim 9 to 11, characterized in that the application function ( 31 ) is set up to assign feature groups to the components and thus to describe an application context. 13. System according to claims 9 to 12, characterized in that the entities options ( 33 ), option types ( 32 ), combination rules ( 34 ), application functions ( 31 ), operating points ( 37 ), operating parameters ( 35 ), design elements ( 36 ) Design element groups ( 38 ), evaluation procedures ( 50 ), property features and feature groups ( 41 ). 14. System according to claims 9 to 13, characterized in that the process modules ( 100 , 200 , 300 , 400 , 500 , 600 ) an option management ( 100 ), a market and application management ( 200 ), a parameter and feature management ( 300 ), a release management and a sequence control ( 400 ), a module for data analysis ( 500 ) and a module for component management ( 600 ). 15. System according to claim 9 to 14, characterized in that the option management ( 100 ) has functions for defining, copying, changing, managing and versioning existing option types 32 and options 33 of a product line. 16. System according to claim 9 to 15, characterized in that the market and application management ( 200 ) supports the creation and modification of the application functions ( 31 ). 17. System according to claim 9 to 16, characterized in that the parameter and feature management ( 300 ) assigns a specific application operating parameters ( 35 ) and feature groups. 18. System according to claim 9 to 17, characterized in that the release management and sequence control ( 400 ) has the functions required for the release of the options ( 33 ) and application functions ( 31 ) for visualizing the process ( 410 ). 19. System according to claim 9 to 18, characterized in that the data analysis ( 500 ) supports the definition and storage of specific evaluation procedures ( 50 ) by means of data access, data preparation and visualization functions and functions for displaying the change history for certain option types ( 32 ), combination rules ( 34 ), markets and application functions ( 31 ) realized. 20. System according to claim 9 to 19, characterized in that the representation of the entities, by means of a visualization of the options and combination rules ( 110 ), a visualization of the applications ( 210 ), a visualization of the parameter groups and application parameters ( 310 ), a visualization of the Process ( 410 ), a visualization of the evaluations ( 510 ) and a visualization of the product structure ( 610 ) can be realized. 21. System according to claim 9 to 20, characterized in that the functional system components generation, change and release procedures for option types, options and combination rules ( 120 ), generation, change and release procedures for the application functions ( 220 ), descriptions and parameters - and feature assignments ( 320 ), workflow controls ( 420 ), management of the access functions ( 520 ) as well as creation, modification and release procedures for components ( 620 ). 22. System according to claim 9 to 21, characterized in that in the memory modules the entities ( 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 37 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 41 , 50 ) and the components ( 61 ) and documents ( 62 ) are saved. 23. System according to claim 9 to 22, characterized in that the respective options ( 33 ) are each assigned to an option type ( 32 ) and represent an expression of the option type 32 . 24. System according to claim 9 to 23, characterized in that the option type ( 32 ) has attributes which enables an assignment to the product platform and the product family. 25. System according to claim 9 to 24, characterized in that there is a direct relation between the option ( 33 ) and the application function ( 31 ). 26. System according to claim 9 to 25, characterized in that the application function ( 31 ) depending on a product category is both order-dependent and order-independent definable. 27. System according to claim 9 to 26, characterized in that the application function ( 31 ) has relations to the feature groups and the operating points ( 37 ). 28. System according to claim 9 to 27, characterized in that the feature groups and operating points ( 37 ) of the specific application functions ( 31 ) have attributes that describe the relationship to an offer, an order or a reference product.