Dialogue for design teams: A case study of generative conversations for dealing with diversity

S.M. Persaud*, Shreyas Prakash, Bas Flipsen

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Chapter in Book/Conference proceedings/Edited volumeConference contributionScientificpeer-review

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Abstract

In the Integrated Product Design master’s at Industrial Design Engineering, there is a growing diversity in students. In recent years we increasingly noticed that diversity could lead to complications within the various student teams. Examples are miscommunication, frustration, and interpersonal conflicts. This growing diversity between the team members strongly appeals to their ability to deal with these complications in a constructive way. Via a KPI tracking system we kept track of team performance and we identified four aspects affecting the team dynamics within the Advanced Embodiment Design project team [1]. This paper presents the case study of one of the student design-teams which was highly dysfunctional in design approach and conflicting cultural differences. It made this group perform at a lower level. Theory U [2] and dialogue techniques [3] were an unfamiliar approach for student design teams. Interventions using generative conversations stimulated connectedness between the team members and improved the team dynamics. The use of culture mapping [10] proofed to be a valuable tool to bridge the culture gap. Although this case study only describes one student design team, the drastic improvements resulted in the team winning the iF Design Talent Award 2020. The findings are promising, and further research is needed to investigate the generalizability of these approaches for Industrial Design Engineering education.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationProceedings of the 23rd International Conference on Engineering and Product Design Education
EditorsH. Grierson, E. Bohemia, L. Buck
Place of PublicationHerning, Denmark
PublisherThe Design Society
Number of pages6
ISBN (Electronic)978-1-912254-14-9
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2021
EventE&PDE 2021: Proceedings of the 23rd International Conference on Engineering and Product Design Education
: Continuity and Adaptability in Design and Engineering Education
- University of Herning, Denmark
Duration: 9 Sept 202110 Sept 2021
https://www.designsociety.org/publication/43276/DS+110%3A+Proceedings+of+the+23rd+International+Conference+on+Engineering+and+Product+Design+Education+%28E%26PDE+2021%29%2C+VIA+Design%2C+VIA+University+in+Herning%2C+Denmark.+9th+-10th+September+2021

Conference

ConferenceE&PDE 2021: Proceedings of the 23rd International Conference on Engineering and Product Design Education
Country/TerritoryDenmark
Period9/09/2110/09/21
Internet address

Keywords

  • Team performance
  • Diversity
  • Design teams
  • Cooperation
  • Dialogue

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