TY - GEN
T1 - Towards managing team interfaces
T2 - 17th International Conference on Engineering Design, ICED 09
AU - Maier, Anja M.
AU - Eckert, Claudia M.
AU - Clarkson, P. John
PY - 2009
Y1 - 2009
N2 - Many researchers and practitioners in industry have identified communication between people as a major determinant of success or failure in (design) projects. Our empirical investigations indicate that many non-technical problems are - mostly unintentionally - labeled 'communication problems'. Upon scrutiny, however, many appear to be caused by factors such as lack of 'overview of the sequence of tasks in the (design) process' or conflicting 'goals and objectives'. In such situations, a 'communication problem' might be the outcome rather than the cause. Communication is influenced by manifold factors related to information, representations, the individual, the team and the organisation. In this paper we argue that factors influencing communication provide levers through which communication can be improved. We introduce a descriptive record of influences identified through literature review and interviews in industry. Knowledge of such factors could aid researchers in generating hypotheses about communication and design performance, practitioners for management practices, and educators for teaching 'soft' competences.
AB - Many researchers and practitioners in industry have identified communication between people as a major determinant of success or failure in (design) projects. Our empirical investigations indicate that many non-technical problems are - mostly unintentionally - labeled 'communication problems'. Upon scrutiny, however, many appear to be caused by factors such as lack of 'overview of the sequence of tasks in the (design) process' or conflicting 'goals and objectives'. In such situations, a 'communication problem' might be the outcome rather than the cause. Communication is influenced by manifold factors related to information, representations, the individual, the team and the organisation. In this paper we argue that factors influencing communication provide levers through which communication can be improved. We introduce a descriptive record of influences identified through literature review and interviews in industry. Knowledge of such factors could aid researchers in generating hypotheses about communication and design performance, practitioners for management practices, and educators for teaching 'soft' competences.
KW - Collaborative design
KW - Communication
KW - Empirical case studies in industry
KW - Influencing factors
KW - Research and development management
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84859243226&partnerID=8YFLogxK
M3 - Conference contribution
AN - SCOPUS:84859243226
SN - 9781904670070
T3 - DS 58-3: Proceedings of ICED 09, the 17th International Conference on Engineering Design
SP - 275
EP - 286
BT - DS 58-3
Y2 - 24 August 2009 through 27 August 2009
ER -