Networked Engineering Design Projects - Case Study Proposal

Networked Engineering Design Projects Case Study Proposal

PhD (c) Pedro Parraguez Ruiz Associate Professor Dr. Anja Maier March 2013

About this research project Networked Engineering Design Projects A study of cross-boundary new product development through social network analysis Short description: This PhD research studies engineering design projects as networked social processes. Its main goal is to describe, analyse and support the engineering design process (or R&D) of complex products across organisational and functional boundaries.

A key hypothesis is that the project network structure and its dynamics have an impact in its performance. The analysis and visualisation of these networks can be used as an enabler of reflective practice, a tool to manage complexity, diagnose organisational problems and identify opportunities for improvements.

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DTU Management Engineering, Technical University of Denmark Pedro Parraguez Ruiz – March 2013

Research Background A network approach • The research focus is on engineering design activities and their interconnectedness. The network of activities allows for a systemic analysis of efficiency and effectiveness.

• The management of cascading engineering changes through the complex system of design and manufacturing requires a better overview of the network.

Graph with performance distribution across project activities

• Managers can use network insights to structure team integration and coordination mechanisms for groups of concurrently scheduled tasks. This facilitates project planning and execution.

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DTU Management Engineering, Technical University of Denmark Pedro Parraguez Ruiz – March 2013

Network distribution of responsibilities, relative time requirements and functional teams for a selected set of activities

The impact of network analysis on the industry Examples • Detection of problems due to misalignments between intra-organisational boundaries and the project objectives.

• Diagnose issues in the allocation of responsibilities and work loads in the teams that were affecting project performance.

• Identification of unplanned “gatekeepers” of information that could limit access to critical external resources.

• A more complete and shared network overview can help to align KPIs between different stakeholders, providing incentives to collaborate through the recognition of the interlinked performance.

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DTU Management Engineering, Technical University of Denmark Pedro Parraguez Ruiz – March 2013

Outputs examples* Interaction overloads affecting the teams

Insufficient interaction with production ?

Stakeholders

22

3 8

42

9

Sales 34

R&D

Production

3

13,5

43

The diagram shows the interaction intensity within and between departments for a given project.

This can be used to better understand and manage cross-functional interactions.

Unclear responsibilities leading to project delays

Participants connected through design activities and their reported interactions.

Provides an overview of the project, identifies potential knowledge silos, social roles and interactions with external stakeholders.

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DTU Management Engineering, Technical University of Denmark Pedro Parraguez Ruiz – March 2013

Summary of the social interactions in the context of the project.

Performance issues cascading through the network

Activity performance heat-map. Network of activities and their performance (in colour) allows to identify conflicting areas, check for cascading effects and strategically plan interventions.

Grey overlay text boxes only shown for illustrative purposes.

Activity ! Activity Areas Design Definition Activities

-Each coloured node shows one design activity -Size of the halo indicates relative number of people participating from the activity -Each colour represents an area of development.

-The white nodes are the labels for the area of development

6 DTU Management Engineering, Technical University of Denmark Pedro Parraguez Ruiz – March 2013

Certain activities act as social bridges between development areas.

Expected benefits for participating companies •

Obtain an overview of the interactions, underlying activity and social networks between and within engineering design activities.

•

Map the interactions between the selected project and key departments and organisations.

•

Identification of network factors that could be affecting the performance of engineering design projects.

•

Provide a concrete way in which to assess the network structure and dynamic of the projects.

•

Identification of best practices based on the diagnosis and the key factors affecting the performance of the projects.

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DTU Management Engineering, Technical University of Denmark Pedro Parraguez Ruiz – March 2013

Provide a better understanding of the projects, facilitating the management of complexity and decision making processes. It also offers a way to identify idea diffusion and implementation dynamics.

Enrich performance measures with contingent evidence-based research

Utilise increased network awareness to reduce delivery time and costs as well as increase quality and agility.

Practicalities* • An estimate of 1 to 2 week(s) in-company study to characterize the project, the development process and gather the relational data.

• Analysis of project and company level documentation.

• Short questionnaires for the staff involved in the selected project* • Interviews with project manager and/or other project leader(s).

(Approx. 1 hour p/p) Other potential sources of information: • Supplier assessment tool (relational and performance data) • Process capability tool (to identify key activities and their performance) • Quality improvement tools (specially the implementation plan including the what, who, when and where)

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DTU Management Engineering, Technical University of Denmark Pedro Parraguez Ruiz – March 2013

*To be adapted to the individual company context.

Thanks Pedro Parraguez Ruiz PhD (c) DTU Management Engineering ppru@dtu.dk http://about.me/pedro.parraguez www.openinnovate.eu