Nematerijalni indikatori u razvoju tehničkih sustava

Kontinuirano mjerenje i praćenje izvedbe projekata razvoja tehničkih sustava nužno je za objektivnu i jasnu procjenu dinamike ostvarivanja ciljeva, ranu detekciju i ispravljanje pogrešaka, te davanje pravodobne povratne informacije potrebne za uspješno upravljanje projektima. Tradicionalni pristupi upravljanja projektima razvoja tehničkih sustava uobičajeno koriste materijalne indikatore za mjerenje izvedbe projekta. Da bi informacija o izvedbi projekta bila potpuna, potrebno je uključiti i socio-tehničku perspektivu – značajke sudionika, procesa i radnoga okruženja. Socio-tehnička se perspektiva može opisati pomoću operativnih nematerijalnih indikatora s naglaskom na ponašanje pojedinaca i timova, razmjenu znanja te rješavanje tehničkih problema i stvaranje novih ideja. Analiza individualnog i timskog rada u hijerarhijskim organizacijskim strukturama osnova je za bolje razumijevanje, praćenje i mjerenje dinamike izvedbe projekata. Modeliranjem dinamike nematerijalnih operativnih indikatora omogućuje se proaktivno upravljanje projektima razvoja tehničkih sustava i prepoznavanje operativnih rizika vezanih uz te indikatore. U okviru disertacije predloženi su nematerijalni indikatori svrstani u četiri cjeline intelektualnog kapitala na individualnoj i timskoj razini: kompetencije i znanje, komunikacija i razmjena informacija, inovativnost i ideacija te motivacija i zadovoljstvo. Predloženi je popis nematerijalnih indikatora poslužio kao polazište za izradu ankete, razvoj aplikacije za uzorkovanje rada i osmišljavanje integracije s IT sustavima, čime se omogućuje praćenje izvedbe pojedinaca i timova u stvarnom vremenu. Uzorkovanje rada do sada nije korišteno u ovom kontekstu, te omogućuje kvantitativno i objektivnije prikupljanje podataka o aktivnostima u razvoju tehničkih sustava na individualnoj i timskoj razini. U okviru doktorskog rada, definiran je i model agregacije koji omogućuje izračun agregiranih vrijednosti indikatora za cjeline intelektualnog kapitala. Koristeći težinske faktore dobivene pomoću Metode potencijala, agregirana vrijednost indikatora izračunava se upotrebom diferencijalno ponderirane linearne agregacije. Studija slučaja provedena je u tvrtki čije su istraživačke i razvojne djelatnosti orijentirane na sustave za proizvodnju, distribuciju i transformaciju električne energije. Nakon provedene studije slučaja analiza indikatora omogućila je detaljan uvid u izvođenje aktivnosti tijekom razvoja ugradbenih upravljačkih sustava i vrednovanje predložene metode. Postupak vrednovanja podijeljen je na dva dijela: 1. vrednovanje izvedivosti i korisnosti metode i 2. vrednovanje rezultata. Vrednovanje izvedivosti i korisnosti metode obuhvaćalo je usporedbu s pristupima u literaturi, upotrebu studije slučaja i razmatranje primjene metode u širem kontekstu. Prvi dio vrednovanja potvrdio je da su pojedinačni indikatori pravilno definirani i da predložena metoda ispunjava namijenjenu svrhu u smislu unutarnje konzistentnosti i vanjske relevantnosti. Za vrednovanje rezultata nematerijalnih indikatora poslužila je usporedba s rezultatima analize organizacijskih rizika dobivenih primjenom organizacijske metamatrice (društvena mreža, mreža znanja, mreža resursa, mreža zadataka). Drugi dio vrednovanja potvrdio je trendove indikatora te komplementarnost predložene metode s metodama za analizu organizacijskih rizika

MAPPING RISKS ON VARIOUS PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT PROCESS TYPES

The goal of this research is to enhance the understanding of various categories of risks in product development (PD) and to carry out a comparative study on how risks occur in different phases of PD processes. Based on an extensive literature overview and the analysis of several risk identification methods, a Risk Breakdown Structure was created for product development. Mapping of identified risks, as the main contribution of the presented research, provides information about the existence of certain risk categories and subcategories in different phases of the product development process. The obtained information facilitates more successful risk identification in PD. The mapping was created in order to enable a comparison between certain PD process types by using the criterion of suitability for managing and coping with specific risk categories. To validate the proposed mapping, a questionnaire was sent to R&D organisations

Relating Problem-Solving Approach to Turn-Taking in Communication of Design Teams

This paper builds on the turn-taking model of verbal communication and proposes a framework for relating the problem-solving style to the turn-taking model. The framework aims at enabling a more comprehensive investigation of verbal communication in team design activities. An empirical study has been conducted to test the framework and identify the relationship between individuals\u27 problem-solving styles and the corresponding percentages of turn transitions. The results show a non-linear relationship between diversity in Orientation to Change and Ways of Deciding dimensions of problem-solving style and the percentage of turn transitions. The non-linear relationship has been explained by referring to team diversity-related theories on information/decision-making and social categorisation. The empirical study demonstrated that the framework is useful for providing a more comprehensive description of communication patterns within design teams

FRAMEWORK FOR CRISIS-RESISTANT ENGINEERING PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT COURSES

This paper proposes a framework for the systematic adaptation and digitalisation of engineering product development courses in the event of a crisis. Applicants can use resources of the framework to identify crisis-related boundary conditions that impact the delivery of education and are assisted in determining the necessary level of course digitalisation to respond to the crisis. Furthermore, the framework comprehends a review of modern educational teaching objectives, as well as a table containing tools and methodologies linked to educational targets. These can be used to enhance course design to keep students independently of their learning profiles engaged in study activities and to uphold an excellent knowledge acquisition in a volatile environment. An exemplary application of the framework on a CAD course in a higher education context guides the educator through the processes

The characterisation of engineering activity through email communication and content dynamics, for support of engineering project management

Significant challenge exists in the effective monitoring and management of engineering design and development projects. Due to traits such as contextual variation and scale, detailed understanding of engineering projects and activity are difficult to form, with monitoring hence reliant on interpretation of managerial personnel and adherence to defined performance indicators. This paper presents a novel approach to the quantitative monitoring and analysis of engineering activity through computational topic identification and analysis of low-level communication data. Through three metrics of communication activity, this approach enables detailed detection and tracking of activity associated with specific project work areas. By application to 11,832 emails within two industry email corpora, this work identifies four distinct patterns in activity, and derives seven characteristics of communication activity within engineering design and development. Patterns identified are associated with background discussion, focused working, and the appearance of issues, supporting detailed managerial understanding. Characteristics identified relate to through-process norms against which a manager may compare and assess. Such project-specific information extends the ability of managers to understand the activity within their specific project scenario. Through detailed description of activity and its characteristics, in tandem with existing toolsets, a manager may be supported in their interpretation and decision-making processes.</jats:p