Agenda
• Motivation
• Research Framework
• Key Constructs
• Objectives
• Research Methods
• Current Progress
• Next Step

Twomey Lamb, Caroline

DSpace@MIT

Promoting Collaborative Systems Thinking Through the Alignment of Culture   and Process:The Lean LinkPresenting Author:Caroline Twomey LambDoctoral Research AssistantMassachusetts InstituteResearch Advisor:Donna H. RhodesSenior LecturerMassachusetts Institute  of Technologycmtwomey@mit.edu  of Technologyrhodes@mit.eduLAI Plenary: April 18, 2007Enterprise Transformation: Closing the Gap between Knowledge and ImplementationAgenda• Motivation• Research FrameworkK C t t• ey ons ruc s• Objectives• Research Methods• Current Progress • Next StepsSlide 2 of 14LAI Plenary: Enterprise Transformation, April 18, 2007 Caroline Twomey Lamb © Motivation• Aging demographics within engineering– Average age of engineer within US = 45 (NA Report, 2006)– Average age of engineer at NASA = 49 (Lemos, 2006)• Increasing system complexity and development time (Murman et al 2002) , . , – 48 military aircraft program starts in 1950’s– 7 program starts in 1990’s• Systems thinkers able to better cope with       complexity• Experiential learning best for systems thinking development (Davidz 2006) , • Process certification increasingly contractually required• Team is the primary working unitSlide 3 of 14LAI Plenary: Enterprise Transformation, April 18, 2007 Caroline Twomey Lamb ©       Research Framework • 3 key conceptsCollaborative– Standardized process– Culture– Systems thinkingWithi t f iSystems Thinking• n eams o  eng neers• Collaborative systems thinking• Desire to explore construct interactions S d di d • Identify enablers and barriers                             to collaborative systems thinking• Borrowing ideas from lean thinkingCulture tan ar zeProcess    – Teamwork– Standardization– Recognition of individual not just processSlide 4 of 14LAI Plenary: Enterprise Transformation, April 18, 2007 Caroline Twomey Lamb ©   ,   Standardized Process Process: a logical sequence of tasks performed to achieve some objective.  Process defines what is to be done withoutspecifying how it is to be done. --James Martin, 1997• Codify best practices and facilitate effective coordination and communication.• Drive interactions within teams and between teams• Reduce ambiguity and unpredictability (Schein, 2004)TPS based on strict standardization•      • Process alone insufficient to guarantee success in product development (Dougherty, 1990; Spear and Bowen, 1999)Slide 5 of 14LAI Plenary: Enterprise Transformation, April 18, 2007 Caroline Twomey Lamb © CultureCulture: a dynamic phenomenon and a set of structures, routines, and norms that guide and constraint behavior.--Edgar Schein, 2004• Components of culture– Norms of behaviorf– Espoused belie s– Basic underlying assumptions• Effective team norms do not evolve naturally and must be fostered (Hackman, 2002)    • Team norms constitute unwritten set of standardized processes• Culture a differentiator between successful and unsuccessful organizationsSlide 6 of 14LAI Plenary: Enterprise Transformation, April 18, 2007 Caroline Twomey Lamb ©  Systems Thinking Systems thinking: the analysis, synthesis, and understanding of interconnections, interactions, and interdependencies that are technical, social, temporal, and multi-level.--Heidi Davidz, 2006• Experientially developed skill that facilitates system design (Davidz, 2006)I d bilit d h dl l it– mprove  a y o an e comp ex y– Saves development time– May promote process optimization• Evaluating systems thinking of group more important       than individual– Teams design systems– Teams responsible for managing and maintaining tSlide 7 of 14LAI Plenary: Enterprise Transformation, April 18, 2007 Caroline Twomey Lamb © sys emsCollaborative Systems Thinking  Collaborative systems thinking: systems thinking as a property of an engineering team or organization. • Term coined to refer to higher-level systems thinking in engineering contexts• Systems thinking likely linked to context– Necessitates looking at team and organizational levelsH i ht ll b ti t thi ki diff• ow m g  co a ora ve sys ems n ng er from individual systems thinking?– Teams and organizations produce products– Borrow ideas of value and efficiency from lean thinkingSlide 8 of 14LAI Plenary: Enterprise Transformation, April 18, 2007 Caroline Twomey Lamb ©         Research Objectives • Operational definition of collaborative systems thinking (CST)• Identify enablers and barriers to CSTStandardized process–   – Culture• Explain how CST develops• Identify best practices,                      heuristics for aligning culture                  and process – Ways to tailor process– Feedback mechanismsB t tiSlide 9 of 14LAI Plenary: Enterprise Transformation, April 18, 2007 Caroline Twomey Lamb © – es  prac ces The Lean Link  • Lean as way to link culture and       process• Recognizes importance of teams and     people, not just processesC t f l d Culture• oncep s o  va ue an                    efficiency • Continual improvement                    fits modelSlide 10 of 14LAI Plenary: Enterprise Transformation, April 18, 2007 Caroline Twomey Lamb © Standard ProcessResearch Methods • Grounded theory based researchCh t i d b t dCase α– arac er ze  y concurren  an  systematic data collection, analysis, and theory development (Glaser and Strauss, 1967)Pilot inter ie s•  v w– Identify and define key concepts• Secondary case study analysis – Identify linkages between conceptsCase δCase γCase β   – Drive interview and survey questions development• Case studiesInterviewsDepthBreadth–– Primary document– Focus groups (simulations)– SurveysCase εCase ζSlide 11 of 14LAI Plenary: Enterprise Transformation, April 18, 2007 Caroline Twomey Lamb ©  Progress to Date  • Wrapping up pilot Pilotinterviews• Completing secondary case study analysis InterviewsS d  • Depth case study selectedecon ary Case Study Analysis– Collecting background information– Will collect team-based d i A il/MDepth Case Studyata start ng pr ay• Breadth case studies still to be identifiedBreadth Case StudiesSlide 12 of 14LAI Plenary: Enterprise Transformation, April 18, 2007 Caroline Twomey Lamb © Secondary Case Study Analysis• Based on 12+ cases published through AIAA, IEEE and LAI looking at ‘non technical’ aspects of complex product design  -      SharedOutside ReviewsProductCollaborative Systems Thinking* Mental ModelsManagement / OrganizationKnowledge SharingGood ProcessesDebate and DiscussionSuccessful teams are intrinsically rewarding—theTeam EmpowermentReal Involvement loop is reinforcingSlide 13 of 14LAI Plenary: Enterprise Transformation, April 18, 2007 Caroline Twomey Lamb © * Successful, multidisciplinary teams demonstrating meaningful exchanges of information were used a proxy for CSTSecondary Case Study Analysis• General ObservationsSystems thinking enables change–    – Team design important (selecting correct people)– Richness and completeness of communication important– Must allow and expect participation from all team members (real involvement)– Team membership improves knowledge and skill of participants– Communication must serve the problem– Well designed processes empower the user• ENABLERS– LEADERSHIP– Identification with product enabler   – Empowerment—freedom and ability to make meaningful decisions– Real and meaningful responsibility– Separating ideas from individuals—allowing for debate and critical analysis– Articulating team norms (beyond SP)• BARRIERS– Complexity of product is a barrier to change in methods– Identification with function is barrier– Hero-based culture a barrier– Visionary leader encapsulating tacit knowledge of projectSlide 14 of 14LAI Plenary: Enterprise Transformation, April 18, 2007 Caroline Twomey Lamb ©       – Failure to align team involvement with career advancementPilot Interview Analysis  • Defining Collaborative Systems Thinking (CST)Teams deliver completed products–    – CST should include idea of delivering product/value• Strong agreement that standardized process an enabler of CST• Culture can be either an enabler or barrier– Enablers• Willing to ask and answer questions• Identifying with product (startups, black programs)– Barriers• ‘Hero’ culture • Failure to consider social dimensions when forming teams• Identifying with function • Resistance to change• Leadership is key component of CST– Leader with systems thinking capabilities– Leader working closely with systems thinkers on team• Standards and conventions may play even larger role than standard process (culture-process boundary)Slide 15 of 14LAI Plenary: Enterprise Transformation, April 18, 2007 Caroline Twomey Lamb © Next Steps • Next steps – Identify ‘breadth’ case studies Unarticulated team norms Documented tasks and methodsCulture Standardized Process – Design survey and interview for caseEspoused beliefsVision statements   studiesUnderlying assumptionsStrategy for standardizationSocial networks Process flow maps, org-chartsSlide 16 of 14LAI Plenary: Enterprise Transformation, April 18, 2007 Caroline Twomey Lamb © Selected References • Davidz, Heidi, Enabling Systems Thinking to Accelerate the Development of Senior Systems Engineers, Doctor of Philosophy in Engineering,        Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 2006. • Dougherty, Deborah, “Understanding New Markets for New Products”, Strategic Management Journal, 11, 1990, pp 59-78.• Glaser, B., and Strauss, A., The Discovery of Grounded Theory. Aldine Publishing Company Chicago IL 1967 , , , .• Hackman, J. Richard, Leading Teams. Harvard Business School Press, Boston, MA, 2002.• Lemos, Robert, “NASA Fights Premature Graying”, Wired News, http://www.wired.com/news/technology/space/0,71822-0.html, (Accessed December 2006), .• Martin, James, Systems Engineering Guidebook. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL, 1997.• Murman, E., et.al., Lean Enterprise Value. Palgrave, New York, NY, 2002.• Roberts, C. and Kleiner, A., Five Kinds of Systems Thinking, The Dance of Ch D bl D N Y k NY 1999 13 148ange, ou e- ay, ew or , , , pp 7- . • Schein, Edgar, Organizational Culture and Leadership. Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, CA, 2004.• Spear, S. and Bowen, H.K., “Decoding the DNA of the Toyota Production System”, Harvard Business Review, Sept-Oct, 1999, pp 96-106. Slide 17 of 14LAI Plenary: Enterprise Transformation, April 18, 2007 Caroline Twomey Lamb © 

Promoting Collaborative Systems Thinking Through the Alignment of Culture and Process: The Lean Link

http://dspace.mit.edu/bitstream/1721.1/83228/1/PLN_07_1D_Lamb_Promoting_Systems_Thinking.pdf

Promoting Collaborative Systems Thinking Through the Alignment of Culture and Process: The Lean Link

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

DSpace@MIT