Characterizing Design Process Interfaces as Organization Networks

What is it about?

By characterizing process interfaces as organization networks we provide a more detailed understanding of how information dependencies between design activities are actually executed and managed. The proposed approach models each process interface as a socio-technical network of people and activities, connecting activity-based models of the design process with engineering design theory that describes design as a social process. This characterization generates a platform for further research and analysis of the actual design process, enabling the comparison of the actual process with planned or idealized process models. In addition, through the application of the proposed approach in an industrial setting we provided a pilot study that serves as a test of the feasibility and usefulness of such an approach in the context of systems engineering.

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Why is it important?

In this article we tackle an unresolved area in the understanding and management of complex engineering design projects: the interfaces between engineering activities. In the article we explore in detail what constitutes an interface between two activities. Furthermore, we propose a concrete model and method to characterize such interfaces and measure the impact of their characteristics on interface problems.