Open the Dialogue! Strategic tools for improving innovation management in a multi-cultural engineering environment Alejandro Acevedo TovarIStrategic Product Design

Contents Context Approach Findings Strategy

Contents Context Approach Findings Strategy

About Driessen Driessen Aerospace is the world market leader in galleys Recently won a tender with Airbus to be the sole provider of galleys for all new A320. Changes in the way of doing business. Internal changes that will require a better distribution of tasks and responsibilities. Doing very well, want to do even better.

About Driessen

Problem Description Development Engineering (NL) Product Engineering (CZ) New production location in Tunisia The 3 locations must be linked and work as a team Avoiding throwing ‘over-the-wall’ situations. Development Engineering NL Real Innovation Product Engineering CZ High complexity Product Engineering TN Low Complexity Engineering Department – Driessen Galleys Europe

How can Driessen establish a well-defined yet flexible way of working among Driessen’s facilities that improves collaboration, facilitates the transition of knowledge and strengthens the innovation culture within the company? Research question “ ”

Contents Context Approach Findings Strategy

Interviews Semi-structured Open conversation Balanced between management, Sr., and Jr. engineers. In Alkmaar as well as in Czech Republic.

Literature research Related topics Management of innovation Best practice studies in NPD Automotive industry experience Interdepartmental collaboration Cultural differences Etc….

Connecting Clustering by related topics Connecting quotes with literature Identifying most important topics

Main topics Organizational culture Management of innovation Idea Generation Processes NPD Strategy Culture of Innovation Collaboration Coordination Sharing Knowledge Cultural differences Communication Barriers

Contents Context Approach Findings Strategy

Organizational culture Lack of management of innovation Basically market-pulled Ideation process is unclear Market research is practically non existent The current process is more suitable for incremental innovations The new NPD process is a good base for real innovations More iteration between departments in earlier stages. Gradually less iterative towards implementation. NPD the strategy is unclear at corporate level In spite of the issues the moral and image is very high

Organizational culture Best practices NPD culture is dangerously weak in most businesses. Clearly defined and organizationally visible NPD goals In most companies, Idea generation and management seem to be rather poorly managed in the FFE. Automotive’s perspective Turned to ‘front load’ all the potential problems to the pre- project phase (FFE of the project). Innovation management is an interplay between product development projects and knowledge activities

Collaboration Inter-departmental coordination depends on the level of analyzability of the problem. Common Understanding is the integrating condition with more influence in collaboration Sharing of knowledge to solve novel problems first takes the form of informal conversations Dutch are perceived as more outspoken than the Czechs. Dutch are also considered more flexible Czechs require the complete information before starting Czechs avoid uncertainty. Common languages such as visual communication tools or using boundary objects are needed.

Collaboration Best practices Leading organizations rely greatly on cross-functional teams throughout the NPD process Balanced mix of radical projects and incremental projects. Concept, product and market testing is consistently undertaken and expected with all NPD projects. Automotive’s perspective Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW) is used in information technology and telecommunications (IT&T) to aid in the co-working of individuals or groups of individuals. R&D remains highly geographically concentrated in the global economic core

Organizational culture and collaboration are deeply related. Nevertheless and due to the nature and complexity of culture- related issues, the best way to influence them is through changes in collaboration. For this reason the approaches to the issues in general from an SPD perspective could be better solved by tackling collaboration issues. Towards a solution

Contents Context Approach Findings Strategy

Alternatives

CS Toolkit for the FFE VR as a boundary object

Alternatives

CS toolkit for the FFE

What is it about? Involves different parties in the creative process Formalizes the ideation in the FFE Contains guidelines, techniques and tools for quickly preparing and performing a CS. Clear division of roles (Problem owner, facilitator, Resource group) More than just brainstorming

CS toolkit for the FFE Booklets Technique cards Tools

CS toolkit for the FFE Testing

CS toolkit for the FFE A pilot session was carried to test how it works and receive feedback from those who will use it in the future. The test was planned and developed entirely by Driessen staff, were I had the role of a participant in the group. Testing

CS toolkit for the FFE After the CS, a feedback session followed. The overall perception the way the session worked was quite positive. Each role made recommendations from his perspective The comments were taken into account to make corrections Testing

CS toolkit for the FFE Final

CS toolkit for the FFE FRONT BACK Final

CS toolkit for the FFE Final

CS toolkit for the FFE Final

CS toolkit for the FFE Final

Formalized way of working and collaborating in the FFE. Opens the space for other no-creative departments to share knowledge. Enough flexibility to adapt the techniques to different types of problems and participants Highlight large-scale forces that push the future in different directions CS toolkit for the FFE

Virtual Reality setup

Collaboration is the key for common understanding, opens dialogue and improves the organizational culture Allows different engineering departments to communicate and share information effectively Build upon each other with a common boundary object. Virtual Reality setup

Components

Virtual Reality setup

Costs

Payback & ROI

The challenge in this initiative resides in the costs of implementation Faster decision making Reduction of time in testing and prototyping Reduction of costs of prototyping and testing Improvement of common understanding between engineering teams Open the dialogue with a more common-to-all visual language Virtual Reality setup

Roadmap

Recommendations Einstein defined madness as doing the same thing over and over expecting to have a different result. To become more proactive and set the base ground for the overall organizational culture in terms of innovation, Driessen must dare to do things differently; to try out other approaches, methods and techniques. Changing organizational culture is a process that won’t be solved with one single isolated action; it requires constant improvement and commitment from the parties involved, upper management in particular. Tools are only tools and will not change anything unless people learn how to use them and use them constantly. Change is the only thing that is constant.

Questions? Thank you

Alternatives Criteria