Aligning technical and project management through participatory approaches: An industrial case study

Abstract

The importance of managing complexity in innovation has been highlighted both in research and practice, however the question remains: how can this be accomplished? Although there have been answers to this question, the practical alignment of process (project management) and system (technical management) viewpoints remains understudied. We responded to this challenge with an in-depth case study in high-tech industry. In this paper we applied Human Centered Design (HCD) and Action Research (AR) principles in a novel context, namely systems engineering. We identified main barriers and key players, essential information elements, and solution requirements. Using co-design, we iteratively generated solution concepts, out of which we selected and evaluated one candidate concept. We highlight two main areas in our results: 1) how participatory approaches can support solving systems engineering challenges in practice; and 2) how to align the process and system viewpoints. For the first, we discuss the implications, considering aspects like the time and effort investment, along with the benefits of ownership, empathy, democracy, and collective learning. Our insights show potential to further build on the application of participatory approaches in systems engineering to match existing solutions to the practice. For the latter one, we reflect on issues such as information overload, human aspects, and the new relationship between project managers and systems engineers. Considering the current complexity demands, it is crucial to establish a better alignment between these roles and between process and system viewpoints, as they cannot be left undefined and unsupported any longer.