Engineering framework for the future: Cynefin for engineers

Companies of the engineer-to-order (ETO) business face various trends such as digitalization and globalization. These trends will radically impact our ways of engineering. The Engineering framework translates Dave Snowden's Cynefin framework [2] to the engineering world. Cynefin for Engineers allows structuring future ways of engineering and guiding ETO companies along their transformation of engineering processes. First, this paper carves out four basic categories of engineering in the ETO business - ‘Easy Engineering', ‘Perfect Engineering', ‘Pioneer Engineering' and ‘Crisis Engineering'- and describes their distinctive characteristics and implications for engineering companies. Second, this paper elaborates engineering scenarios that show how the described trends will change the way of working in respective engineering categories. It further outlines how the trends will change relative importance of the engineering categories within the ETO business. Finally, the contribution discusses what challenges engineering companies need to tackle on their way to the future of engineering.