Exploring knowledge and information needs in engineering from the past and for the future – results from a survey

https://orbit.dtu.dk/files/106639814/Activity_Theory_as_a_means_postprint.pdf

Activity Theory as a means for multi-scale analysis of the engineering design process: A protocol study of design in practice

https://researchportal.port.ac.uk/portal/files/5569364/ADVEI_Accepted_2017_H_Wang.pdf

A collaborative system for capturing and reusing in-context design knowledge with an integrated representation model

E-mails are, rightly or wrongly, a staple of the information and communication technology for managing work and collaborative activities. This paper examines the value of the content of e-mail at a project level rather than at the often-studied level of the individual user. The dataset consists of e-mails authored by an engineering team associated with a large, complex, long term, systems integration project, typical of the aerospace, marine, and defense sectors. The research applied a qualitative content analysis methodology to classify the content (what the e-mail contains) and purpose (why the e-mail was sent) of the e-mail in the dataset. The results of the content analysis were compared and contrasted with secondary evidence from interviews and project documentation to enable a time-phased analysis. The findings show that classifying e-mail content by the categories of management, information, and problem-solving transactions revealed signatures that align with project phases and, more importantly, problems encountered. Finally, we found that the purpose of e-mail is not necessarily consistent with the designated job role or responsibility of the sender or recipient. This paper contributes to empirical data on the relation between communication and project performance and the changing nature of e-mail communication throughout the lifecycle of a project. The findings point to a new way to leverage e-mail content to “manage by e-mail”.

Managing by E-Mail: What E-mail Can Do for Engineering Project Management

This paper describes some research stimulated by a fundamental shift that is occurring in the manufacture and marketing of aero engines for commercial and defence purposes, away from the selling of products to the provision of services. The collaborating aerospace company offers contracts under which it remains responsible for the maintenance of engines which have been purchased by airlines through these contracts based on payment for usage. This has triggered a major re-assessment of the design of aero engines to reduce their overall life cycle costs, while maintaining performance efficiency. In this context, the use of in-service experience of existing engines is important in the design of components and systems of a new engine, to tackle in-service issues through design and thus to reduce maintenance costs and increase reliability. This paper aims at identifying designers’ requirements regarding in-service information. Semi-structured interviews with designers from an aerospace company were conducted; after these interviews, the designers were requested to comment on a set of questions regarding in-service information, indicating how frequently they might ask each of them when designing a new component or system. In addition, some documents containing the in-service information considered by the designers in designing components and systems of a new engine were analysed. The results indicate what in-service information is required by designers for this new task.

/pdf/in-service-information-required-by-engineering-designers-1b53yrshot.pdf

In-service information required by engineering designers

It is widely believed that email is increasingly becoming the medium where in collaborative engineering work is done; yet, this assumption has not been properly examined. Thus, the extent of engineering information contained in emails and their potential importance within the context of knowledge management is unknown. To address this question, a study was undertaken with a large aerospace propulsion company to investigate the role and characteristics of email communication in engineering design projects. This paper describes the development of a taxonomy and classification method for achieving an understanding of email content and hence its use. The proposed approach is based on relevant techniques for analyzing communication and design text. The method codes the content of e-mail based on a hierarchical scheme by assigning email to categories and sub-categories that denote what topics the email is about, for which communicative purpose it has been sent, and whether it shows evidence of engineering work. The method is applied to a corpus related to the full life cycle of an engineering design project. Metrics for validation are discussed and applied to a sample case. Exemplar findings are presented to illustrate the type of investigations the method supports—including eliciting knowledge about project performance and identifying and accessing engineering knowledge. Finally, lessons from the development of the method, including a discussion of iteratively adaptive variants used to arrive at the final outcome, are discussed.

Understanding engineering email: the development of a taxonomy for identifying and classifying engineering work

Emails in engineering design projects: An approach for analysing their information content

It is said, though not yet assessed, that a large amount of potentially valuable information may reside in engineering email correspondence. If this is the case, then due consideration must be given to the role of email for record keeping, Product Lifecycle Management and knowledge management. In order to examine this hypothesis, a methodology for assessing the information content of emails, and in particular those associated with engineering projects, has been created. The method is based on a textual analysis approach that is derived from cognitive design research and social psychology and further developed through iterative applications to industrial datasets. The paper describes the development of the approach and its classifications of what the subject of the email is, why the email has been sent, and how its content is expressed. The approach is validated using an email corpus from a software design project. The method is then applied to characterize the content of 800 emails from a large systems engineering project. The key findings from this major study are then presented and discussed with respect to the character of the content, including evidence of engineering work, the project lifecycle, and implications for information and knowledge management.Copyright © 2009 by ASME

Engineering Work and Email: An Analysis of the Information Content of Email in a Major Systems Engineering Project

A collection of successful individuals does not necessarily make a successful team. A comprehensive review of existing methods for forming teams was undertaken, identifying important aspects to consider. In an experiment following fourteen teams, each member’s Belbin roles, academic profiles, skill disciplines and aspects of their tasks were evaluated against team ability. Findings showed the importance of selecting the correct leader and achieving a balance of roles amongst the team. Evidence that different team profiles could be suited to different tasks was also found. Implications for developing a more holistic team selection model are discussed.

/pdf/guiding-team-selection-and-the-use-of-the-belbin-approach-1y01ixibcw.pdf

James Wasiak

Papers

Understanding engineering email: the development of a taxonomy for identifying and classifying engineering work

Managing by E-Mail: What E-mail Can Do for Engineering Project Management

Emails in engineering design projects: An approach for analysing their information content

Engineering Work and Email: An Analysis of the Information Content of Email in a Major Systems Engineering Project

Guiding team selection and the use of the Belbin approach