Nowadays, user integration is focused at an early stage of the innovation process by using methods of open innovation, especially of participatory design. The methods LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY®, gamification with LEGO® MINDSTORMS® as well as interactive workshops are investigated successfully concerning their suitability. This evaluation relates to various objectives and applications by dint of three case studies relating to factory planningmerged technologies, digitalization and professional education. The comparison of the used methods shows the need of a context-and objective-related preselection of methodological approaches of participatory design to tap their full potentials.

Both external and internal influences affect the way production systems are planned and operated. Long-standing trends combined with topics such as digitization and artificial intelligence are increasing the complexity of tackling problems in production systems. Along with this, there is the ever increasing risk of planning errors and the loss of long-term competitiveness. This paper presents an innovative approach that supports problem-solving processes in the planning and operation of production systems. For this purpose, qualitative structural modeling and analysis of problem situations are applied. At its core, the article focuses on a framework, which forms the basis for the modeling of problem situations, their analysis and the organizational and technical integration of the method. Furthermore, with the concept of building block based domain-relation models, a possibility is presented with which the structure of problem situations can be modeled and analyzed.

In this paper the potential of an agile simulation proceeding in start-ups is described. The authors from the Chemnitz University of Technology worked together withHeliatek GmbH on the vision of a large scale organic solar film production. To accomplish the project goals, it was necessary to implement an agile simulation process, so that the right information could be gathered and integrated in the simulation environment. Due to this a high knowledge gain in the company and by the project participants could be reached, but also deficits of actual use of simulation tools in SME became visible. At the

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