Managing Lessons Learned and Tacit Knowledge in New Product Development

Exploring the 4I framework of organisational learning in product development: value stream mapping as a facilitator

“…Continuous improvement, which is an inherent component of lean product development (Rother 2009), not only demands individual learning but also organisational learning (OL). The literature offers case studies that identify a number of OL facilitators: post-project audits to learn from completed projects (Bartezzaghi et al 1997, Koners and Goffin 2005, Goffin and Koners 2008, Ruy and Alliprandini 2008, Goffin et al 2010), stage-gates or review sessions such as design reviews or quality audits to reflect on process strengths and weaknesses from which ideas for improvement can be drawn, feedforward planning processes such as best practice case studies (Jayawarna and Pearson 2003), and learning points shared by team members (Caffyn and Grantham 2003) to correct errors and, thus, trigger learning cycles during a project (Ruy and Alliprandini 2008), front-loading (e.g. In the manufacturing environment, it has been proven that collective learning processes require training and exercise and are not learned immediately (Van Eijnatten and Putnik 2010).…”

“…Also in new product development (NPD) processes, OL is more likely to occur if it is supported systematically. OL is perceived as an accumulation and subsequent reuse of experience within or between projects ( Bartezzaghi et al 1997, Gieskes andHyland 2003); as the set of cognitive and behavioural processes that results from a group of people collectively creating and shaping new knowledge (Sawy et al 2001); as individual or group inquisitiveness, challenging the status quo, experimenting, and learning from mistakes and positive outcomes (Caffyn and Grantham 2003); as the generation and transfer of tacit and explicit knowledge at the organisational level (Koners and Goffin 2005, Goffin and Koners 2008, Goffin et al 2010; as the interplay between feedback processes and feed-forward planning, which are essential for a company to learn and thereby improve (Jayawarna and Pearson 2003); as a combination of two social learning theories, namely Nonaka's knowledge sharing and creation theory as well as Wenger's theory of communities of practice (Smeds et al 2003); and as identifying and correcting errors based on an analysis of the process performance (Ruy and Alliprandini 2008). early prototyping) to shift problem solving cycles to earlier phases of NPD (Bartezzaghi et al 1997, Ruy andAlliprandini 2008), and the presence of a learning culture (Gieskes and Hyland 2003).…”

Low-Income Consumers as a Source of Innovation

“…It is regarded as highly personal and is often possessed unconsciously. Although the term "tacit knowledge" is widely used in innovation literature (see, for example, Takeuchi and Nonaka 1986;Mascitelli 2000;Hernández-Serrano et al 2002;Goffin et al 2010), it is also criticized as being a "black box" or "residual category" that encompasses all types of knowledge that cannot be easily codified (see, e.g., Styhre 2004, 178). Although the term "tacit knowledge" is widely used in innovation literature (see, for example, Takeuchi and Nonaka 1986;Mascitelli 2000;Hernández-Serrano et al 2002;Goffin et al 2010), it is also criticized as being a "black box" or "residual category" that encompasses all types of knowledge that cannot be easily codified (see, e.g., Styhre 2004, 178).…”

Experience Feedback Using Social Media: From the Product Lifecycle Phases to the Design Practices

“…Several researchers identified that narratives and story telling give the richest opportunities for articulating and sharing tacit and experiential knowledge [5] [16], especially when the lessons are high-context and situation specific [2]. Milton [2] stated that a story could support a lesson by providing valuable background and context, facilitating to understand the context when a new person reviewing the lesson, thereby guiding the person whether it applies within the new context or not.…”

“…Since product development is an iterative problemsolving process [3], many companies have been using past experiences in form of lessons learned to guide the design of future products in order to avoid reinventing the wheel each time by accessing its past mistakes or successes [4] [5]. Managing experiences is becoming even more important as manufacturing companies are undergoing a fundamental shift in their business operations and are increasingly moving away from the selling of products to the provision of services or Product-Service Systems (PSS) [6] [7].…”