Models in action: how management models are interpreted in new product development

Abstract

This paper studies the use of product development management models. Through an interpretive research approach based on in‐depth interviews with 22 middle managers in two product development organizations, five ways of conceiving projects, project management and the role of models are identified – administrative, organizing, sense giving, team building and engineering – all representing different perspectives on – and ways of using models. The findings question essentialist views of models, common in the literature, as either normative guides for action or symbolic tools decoupled from action. Instead, the study indicates a large variety in the use of models mediated by the user's conception of the situation and the model. The study highlights the communicative role of models as boundary objects, enabling coordination of and communication about different conceptions of the development task. Rather than contributing to behavioral standardization (an implicit assumption that underlies most formal models), this study suggests that models support cognitive standardization by providing a common set of concepts and a framework that may be drawn upon in making sense of complex product development projects.

Utilização De Modelo De Referência No Desenvolvimento De Produto: Estudo De Caso De Um Debulhador De Milho

“…A modelagem não é exclusividade apenas de processos fabris, mas também é de grande valor em processos de desenvolvimento de produtos (SMITH;MORROW, 1999;ENGWALL et al, 2005).…”

Sensegiving as mise-en-sens—The case of wind power development

“…For example, Pratt (2000) opposes sensegiving not to sensemaking but to sensebreaking, Dunford and Jones (2000) insist on the role of narrative in sensegiving, and Huzzard (2004) calls for a re-conceptualisation of the process of sensegiving toward an acknowledgement of it as being embedded in power relationships. Yet others do not refer at all to Gioia and Chittipeddi (1991), for example Engwall et al (2005) who claim that one of the roles of formal models for product development is to enable sensegiving, or Lamertz et al (2003) who approach issue evolutions as sensegiving battles.…”

Sensemaking in Virtual Teams: The Impact of Emotions and Support Tools on Team Mental Models and Team Performance

“…The use of such tools also improves accuracy of the team mental model because it helps team members understand who is working on what part of which system, where, when, and how, and increases the probability of correcting misaligned individual efforts (Orlikowski, 2002). Such tools also help develop a common language (Engwall et al, 2005) or a standard glossary (Smite, 2006) for a work team, both of which enhance the shared understandings among members of the project team.…”

“…Such tools help establish a shared perspective on a project and its plans, status, and deliverables by providing a common framework and set of work practices. Hence, the use of project management tools can enhance the development of similar understandings (Engwall, Kling & Werr, 2005), or greater similarity between individual mental models. The use of such tools also improves accuracy of the team mental model because it helps team members understand who is working on what part of which system, where, when, and how, and increases the probability of correcting misaligned individual efforts (Orlikowski, 2002).…”