Why design is difficult to manage: A survey of attitudes and practices in British industry

Dumas, Angela; Whitfield, Allan

doi:10.1016/0263-2373(89)90143-6

Cited by 20 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…One of the problem seems to be the fact that it is not so easy to identify design activities and its role within the company (Dumas and Whitfield, 1989). A number of explanations have been put forward ranging from the illiteracy of the managers, tradition-bound behaviour, risk aversion and cost constraints (Kotler and Rath, 1984).…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Harnessing the ‘Essential Tension’ of Design: The Complex Relationship between the Firm and Designer Consultants

Filippetti

2010

SSRN Journal

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Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Harnessing the ‘Essential Tension’ of Design: The Complex Relationship between the Firm and Designer Consultants

Filippetti

2010

SSRN Journal

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“…They also call attention to the importance of training general managers, marketing staff, and engineers to understand design, and, in turn, to encourage designers to be aware of and learn about the role and function of these members of staff (Kotler and Rath, 1984). Dumas and Whitfield (1989) coincide with the former view and add that, since it is unlikely that those involved recognise the activities of all participants in the design process, it is also unlikely that a structure (that is, a business function in the conventional sense) can develop in such a way that enables effective cooperation between these professionals. This challenges the process of coalescing design expertise with firm innovation strategy.…”

Section: The Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

Knowledge systematisation, reconfiguration and the organisation of firms and industry: The case of design

2014

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The paper explores two pathways that are crucial for making knowledge economically usefulknowledge systematisation and knowledge reconfiguration-and analyses how their interplay enables the emergence of a new business function or activity. Knowledge systematisation is the abstraction and diffusion of operative principles to the effect of expanding to broader remits practices that had been initially conceived for a narrow purpose. Knowledge reconfiguration involves the conversion and formalisation of these novel practices within existing firm and industry organisation. Using the design activity as a lens, and drawing on primary and secondary interviews and archival data on the home furnishing sectors in Italy, our case study articulates the processes that facilitate the abstraction of general rules from novel practices and the changes that are necessary, both within firm and industry organisation, to foster their diffusion.

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“…Dumas and Whitfield [9] have indicated in their research that "industry, in its relationship with the design function, is not a uniform domain which can be addressed simply and directly; rather it is segmented with each type exhibiting a unique culture/practice profile. As such, it argues against a simplistic approach to the management of design within industry and suggests a greater need for tailor-made solutions".…”

Section: Variables Related To the Organisationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Author 3 (Nieberding) of this paper, has worked in South African companies of various sizes, and can confirm through experience that these descriptions are also typical for South African companies. Organisational structure Dumas et al [9] have indicated how the following two variables related to the internal structure of an organisation can influence the way that product development is implemented:…”

Section: Organisational Sizementioning

confidence: 99%

Tailoring the development process according to the context of the project

Preez

Lutters

Nieberding

2009

CIRP Journal of Manufacturing Science and Technology

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As part of a research project on design methodology, the authors have developed a framework to facilitate the tailoring of the product development process according to the context of the project. In the first part of this paper, the reader is introduced to the framework. The second part presents two case studies conducted during the Management of Product Development course at the University of Twente. The case studies were intended to validate deployment of the framework to facilitate the selection and/or tailoring of the development process of a chosen product. This depends on the circumstances surrounding the product and the organisation that develops it.The first case study analyses the development process proposed by students for a product they chose, without exposure to the framework. In contrast the second case study analyses the proposed development processes of a group of students after they were exposed to the framework. This paper presents the differences observed in the proposed development processes when the major variables that influence this process are highlighted. Keywords:Engineering design and development, development process INTRODUCTION 1.Models of the product development life cycleIn order to improve the quality and efficiency of the development process, researchers in the field of design research have modelled the life cycle of the product development process since the 1960's. Within the engineering fraternity models range from the simple models such as the one by French [1] to very complex models, for instance, the model for systems engineering [2]. The model described in the guideline number 2221 of the Society of German Engineers (VDI) [3] is a typical example of average complexity. Generally these models are characterised by the following [4]

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Why design is difficult to manage: A survey of attitudes and practices in British industry

Cited by 20 publications

References 2 publications

Harnessing the ‘Essential Tension’ of Design: The Complex Relationship between the Firm and Designer Consultants

Harnessing the ‘Essential Tension’ of Design: The Complex Relationship between the Firm and Designer Consultants

Knowledge systematisation, reconfiguration and the organisation of firms and industry: The case of design

Tailoring the development process according to the context of the project

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