Abstract

Communication is crucial for engineering design teams. It permeates every aspect of their work – from discussions about product specifications to chats shaping social ties. While the power and importance of communication is recognised by many authors few dare to give recommendations for practitioners. Building on previous research conducted at the Engineering Design Centre (EDC), the aim of Denniz’ work was to find recommendations for improving communication related factors in engineering design teams. This was approached by a systematic literature review, spanning multiple disciplines, such as engineering design, management science, sociology and psychology. Factors relating to communication are categorised into four: information, the individual, the team and the organisation. Recommendations for managerial actions to improve each factor are evaluated according to their potential impact in terms of cost and benefits. Findings from literature yield common sense answers but also include some unexpected results.

About the author: Denniz is researching for his diploma thesis as part of the degree in engineering from the Institute of Product Development at the Technical University of Munich. He has been working with the chair of Prof. Lindemann before. In parallel, Denniz studied for another degree in Technology Management.