AN INTEGRATED DESCRIPTIVE MODEL OF KNOWLEDGE CREATION IN INTERDISCIPLINARY PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT
Proceedings of the 10th International Workshop on Integrated Design Engineering
Year: 2014
Editor: Andreas Meyer, Robert Schirmeyer, Sándor Vajna
Author: Neumann, Frank
Institution: PACE Aerospace Engineering and Information Technology GmbH
Page(s): 009-017
ISBN: 978-2-491016-09-5
Abstract
Above all, interdisciplinary product development is perceived as interplay of individual and collective activities. Starting from this perception, the paper focuses on analysing the utilized and gained information and knowledge objects within such development processes, whereby individual and collective development activities have to be considered. As a theoretical basis for this analysis, the article introduces an integrated descriptive model of knowledge creation that allows a description of the interaction between individual and collective processes in product development and the sources of knowledge applied within these activities. It employs a model of cognitive activities in design for explaining the patterns of knowledge application and creation within individuals, whereas it adopts a model of organizational knowledge creation to describe collective processes. For the integration of these distinct models, the integrated descriptive model of knowledge creation is created following an approach that merges the two models based on their common conceptual elements. Furthermore, an analysis and modelling method is proposed that captures the various knowledge conversion activities described within the integrated descriptive model of knowledge creation. In combination, the integrated descriptive model and the analysis and modelling method constitute a research framework dedicated to the analysis of knowledge characteristics of interdisciplinary product development.
Keywords: Interdisciplinary Product Development, Mechatronics, Individual Knowledge Creation, Organizational Knowledge Creation