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Nanjappan, Vijayakumar; Casakin, Hernan; Soomro, Sohail Ahmed; Georgiev, Georgi V

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Digital Fabrication environments, such as FabLabs or Makerspaces, are dynamic environments that provide hands-on, collaborative work among individuals with diverse roles. Quality teamwork is essential for successful prototype development. Teamwork quality refers to how effectively a team collaborates, including aspects such as Communication, Coordination, Mutual Support, Effort, Cohesion, and Balance of Member Contribution. Teamwork with high-quality can foster shared understanding, effective problem-solving, and synergy among team members. This is essential for achieving the innovation and productivity goals of makerspaces. While teamwork quality is recognised as critical for effective collaboration, only limited research investigated how different roles affect perceptions of teamwork quality in FabLabs, where cross-functional collaboration takes place. This study aims to fill this gap by investigating how specific team roles—namely Manager, Designer, Programmer, and Prototyper, influence perceptions of teamwork quality, team member's success, and team performance in designing and building prototypes in FabLabs. To achieve this, the study explores teamwork quality from a role-specific perspective. It provides a deeper understanding of how distinct roles within FabLabs contribute to collaborative efforts and influence team outcomes. This study analyses data collected from 76 students enrolled in a Digital Fabrication course. The students were divided into 19 groups, each student selecting one of four designated roles based on their preferences. In the mid-term of the course, the students were asked to complete an online questionnaire about their selected roles and teamwork quality. The research investigates three main questions: (1) How do perceptions of teamwork quality dimensions differ by role? (2) What is the relationship between teamwork quality and team outcomes, such as success and performance? (3) Which dimensions of teamwork quality are the most effective predictors of positive team outcomes in FabLabs? To address these questions, the study performed a series of statistical tests. One-way ANOVA was used to determine role-based differences in mean scores for teamwork quality, which indicated that Designers, due to the nature of their role, reported slightly higher levels of Communication and Coordination than other roles. However, there were no significant differences between individual roles across teamwork dimensions, indicating equal contribution to the overall team’s success. Pearson correlation analysis revealed a strong correlation between teamwork quality, team member success, and team performance, which were statistically significant. Further, multiple regression analyses found that Mutual Support was the significant predictor for both Team Member’s Success and Team Performance across all roles. Teamwork dimensions, such as Cohesion and Effort, also contributed meaningfully to team members’ success and performance, reflecting the distinct teamwork needs associated with various functional roles. These findings are valuable for makerspace leaders, educators, and facilitators, as they emphasise the importance of role-specific interventions to promote a cohesive and productive team atmosphere. The results also have practical implications for design education, suggesting that integrating role-aware teamwork training into design education could better prepare students for collaborative work in makerspaces. By addressing role-based teamwork needs, this research offers practical insights into optimising collaboration, innovation, and satisfaction, making makerspaces more effective for individual and collective success.

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