Knowledge discovery in collaborative design projects

In recent years, the importance of keeping and sharing knowledge in organization have motivated many firms to start knowledge management (KM) projects. However, in reality, many of KM projects have failed or not achieved the planned goals. Lack of infrastructure for knowledge creation are known as one of the important reasons for this failure. Knowledge creation is one of the main level in KM cycle. Knowledge and knowledge creating tools, if well recognized and applied, have a significant role in the success of the KM project. The aim of this study is to identify organizational factors that affect individual knowledge creation in the firm. The systematic literature review resulted in 23 key factors on individual knowledge creation. These factors were classified in five categories namely: organizational culture, strategy, organizational structure, human resources and information technologies. Focusing on these factors, can increase knowledge creation by employees in organization and decrease the rate of KM projects failure.

The student members of the Collaborative Space (systems) Design (CSD) project discuss its implementation and highlight its concepts. The CSD project is an elective course at the MSc Space Flight programme at the Delft University of Technology, Faculty of Aerospace Engineering, where students exercise the design process of a space mission, spacecraft or a major spacecraft subsystem in a team setting, along with several important external stakeholders. Focus was given to the application of concurrent engineering and systems engineering techniques. Interaction between the students and the external stakeholders was also extremely valued. Two teams participated, one designing a liquid oxygen electric pump and one a CubeSat asteroid observer mission. In this work the students report their experience, highlighting how they approached the different phases of the design process. Positives and negatives of the course are also presented, together with some feedback on potential
 modifications to future editions of the course.

This paper presents the research design and preliminary findings from a study on supporting online students in a collaborative design project. The Collaborative Investigation, Design, Evaluation and Revision (CIDER) approach was used to scaffold the learning activities. CIDER is a learn-technology-by-design approach for collaborative resource design and development. This phase of the study was conducted in a Graduate Certificate in Higher Education unit at an Australian university. Participants, working in small groups, collaboratively developed electronic teaching resources, including a digital story and a website. Data sources for this study include student artefacts, evaluation data, survey data and peer-review feedback from two unit cohorts. The results indicate that geographical proximity was not the key factor in the group's success; rather, a shared disciplinary area was a better indicator of the students' ability to develop an online resource. Moreover, the results indicate that formative evaluation via a peer review process offered a practical way of determining the quality or potential quality of a web-based learning resource before it is published.

Knowledge systems are increasingly used to support globally distributed work. Projects are a natural means of designing and deploying such systems. There is plenty of literature on the management of information systems design projects and some literature on information systems deployment projects. However, knowledge systems are typically more complex organizationally and socially than most traditional information systems. For example, enterprise resource planning systems typically must be used to get the work done whereas many knowledge systems are voluntary to use. It is reasonable to assume that project management involved in the design and deployment of knowledge systems differs from the project management involved in traditional information systems projects. Examples abound in the literature about knowledge systems deployment efforts that failed because (1) the business cultures did not encourage and reinforce knowledge sharing and (2) the necessary organizational change could not be implemented. Such failures could often have been avoided if (1) more balanced efforts between the design and deployment of knowledge systems had been implemented and (2) the design and deployment efforts had been managed through coordinated design and deployment projects. Deployment projects have a crucial role in implementing organizational and social changes. Yet, deployment is often considered only as a phase in larger design-driven projects. This minitrack calls for research contributions in domains where large economic, organizational, and social benefits can be obtained from the effective management of knowledge systems design and deployment projects. Contributions should span the dualism between knowledge system design and deployment research and/or the dualism between the design project and deployment project research, helping individuals and organizations design and use work systems and enabling knowledge systems holistically. For example, when the routines of people using knowledge systems unexpectedly break down, people typically devise workarounds, potentially changing their work practices or using the knowledge systems in unintended ways. Sooner or later, workarounds become ineffective and new holistic work system and knowledge system redesign projects are needed to devise lasting solutions. Theory-based normative advice is needed to answer questions such as why, when, and how to devise new holistic work system and knowledge system designs (1) to deal with the encountered breakdowns and (2) to leverage and appropriately institutionalize the knowledge embedded in the improvised workarounds. In 2012, this minitrack consists of two papers. The paper of Laddawan Kaewkitipong investigates the reasons for and the lessons to be learnt from the failure of Google Wave, a shared space on the web where people can collaborate using multiple media and artifacts. Kaewkitipong conducted content analysis of secondary data from several online forums, which discussed the failure of Google Wave, and primary data collected from interviews with early adopters who had discontinued using Google Wave. Complexity and a lack of relative advantage were found the most frequently cited reasons for failure. The exclusivity of Google Wave through the invite-only policy was also cited as a reason for failure. Designers and vendors of web-based knowledge systems thus need to be able to (1) balance between delivering all-in-one systems and keeping the systems easy to understand and use and (2) understand the dynamics of decision making within social networks in which single actors can seldom decide which systems the networks should adopt. According to Koivulahti-Ojala and Kakola enduser training is complicated to implement in global software development organizations where development work is distributed across multiple sites that may leverage a development tool for very different purposes. Web-based Virtual Meeting Tools (VMT) enable synchronous communication and provide potentially a cost effective way to train even complex topics to large numbers of people in global settings. Few industrial experiences from the design and use of VMT-based training innovations have been reported. The paper draws upon a case study in a global corporation to describe the design, implementation, and evaluation of a VMT-based training innovation for delivering a set of courses to support the global deployment of a Unified Modeling Language (UML) modeling tool and to develop UML modeling skills. The innovation proved successful in improving skills, knowledge, and motivation and learners were satisfied with it. Other organizations may benefit from using VMT to train people to use similar complex information systems. 2012 45th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences

This article reports on a case of participatory self-directed online learning within the context of a graduate-level instructional technology course. The course was about online learning environments and relied on both asynchronous and synchronous technologies. In this case, the instructor and students engaged in collaborative course design through one of the assignments where student teams and the instructor led one week’s worth of course activities and discussions. This article begins with a discussion of the literature on participatory self-directed online learning. Then, the article presents an overview of the course design, detailed discussion of the assignment that framed student participatory self-directed learning and two examples of student assignments. The framing question for organising this case was as follows: What lessons can a team of graduate students and the instructor learn about self-directed participatory online learning from a collaborative design project? The article ends with the overall lessons learned from the case and implications to future design of online activities.

In collaborative design, participants usually have different backgrounds and standpoints. Due to these differences, it is hard for participants to mutually understand intentions, and they must make a lot of effort to reach a mutual agreement on the design. Thus, the efficiency of the design processes is decreased. We propose a framework to support participants in mutual understanding by grasping and showing the differences among their intentions in a collaboration. A system based on the proposed framework has the following characteristics: it facilitates mutual understanding among participants by presuming their intentions and by communicating them in an understandable form, it visualizes the differences in concepts among the participants, and it progresses the collaboration in an interactive way.

A collaborative design project has been implemented in a junior-level materials selection and manufacturing course. The team-based design problem involved the design of playground equipment for elementary school children. Focus groups of elementary students and a review of applicable construction standards were used to set design requirements. Each team comprised undergraduate on-campus students, undergraduate distance education students and junior/senior high school technology students. Initial design choices were made by the entire group. Subsequent calculations of stress, deformations, etc. to refine the design as well as choices of materials and manufacturing processes were primarily the purview of the undergraduate students. Drafting and integration of the design segments into a complete computer model was the responsibility of the high school students. Continuous communication between the groups was required for the process to be successful. This collaboration was facilitated via online forums and site visits. An overview of the project structure is presented along with a summary of the project outcomes and recommendations for improving the process.

This paper focuses on the creative side of collaboration and constructs a support system that enhances designers’ creativity during collaborative design projects. In order to support creative group activity during such endeavors, the support system proposed here enables design team members to visualize the interactive communication processes during creative group activity from two viewpoints, one global, and the other local. In the global view of communication flow, the transition of topics and relationships between topics are visualized, whereas in the local view, the details of each communication process can be visualized. Both these types of visualization have two inherent merits. The first is to help designers clearly understand the flow of interactive communication processes and enable them to effectively balance two concurrent actions: their individual creative thinking, and their intercommunication with fellow design team members. The second merit stems from sharing the process of exploring new ideas. Generally, the discovery and initial germination of new ideas is done alone, via individual cogitation, and the sharing of individual explorative processes and areas of exploration is often difficult. However, the visualization procedure proposed in this paper can represent such processes and areas at a useful level of detail, so that team members can cooperatively explore new ideas as a group and derive synergistic benefits. Thus, the two merits of the proposed system can lead to more effective and efficient creative group activity.Copyright © 2004 by ASME

The development of computer graphics and Internet technology has created a 3D Web-based virtual world that has transformed the global fashion industry environment. In this study, the application cases of 3D virtual fashion education were analyzed to discuss the necessity and application of a 3D apparel CAD curriculum as part of a special education for global fashion talent at Korean fashion-related colleges. Prior studies, literature, photo data and Internet data (in and out of Korea) were used for this study. The demonstration case studies were conducted for the virtual fashion education ``SLCC 2007`` of Buffalo State College (U.S.), ``Ratava`s Line (2004)`` of SFU/FIT Collaborative Design Project (Canada and U.S.) and ``2011 Graduation Fashion Show`` of Ueda Fashion College (Japan). The results of the study show that the 3D apparel CAD system (as a core technology of the IT fashion industry) would allow the current mass production concept to change to a new paradigm of ``mass customization`` along with new fashion business types that include global fashion companies and Web-based Internet, mobile and virtual-world shopping malls. In addition, it appears that the system should be included in the curriculum of fashion-related colleges and institutes to educate technical designers for the global fashion industry and global fashion talent with comprehensive system operation and management ability, and to promote single proprietor companies.

Applying knowledge management to project marketing in a demanding technology transfer project: Convincing the industrial customer over the knowledge gap

The purpose of this research was to plan an approach to a project framework that integrated a model for sustainability and CSR, with the process groups of the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK®) standard, in its application to the training of a group of students in Project Design, Management, and Evaluation. The integration was justified by the scarce explicit references to sustainability and CSR found in traditional project management guidelines, norms, and standards. The new framework was used to structure a Sustainability Management Plan, which made it possible to incorporate sustainability criteria throughout the life cycle of the training project. The training proposal in Project Design, Management, and Evaluation was chosen, among several alternatives, by a multi-criteria selection process (fuzzy AHP) in the context of project scope management. The results reveal a great heterogeneity among the models and the lack of a base of key indicators in sustainability and CSR measurement tools as well as of explicit references to sustainability in project management standards. It is therefore necessary to develop a Sustainability Management Plan that can be introduced in the Project Management Plan and thus influence the strategic and operational guidelines of the Institution.

Although project management is widely used in the public sector, many projects still fail even when project management tools and practices are employed. Several studies show that a project's success depends partly on the project manager's competencies; however, there is little empirical research on this subject in the public sector. This study aims to analyze the significant characteristics linked with the competencies of the public sector project manager and outlines a profile of these professional competencies characteristics that can lead to the success of projects. Through empirical research conducted with 77 project managers from 32 public organizations in Brazil, this study examined the relationship between project managers' competencies and the likelihood that projects will succeed. Using factor analysis and logistic regression, we looked at factors like time, cost, quality, and scope to determine their relationship to the likelihood that projects will succeed. The findings highlight the importance of project management knowledge, communication abilities, attitudes relating to motivation, trust, and emotional intelligence, and most traits defining project managers in the public sector. The employee's length of service was the single factor that had a negative impact on the project's outcomes. This study contributes to the current knowledge of project managers' competencies in the public sector, showing the main characteristics a successful project manager needs to have and can help direct efforts in selecting a more suitable professional, contributing to the reduction of the turnover of the workforce and the consequent loss of knowledge of the organization.

This book presents the fundamentals of project management in simple language and an easy-to-understand format. It is targeted principally at those who are learning or desiring to learn project management as well as those who are already taking project management as a course of study or as a profession. It covers all the basic aspects of project management including the core areas prescribed by the Project Management Institute (PMI) in the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) sixth edition. Although the PMBOK Guide seventh edition has significantly shifted focus from a process based standard to a principle based standard, it does not invalidate nor replace the detailed knowledge base contained in the sixth edition, which substantially emphasizes project management processes and knowledge areas. This is particularly apt for the traditional approach to project delivery, which is predictive in nature and has the bulk of the planning done upfront. The sections of the book are arranged in order of Project Management Processes as they fall within the respective Project Management Knowledge Areas. Experienced project manager, Davies Igberaese, presents all the basic content of traditional project management in a straightforward practical sequence as a typical project manager would go about the processes of initiating, planning, executing, monitoring, and closing a project without losing sight of the iterative nature of project management. The inclusion of Project Management Templates gives students and other users of the book the confidence required to effectively understand the basics of managing a wide variety of projects across disciplines including construction, building, industrial engineering, petroleum engineering, software engineering, information technology, business administration, and event management. Introduction to Project Management: A Source Book for Traditional PM Basics can serve as a core textbook for academic courses in project management, for preparing for PMP and CAPM Certification exams, as an excellent resource for new project managers, as well as a handy reference book for project sponsors.

In today’s evolving knowledge-based environment, Knowledge Management (KM) has been recognized as a critical factor for both organizational performance and project success. Effective project knowledge management enables organizations to utilize their collective knowledge and experience in planning, executing and completing projects, leading to improved project outcomes and stimulates innovation. Successful innovation in product, process, or business model allows a company to achieve the competitive advantage. This study aims to implement the integration of knowledge management in project management. To achieve an effective integration of KM in project management, an assessment about KM Maturity is performed to all project managers in Project Management and Delivery Division of PT Aplikanusa Lintasarta by utilizing Asian Pacific Organization (APO) KM Assessment Tools. While project knowledge mapping on each project cycle is also performed to discover the current condition, identify the challenges and plan the strategy for the implementation to enhance project success. Result of the research suggests that KM Maturity assessment is classified at the initiation level, which implies that knowledge management has been implemented in certain areas but is not yet fully governed to support existing business processes. By integrating knowledge management into project management, the success rate of projects can improve; organizations can make advantage of project knowledge management on each of the project cycle which is pre-project, project implementation and post-project phases. This integration can improve project quality, increase efficiency and promote learning and innovation which ultimately leading to greater project success and become source of competitive advantage.

Design and construction projects have become increasingly complex throughout recent decades, resulting in a heightened focus on knowledge management. Two specific knowledge types, which have received consideration in the literature are design intent and design rationale, as means for describing what is designed and why a design is the way it is. However, a definition of what design rationale and design intent are and what they consist of, in context of the AEC industry, has not been fully explored. In this study, a literature review, was conducted to summarise the definitions of design rationale and intent presented in the existing body of scientific literature across scientific disciplines. Both qualitative evaluation of the identified literature and Natural Language Processing (NLP) was utilised, identifying the distinctions between design rationale and design intent, and their hidden specificities. The study revealed that a design project must have both explicit design rationale and intent available to be successful, which can guide a designer or project manager in the direction of unexplored design alternatives if something in the design must be changed, instead of exploring already tested and discarded solutions. The study, furthermore, showed that having DR and DI available can support decision makers during design, pre-planning, and construction to ensure that their design solution lives up to the intent of the designer or building owner, through specifying the explicit justification for the solution, and not just what the solution is, should be, or consist of.