Design Management
Chapter 3
Concept Map
Design Team Construction and
Management
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Team is basic unit of performance
A team melds together skills, experiences,
and insights of several people
A team inevitably gets better results than
individuals operating within confined roles
Teams are more flexible than larger
groupings in that they can be more quickly
assembled and refocused
Definition of a Team
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Generation of effective teams is
dependent upon company’s performance
ethic
A team is a small number of people with
complementary skills who are committed
to a common purpose, performance goals,
and approach for which they hold
themselves mutually accountable
Show Me a Team!
He’s not…
These guys are…
Team Characteristics
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Small number
Complementary skills
Common purpose
Common set of specific performance
goals
Commonly agreed upon working approach
Mutual accountability
Team Success Factors
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Multifunctional involvement
Simultaneous full-time involvement
Co-location
Communication
Shared resources (Skunkworks)
Outside involvement
Expected Team Dynamics
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Forming – purpose, structure, membership
Storming! – managing expectations &
roles
Norming – management of relations &
tasks
Performing – evaluation, completion
Adjourning – closure, loss
Team Leader
Keep purpose, goals,
and approach relevant
and meaningful
Strengthen
the mix and
level of skills
Build
commitment
and confidence
Do real
work!
Monitor timing
and schedules for
planned activities
Create
opportunities
for others
Manage
relationships
with outsiders
The Design Team
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Group of individuals
from various
departments and
backgrounds who
come together for the
specific purpose of
designing a new
device
Two subteams
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Core product team
Working design team
Design Team
Core Product Team
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Perform research required to reduce risks
and unknowns to a manageable level
Develop Product Specification
Prepare the Project Plan
Responsible for all administrative
decisions of the project, regulatory and
standards activity, and planning for
manufacturing and marketing
Working Design Team
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Composed primarily of engineers
Develop the more detailed design
specification from the product specification
Develop designs
Ensure requirements are met through
testing, provide test reports
May be divided into subteams
Reporting Techniques
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Reporting methods vary
(Ford – 1 page)
Depend on:
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Nature of project (industrial
vs. academic)
Size of team and project
Expectations of person
who receives report
Student Design Teams:
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Will generally follow industry model
Team size 1-5, prefer 3-5, accountable
Deadline driven, topics due October…
Forming/Norming should be done by
Christmas, begin performing!
Reporting is specified…to follow
(rare exceptions – January switch date)
Accountability: 272 Teams
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Mid January – I’ll query all groups, if any team
member feels that there is an inequity in efforts
you may e-mail me. W/O disclosing details, I
will warn the group and offer to negotiate if
necessary.
In early April I will again query all, any member
may again email me. I will have forms for the
group to evaluate each other, this evaluation will
impact final grades. (Advisor may give different
grades also …)
Web site requirements:
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NCIIA proposal
Weekly written/Monthly oral reports
Designsafe & Innovation Workbench
Web-based references
Email link to team & advisor (password?)
Final Poster & Paper
… minimum, depends on project requirements
See 273 web site for specifics.
Progress Reports - Written
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Fairly simple
documentation
Typically on paper or
on the web
Components:
Current status
 Work completed
 Current work
 Future work
NO EXCUSES, material
is due weekly!
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Oral Reporting
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Presentation should be tailored to the level of
complexity required to convey information to the
audience – seniors @ VU
General rules:
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Use colors judicially
Learn your pace of presentation
Use graphics if they aid in understanding
Use personal account or a joke to interest audience
Introduce what the talk will cover, summarize at end
Practice your talk
Monthly Oral Reports:
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Are practice for the final poster presentation
Are a mechanism to get HELP! from your
professor and your peers
Serve as evidence that your team is a team – all
should participate! Including the audience!~
Serve to develop and convey a
mature understanding of the design process via
this process & observation of others
Poster Presentation
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Used in academia
General rules:
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Know poster size (3’x5’)
Title at top of poster, large print
Poster reads from top left in vertical columns
Use figures rather than text whenever possible
Bring in additional materials if permitted
Prepare brief comments for questioners
Grading scheme: papers &
posters
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See
http://vubme.vuse.vanderbilt.edu/King/273
_scoring_sheet.htm for details
Intro to Databases (may be needed)
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Excel – Useful for “flat” 2-D datasets, but limited
to 32,000 entries. In practice – used heavily for
minor data documentation, change orders, etc
as required by the FDA.
Access – VERY useful for data sets that are
linked through a “key” and which have data that
does not need to be repeated for every dataset,
such as demographics.
Example: Pain Clinic
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Initial patient visit
Medical evaluation (s)
Psychological evaluation (s)
Paper => Teleforms (OCR) => direct entry
Insurance Co. Driven: proof of service
Research questions as a subset
“Key” = ssn. (VU derives MRN)
Paul Harris will later lecture Access databases
Overview – Concept Map
Exercise- Problem 3.6
Construct a “design team” exercise during
class to tackle a design exercise.
Reporting will be done orally by one of the
team members. Members must take one
of the following roles: Marketing,
Manufacturing/Distribution, Legal/Safety,
Engineering, or team leader; members are
responsible for assuming their “roles” on
the design team.