ON THE STABILITY OF COORDINATION PATTERNS IN MULTIDISCIPLINARY DESIGN PROJECTS

Participants in product design and development projects need to interact to coordinate the impacts and dependencies of their work on the product. Based on data from NASA rocket design projects we analyze and compare a series of product development projects within the same organization where objectives and team composition differ. We focus on the connections that are made between team members and the nature of the project and relate the two. Findings reveal that similar design problems exhibit similar dependency structures and allow for organizational learning opportunities.