Lea Hannola

Application of agile methods in the innovation process

The main objective of this study was to analyse the applicability of agile methods for improving the efficiency of the innovation process. The study was conducted by analysing both innovation and software development processes, their similarities and differences, and as well as comparing the criticism against them. As a result of the study, it was found that agile methods provide several improvements regarding to organisational practices, transfer of knowledge and know-how, and understanding of customer needs that could be applied to the innovation process. In addition, this study provides several agile guidelines to managers and project team members for improving the innovation process. These are, e.g., the usage of light user stories as a solution for the heavy documentation, giving up fixed implementations plans for enhancing an incremental product development process, the usage of, e.g., war rooms to facilitate the transfer of knowledge and know-how, and the integration of the fuzzy front end to the whole innovation process as continuous loops by means of customer involvement, short iterations and readiness for change.

Assessing and improving the front end activities of software development

The most significant benefits in software development can be achieved through improvements in the front end activities. By improving these processes, the likelihood of delivering high quality software and future business success increases. In this paper, a case study of initial state assessment of requirements engineering (RE) practices in a small software house is reported, along with an outline to improve them. The data was collected by interviewing all company employees with designer responsibilities and a meeting with unit managers was conducted to complement the designer viewpoints on company RE practices and development needs. The findings suggest a need to improve practices in all key RE areas, starting with training the practices and techniques considered suitable for the company. Collaboration and team spirit within the development units were also found to be an essential part of the improvement effort.

Utilizing front‐end‐of‐innovation concepts in software development

Purpose – The traditional front‐end‐of‐innovation (FEI) research and requirements engineering (RE) in software development have realized the opportunities for overall innovation process improvements by focusing on improving the front‐end activities. The purpose of this paper is to investigate and compare the managerial perceptions on the similarities and differences in the FEI concepts between software industry and the traditional industrial sector.Design/methodology/approach – The research approach of this paper can be categorized as a case study. Causal cognitive maps are used as graphic tools for collecting and analyzing the perceptions of selected experts about the concepts of FEI, and for recognizing the perceived interrelationships between these concepts.Findings – The paper presents the similarities and differences in the FEI concepts between the two industries. The most similarly assessed concept is that the quality of a product or software development project can be most often influenced by succe...

The front end of innovation – a group method for the elicitation of software requirements

The objective of software development is to develop and modify systems to satisfy customer needs, on schedule and within the budget. The front end activities of software development are most important when customer needs are assessed and software requirements collected. This paper proposes a new group method for the elicitation of software requirements, and the method is validated with empirical case studies. The results of the study show that the method expedites requirements elicitation and is effective. The participants found the method useful, and worth using again, and were willing to recommend it to their colleagues.

A group support system process for the definition of software requirements

The definition of software requirements in the early phases of the software innovation process is considered to be an extremely important and challenging task, as decisions about precisely what will be developed are made during this stage. This paper presents a Group Support System (GSS) process for the definition of software requirements, and studies the usability of a GSS as a tool for requirements definition. The developed process was validated in a telecommunications company, and the study shows that requirements definition was expedited and more effective with the GSS-supported process compared to the traditional methods used in the case company.

Challenges in integrating requirements management with PLM

Nowadays, requirements management (RQM) is mostly not included in the current structures of product lifecycle management (PLM) systems, although RQM has become a critical activity throughout the PLM. Customer requirements with all related product information need not only be integrated with each other, but with all processes and stakeholders involved through the related business functions of product lifecycle. In this paper, we examine the various challenges of RQM, especially related to PLM. Company-specific challenges are identified, when integrating RQM with PLM in a case company acting in the automotive industry. The objective of this study is to find out how product-related information on customer requirements could better be utilised and integrated with PLM. We propose a new integration framework according to which the challenges at different integration levels are categorised. As a final conclusion, the study shows the core points where and how the concepts of PLM and RQM should be developed, as to create requirements integrated solutions for extended products and systems through the lifecycle.

Extending Process Improvement into a New Organizational Unit

The importance of software process improvement (SPI) is gaining increasing acknowledgement in software companies. Many companies have started SPI and try to extend it in all the functional units. However, some units may have problems initiating SPI. In this paper an initial level requirements and design practice assessment is presented. The assessment was conducted with a method that was specifically developed to pay attention to the organizational readiness for SPI and trying to obtain organizational support for it. The study summarizes the findings that establish a solid understanding of the current practices in the company, and identify concrete improvement areas. Even if the assessment method needs to be customized for each company, the case study suggests that it can help to establish a positive attitude towards SPI.

IT on the Shop Floor - Challenges of the Digitalization of Manufacturing Companies

A new generation of information technology (IT), promises significant benefits for manufacturing companies in their daily work. However, the companies are rather slow in taking advantage of the opportunities offered by the current wave of digitalization. This paper starts with an overview of emerging sociotechnical trends in manufacturing. We discuss technology as catalyser of this transformation process and its impact on individual and organisational levels. The intense collaboration with six manufacturing companies in a European project allowed us to identify and further specify four digital challenges: 1) Digitally augmented human work, 2) Worker-centric knowledge sharing, 3) Self-learning manufacturing workplaces, and 4) In-situ mobile learning. The four digital challenges illustrate how companies (can) embrace emerging sociotechnical trends in manufacturing and thus contribute to a better understanding of the changing role of IT on the Shop Floor.

Empowering production workers with digitally facilitated knowledge processes – a conceptual framework

Recent digital advancements, including social software, mobile technologies and augmented reality, offer promising opportunities to empower knowledge workers in their production environment by leveraging their knowledge processes, decision-making skills and social interaction practices. This paper proposes a conceptual framework for empowering workers in industrial production environments with digitally facilitated knowledge management processes. The framework explores four concrete facets of digital advancements that apply to a wide range of knowledge processes and production strategies in manufacturing companies. Each of these advancements are capable of supporting one specific facet of the individual knowledge management processes of workers; knowledge transfer, discovery, acquisition and sharing. The study contributes to the production research community by aligning emerging digital technologies and current trends in advanced manufacturing environments to benefit workers and improve job satisfaction, efficiency and productivity. The paper also contains suggestions about developing innovative solutions for production environments that support workers with digital technologies for flexible production.

Evaluating worker-centered smart interventions on the shop floor

This paper presents the evaluation strategy and the first results we obtained when we used the FACTS4WORKERS evaluation framework. The purpose of the framework is to prove whether the project interventions achieve the expected results, which are: improving workers’ job satisfaction, increasing innovation and problem solving skills as well as enhancing productivity. Because of the diversity of the industrial partners and of the workplaces where the interventions are going to be implemented, the different languages, legal and cultural environments the framework was conceived as general as possible to be adapted to any particular case. We present here one example for using the framework, the first results of these measurements and the feedback the evaluation provides both for supporting the decisions about the interventions and about the framework itself.