The document discusses approaches for fostering radical innovation through engineering design processes. It advocates for rapid prototyping and continuous learning from testing prototypes in order to gain insights quickly. Failure of early prototypes is seen as necessary to explore problem and solution spaces. An agile, dynamic and reflective process is suggested over traditional waterfall models. Rather than strict planning and control, the document proposes accompanying engineering teams to enable creativity and flexibility through learning by doing. Inspiration is drawn from analogies like jazz improvisation. The goal is to establish a research lab environment like historical "skunk works" that cultivates out-of-the-box thinking for radical ideas.
2013 - Plenum - Martin Steinert - How to tame a Skunk Works
1. !
Radical Innovation - How to tame a
Skunk Works?
martin @ trondheim,
Radisson Blu Royal Garden Hotel
PROSJEKT 2013, 17 October 2013
martin.steinert@ntnu.no, prof
Engineering Design and Innovation
Department for Engineering Design and Materials
2. !
LETTING
engineering teams be creative
making innovation happen
martin.steinert@ntnu.no, prof
Engineering Design and Innovation
Department for Engineering Design and Materials
3. !
dancing
with
evolu0on
martin.steinert@ntnu.no, prof
Engineering Design and Innovation
Department for Engineering Design and Materials
4. !
TrollLABS
NTNU´s Living Lab Skunks works and Maker
Space for Radical Engineering Concept Creation
at IVT
martin @ NTNU
Trondheim, 8 October 2013
martin.steinert@ntnu.no, prof
Engineering Design and Innovation
Department for Engineering Design and Materials
5. !
NOT The Problem
Works well,
1) if the problem is defined
(fixed requirements)
2) if the pathway is defined
(fixed solution and technology choice)
3) if market prices exist
à See Aaron´s presentation earlier today
J
martin.steinert@ntnu.no, prof
Engineering Design and Innovation
Department for Engineering Design and Materials
6. !
SpaceX
AND …
Skunk Works
Lockheed Martin's
Advanced Development
Programs (ADP)
Google X Labs
martin.steinert@ntnu.no, prof
Engineering Design and Innovation
Department for Engineering Design and Materials
PARC (Palo Alto
Research Center
Incorporated) formerly
Xerox PARC
7. !
Luckily
we have comparable academic spaces
Stanford d.school and Center for Design Research
MIT Medialab
martin.steinert@ntnu.no, prof
Engineering Design and Innovation
Department for Engineering Design and Materials
8. and it never stops evolving
!
a brief history
Creative Design with John Arnold and GSB
Product Design Program with Fine Arts Department
Robotic Systems Design with Computer Science and Aero
Team-Based Systems Design (310) with Corporate Partners
Smart Product Design (218) with EE and CS
Center for Design Research (CDR) with Industry Partners
Manufacturing Systems Design with GSB and MS&E
Micro Electro Mechanical Systems Design (MEMS) with EE
Human Computer Interaction Design with CS
Learning Design & Technology with Education
Learning Lab with Wallenbergs of Sweden
BioDesign with Biology &
Medicine
d.school with HPI and IDEO
venture design with India & Nigeria
310.global!
1960
1970
martin.steinert@ntnu.no, prof
Engineering Design and Innovation
Department for Engineering Design and Materials
1980
1990
2000
2010
9. !
So what are we doing?
ENGINEERING DESIGN
“Solving” complex socio technical problems
that create value
martin.steinert@ntnu.no, prof
Engineering Design and Innovation
Department for Engineering Design and Materials
10. !
keeping the user in perspective
martin.steinert@ntnu.no, prof
Engineering Design and Innovation
Department for Engineering Design and Materials
13. !
Now let me try to create some empathy?
martin.steinert@ntnu.no, prof
Engineering Design and Innovation
Department for Engineering Design and Materials
14. !
extreme example
me310 experiment
need-find, conceive, build-test
re-invent the convertible
for BMW with TUM in 2005
martin.steinert@ntnu.no, prof
Engineering Design and Innovation
Department for Engineering Design and Materials
15. !
project challenge
improve the open air experience
martin.steinert@ntnu.no, prof
Engineering Design and Innovation
Department for Engineering Design and Materials
16. !
modeling what we know @ TUM
martin.steinert@ntnu.no, prof
Engineering Design and Innovation
Department for Engineering Design and Materials
18. !
finding the source of noise @ Stanford
martin.steinert@ntnu.no, prof
Engineering Design and Innovation
Department for Engineering Design and Materials
26. !
now we are getting very real
martin.steinert@ntnu.no, prof
Engineering Design and Innovation
Department for Engineering Design and Materials
27. !
Prototype and iterate … LEARN FAST
martin.steinert@ntnu.no, prof
Engineering Design and Innovation
Department for Engineering Design and Materials
iterate
29. !
OK … here we go …
martin.steinert@ntnu.no, prof
Engineering Design and Innovation
Department for Engineering Design and Materials
30. !
getting real on the open road
from concept to reality
martin.steinert@ntnu.no, prof
Engineering Design and Innovation
Department for Engineering Design and Materials
31. !
fluid dynamics re-visited
base case
re-circulation
creates bad-air
in the cabin
martin.steinert@ntnu.no, prof
Engineering Design and Innovation
Department for Engineering Design and Materials
OpenRoad
re-circulating bad-air
is eliminated by the
good-air jet stream
32. !
validating airspeed measurement
but watch her hair
base case airspeed
OpenRoad airspeed
2.3 m/s
7 m/s
1.6 m/s
6.3 m/s
1.9 m/s
Bad Wind Good Wind
martin.steinert@ntnu.no, prof
Engineering Design and Innovation
Department for Engineering Design and Materials
1.4 m/s
Bad Wind Good Wind
33. !
Conclusion
a better convertible, problem eliminated
martin.steinert@ntnu.no, prof
Engineering Design and Innovation
Department for Engineering Design and Materials
34. !
So how are we doing it?
Key are rapid and rough prototyping and
continuous learning based on test feedback.
Failure is not only an option, it is a must!
(in the early phases ;)
We break our prototypes and test user
experiences in order to find the limits of the
problem and solution spaces
martin.steinert@ntnu.no, prof
Engineering Design and Innovation
Department for Engineering Design and Materials
37. !
d.mindsets
be mindful of your process
martin.steinert@ntnu.no, prof
Engineering Design and Innovation
Department for Engineering Design and Materials
41. !
d.mindsets
focus onto human values
martin.steinert@ntnu.no, prof
Engineering Design and Innovation
Department for Engineering Design and Materials
42. !
it is always about people
martin.steinert@ntnu.no, prof
Engineering Design and Innovation
Department for Engineering Design and Materials
43. !
building “T” people
and
“T” people teams
martin.steinert@ntnu.no, prof
Engineering Design and Innovation
Department for Engineering Design and Materials
44. !
in the moment,
should i be an
“I”
shaped
or
“T”
shaped
person?
(Suzuki’2011)
martin.steinert@ntnu.no, prof
Engineering Design and Innovation
Department for Engineering Design and Materials
46. !
In-depth knowledge
Design Thinking Behavior
martin.steinert@ntnu.no, prof
Engineering Design and Innovation
Department for Engineering Design and Materials
“T”
shaped by
breadth
in behavior
47. !
We need various knowledge bases
… people
Design Thinking Behavior
In-depth knowledge
Design Thinking Behavior
In-depth knowledge
Design Thinking Behavior
In-depth knowledge
(Tang J. 1989)
(Lande M. 2010)
ideation is based on physical communication
… co-location
martin.steinert@ntnu.no, prof
Engineering Design and Innovation
Department for Engineering Design and Materials
53. !
Well beyond Waterfall model:
Agile,
Dynamic,
Reflective
martin.steinert@ntnu.no, prof
Engineering Design and Innovation
Department for Engineering Design and Materials
54. !
Stanford-‐IDEO
like
design
process
(re)Define
the
Problem
Design
never
ends
Needfinding
and
Benchmarking
Test
Learn
Understand
the
users,
design
space
Prototype
Build
martin.steinert@ntnu.no, prof
Engineering Design and Innovation
Department for Engineering Design and Materials
Bodystorming
Ideate
55. !
Stanford-‐IDEO
like
design
process
…
IN
REALITY
(re)Define
the
Problem
Design
never
ends
Needfinding
and
Benchmarking
Test
Learn
Understand
the
users,
design
space
Prototype
Build
martin.steinert@ntnu.no, prof
Engineering Design and Innovation
Department for Engineering Design and Materials
Bodystorming
Ideate
57. !
Right … what about our problem
Scope/Outcome
Since we don´t know in
the beginning what we
will create (we are
aiming after all for a
radical or
transformative
innovation) we cannot
predefine the Scope.
Costs
Similarly, we don´t know
what we will do so we
don´t know what we will
spend, budgets are like
battle plans, screwed.
AND a running real time
accounting is key.
PS we need less money
than you think in the
early phases
Time
Is key. This variable we can control. Our deadlines and
prototype demonstrations are the framework that hold our
projects together. Based on each Prototype learning, we
reassess and re aim. Uncertainty decreases over time.
martin.steinert@ntnu.no, prof
Engineering Design and Innovation
Department for Engineering Design and Materials
58. !
Engineering Design Processes
fixed target design,
specifications and
requirements based
incremental engineering design process – adaptive in style
alternative design X,
evolving specifications
and requirements
Steinert
2011
alternative design I,
evolving specifications
and requirements
radical engineering design process – innovative in style
martin.steinert@ntnu.no, prof
Engineering Design and Innovation
Department for Engineering Design and Materials
58
59. !
Engineering Design Processes
design
build
test
divergence phase
convergence
phase
Steinert
2011
concept
generation
concept
screening
martin.steinert@ntnu.no, prof
Engineering Design and Innovation
Department for Engineering Design and Materials
concept scoring
concept testing
60. !
Engineering Design Processes
Very rough guidelines
Separate philosophy, perspective tools and approaches between
the three phases:
1) Problem focus
2) Solution focus
3) Implementation focus
For very radical projects, give each phase roughly a third of the
time.
If possible divide into subprojects shorter than 1 year, 6 month
are good.
martin.steinert@ntnu.no, prof
Engineering Design and Innovation
Department for Engineering Design and Materials
61. !
Engineering Design Processes
Over time (rough guide three equal long phases)
• Uncertainty decreases, thus Costs and Outcome certainty
increases
• Gradual shifting from
i) design thinking over
ii) SCRUM like agile methods to
iii) engineering project management
What is needed:
An Agile Lean Project Management, embedded in the
midst of the Trolls ;)
martin.steinert@ntnu.no, prof
Engineering Design and Innovation
Department for Engineering Design and Materials
62. !
LETTING
engineering teams be creative
making innovation happen
and keep a close eye on them from within
not prescript, budget and control but
accompany and obtain real time awareness
martin.steinert@ntnu.no, prof
Engineering Design and Innovation
Department for Engineering Design and Materials
63. !
So let’s go hunting for the next
BIG IDEA
(Leifer, Steinert)
Iteration and
learning is key
!!!
martin.steinert@ntnu.no, prof
Engineering Design and Innovation
Department for Engineering Design and Materials
64. !
one more analogy, jazz (loft session)
martin.steinert@ntnu.no, prof
Engineering Design and Innovation
Department for Engineering Design and Materials
65. !
Takk på meg!!!
TrollLABS@NTNU
renaissance inspired Research Lab based on socraterian
principles for students, researches and practitioners
Any help welcome, tools, man-hours, advice, money,
contacts, coffee machines
CURRENTLY, Looking for companies that would like to
embed company R&D teams for coached design sprints
martin.steinert@ntnu.no, prof
Engineering Design and Innovation
Department for Engineering Design and Materials