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Virtual Workplace
"We cannot hope to close the gap, but by improving
communication between the different disciplines we can make it much
smaller," says Mat Josquin of the EDC. The DEGAP project, funded by the
European Commission's Enterprise DG, uses virtual reality to build an
interactive platform where users can enter a virtual world of work and
see issues and problems similar to those in their own companies. By
choosing options they can influence the development of events and
interact with each other. Varying the choice will result in different
outcomes, so users can see the effect of more considered decisions. The
tool can be used individually or as a part of company training
presentations.
To develop the DEGAP tool, partners in the project
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design centres, engineering and project management organisations - are
working on real examples of the communications gap, drawn from companies
known to the partners. Analysing the experiences and problems gives
plenty of material for the interactive platform. The partners have been
able to collect examples of communication problems in
design,
engineering, research and development, and
marketing, from
firms in Germany, Spain, Portugal and Poland as well as the Netherlands.
The project is supported by an advisory board which brings additional
input from Ireland, the UK, Norway, the Netherlands and Germany.
Design Liaison Coach
DEGAP's second line of approach is to develop the concept
of a new type of
product development manager with a completely new role
in the innovation
process. As Josquin explains, "the role is that of a design liaison
coach, linking board level and project participants. The person
needs the skills to improve communication
between the different aspects
of the project, and acts less as a supervisor than as a communications
coach. He or she would help engineers to appreciate the thinking of
designers, and the same for the other points of interaction between
disciplines. The free exchange of information is essential, so it is an
internal role rather than one for an external consultant. The aim is to
remove the communications gaps or 'degap' the company - and this is now
beginning to have a real meaning for companies as a quality mark."
The DEGAP
tool and the thinking behind the new product development manager's role
will be promoted through the network of design centres all over Europe,
a project website, industry organisations and exhibitions. |
Bringing together different
approaches to solving a problem can lead to more effective solution
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