Problem 1: Knowledge work, benefits & success factors for collaboration
A:
List 5-10 characteristics of knowledge work in engineering companies.
Describe some commonly occurring activities engineers are involved in
(e.g. meetings) and what happens in these activities (e.g. decision
making and problem solving). Regarding knowledge exchanges, describe how
people exchange knowledge. A great answer would use the curriculum,
linking this answer to Hansen's four barriers (e.g. that knowledge
transfer is very important, but it can also be difficult because of lack
of a common frame, weak ties, etc).
B: The easy answer
would be to list Hansen's Better sales / Innovation / Better operations,
but that's not enough. Add a concise description to each, and exemplify
if possible. A great answer would also include other business benefits
not listed by Hansen, as well as solid descriptions of each benefit. Be
aware that you are asked both about collaboration internally as well as
with external partners. This must be answered for a full score.
C:
Here the 19 success factors of Mattesich et. al. would constitute an
impressive answer. If you don't remember these, use common sense, or
work out an answer based on Hansen's levers (levers and success factors
are closely related). The listed success factors do not have to come
from the same framework! Combining different frameworks are quite ok,
but make sure you have good overall coverage.
Problem 2: Improving collaboration & concept development
A:
Describe your recommended process, a sequence of distinct activities;
how you would check and investigate the quality of the report. You may
e.g. recommend checking assumptions the report is based on, and checking
calculations and recommendations. You may also check the qualifications
of the company producing the report, and if they provide an unbiased
view of if they are also trying to sell more services later on (serving
their own interests).
B: checking if the company really
has understood the business or if they are just copying a solution from
somewhere else, or carrying out your own investigation activities and
seeing if you arrived at the same conclusions (or a mix of these).
C:
Example: The Concurrent Design Facility of ESA is a "collaboration
concept" with a distinct meaning. It is based on five key elements:
- a process
- a multidisciplinary team
- an integrated design model
- a facility
- a software infrastructure
These
key elements are structured in a way that makes sense and where each
element strengthens the value proposition of the other elements. For
other situations and other problems these elements may be less relevant,
but the whole point here is to understand the value of identifying and
managing different elements that contribute to overall goal achievement
in an integrated, meaningful way. Starting with objectives, problems and
challenges is always good. Identify proper solutions, and then
integrate those solutions into something more than randomly coupled
individual elements. Simplicity and sensemaking for the end user is key.
Problem 3: Return on Investment & collaboration management
A:
List your recommended activities in sequence, typically with a name of
the activity followed by a short, concise decription, e.g: Consult with Finance department: Determine
costs related to business travel, productivity measures, etc. - example
e.g. average cost per trip and number of trips per year per employee
(based on department or category of employee).
B: Examples:
Software installation costs, running software licences, hardware
purchase / leasing costs, business travel, consulting assistance in
setting up the solution, service and maintenance costs, support,
training costs, the list goes on - a great answer would also include
costs where collaboration has a potential impact (e.g. quality costs,
product development costs, other elements related to productivity /
performance).
C: Typically cost and / or time savings, but
other benefit elements would be just as important, think Hansen but also
have a look at your own answer in 3B :-)
D: This is an
"open-ended problem": List as many important factors as you can think of
under each of the 4 main categories listed (collaboration management
would be one such category, attitude / motivational issues another). The
structure is not important, but list the things you believe really
makes a difference.
Problem 4: Reflection exercise
A:
Read the text, and maybe think a bit before you start writing (I ask
you to reflect). Describe first why collaboration often plays a crucial
role in task identification in today’s complex projects. The answer to
"why" is "because" followed by a reason. The answer to "how" is a
description. Hence, produce a number of "because" statements, e.g.
"Because products and services are more complex today than ever before"
(followed by a decription explaining why this is so, and how this
complexity requires collaboration) or "knowledge work today is
multidiciplinary" (and the "how" - any knowledge worker must understand
his or her position in the overall value chain / network as well as
interfaces with other disciplines in order to maximise their own
contribution).
B: Elaborate on you previous answer,
specifically for decision making. The objective here is to demonstrate
that you have the ability to go from abstract to applied thinking.
Therefore, be as specific as possible.
For all answers:
Read the problem text! The most important thing to demonstrate, is that
you have understood how to improve collaboration to achieve different
business objectives, including Identifying opportunities, diagnosing the
current situation including different categories of barriers and
challenges, finding solutions that can address those barriers and
challenges, performing ROI calculations, arrange and align those
solutions in meaningful collaboration concepts, and managing success
factors to make sure objectives are met.