Lean Design Management

26th Annual Conference of the International Group for Lean Construction

THE DUAL NATURE OF DESIGN MANAGEMENT Paper ID: 537 ERGO PIKAS, TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY OF DENMARK LAURI KOSKELA, UNIVERSITY OF HUDDERSFIELD

NIELS TREDAL, NCC DENMARK VEGARD KNOTTEN, VEIDEKKE ENTREPRENØR AS TROND BØLVIKEN, VEIDEKKE ENTREPRENØR AS

16th to 22nd July

Chennai, India

Introduction

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

Although the first practices of managing design were already documented in Germany as early as in 1907 (Schwartz 1996), it is only in the recent decades that design management (DM) gained widespread scholarly interest.



Despite numerous efforts, the design of buildings is still suffering from many failures (Pikas et al. 2015).

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Literature review reveals that one primary cause of these problems could be the poor conceptualizations of DM (Koskela et al. 2002; Pikas et al. 2015).

Research Problem and Objective

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Research Problem: 

The poor conceptualization of DM has inhibited the addressing and improvement of this discipline. 

Particular views determine the focus of analysis, its content (attended and disregarded features) and expected outcomes.

Research Objective: 

To develop a conceptual DM framework: 

Based on the premise that DM is the management of a structured system of object and subjectoriented, technical and social design activities.



To facilitate the conversations about DM within the DM academia, and hopefully, also in practice.

The Need for Frameworks

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The importance of using frameworks (Woods 2009): 

“In science we need frameworks that hit an intellectual sweet spot for their research communities…

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…the frameworks must provide conceptual leverage without being fatuously simple (overly “lumped”) or distractingly complex (needlessly “split”).

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The form of such frameworks is as much about the order that our own minds require to move forward effectively as it is about the accuracy with which some aspect of the world has been captured.”

Design Activity: Subject and Object-Oriented

Design Artefact (Boundary Object)

Individual

Emergent Phenomena: Shared Understandning; Trust; Collaboration; Common Ground

SubjectSubject Interactions Individual

Subject-Object Actions

Subject-Object Actions Individual

Subject-Object Actions

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Naturalistic versus Activity Approaches Naturalistic Design Conceptualizations 

Positivist paradigm: the science of the artificial (Simon 1981), design science (Hubka and Eder 1996), mechanical design (Ullman 2009) 



Focus on scientific methods or application of scientific knowledge.

Constructivist paradigm: design as a social process (Rittel and Webber 1973), ‘object and subject worlds’ (Bucciarelli, 2002), user centered design (properties and structures of experience) (Norman, D. A. 1986). 

Focus on designing with and for humans.

Activity Based Design Conceptualizations 

Pragmatist paradigm: reflective practices (Schön 1984), hypothesis testing (Broadbent 1984), activity theory based design conceptualizations (Bedny and Meister 2014, Cash and Kreye 2017) 

Focus on human subject and object oriented activities.

Activity Theory Primer

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AT based definition of building design (adapted from Bedny and Harris 2005): 

The building design is a purpose directed system where motivation, cognition, and behaviors are integrated with respect to the ‘bringing-into-being’ of a new building.

Activity Theory Primer

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Activity system as a multy-scale phenomenon: 

Activity: subjectively distinct periods of human activity associated with fulfilling a motivation.

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Task: a temporally and subjectively distinct part of an activity, required for the achievement of a goal under specific conditions.

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Action: mental and practical actions are the last conscious level of design activity (fragment of task), always associated with the duration, place and a designer.

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Operations: actions are further divided into unconscious mental and practical operations.

Design Management

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Lean DM Concepts: 

Based on the TFV theory, design project management has three functions (Koskela et al. 2002): 

Design system design: Achieving the three goals (value, transformation, and flow)

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Design system operation: Planning, execution, and control of design operations

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Design system improvement: Feedback for facilitating learning and improvement

Social Aspects of DM: 

The functions of DM with respect to social aspects need to be clarified.

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Rekola et al. (2012) proposed three other aspects related to the social dimensions of DM: substance, interaction, and personal levels.

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DM is responsible for the development of shared mental models on task and process throughout all phases of the design process by using different means to explicate the tacit knowledge.

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A Proposed Framework Production Management Functions 1. Design System Design

Technical view of design

Social view of design

TFV Design-asargumentation Design-asknowledgeexplication

2. Design System Operation

2.1 Planning

2.2 Execution

Management- Communication as-planning theory

Management -as-organizing

Languageaction perspective

2.3 Control Thermostat model

3. Design System Improvement Metrics

Scientific First Run Study experimentation

Visual Models

The three Nested Cycles of Design System Operation (Not in the article)

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A Proposed Framework Production Management Functions 1. Design System Design

Technical view of design

Social view of design

TFV Design-asargumentation Design-asknowledgeexplication

2. Design System Operation

2.1 Planning

2.2 Execution

Management- Communication as-planning theory

Management -as-organizing

Languageaction perspective

2.3 Control Thermostat model

3. Design System Improvement Metrics

Scientific First Run Study experimentation

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Visual Models

The three Nested Cycles of Design System Operation (Not in the article)

The design management execution function (adapted from Bølviken et al. (2010))

Conclusion

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

The design activity is a complex phenomenon, and so is the DM.



DM is influenced by how a design activity as such is conceptualized: 



designing is a human activity, not as a thing (product) or event (decisionmaking).

Holistic DM has a dual nature: design management is the management of a structured system of object and subject-oriented, technical and social mental and practical actions of design.

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Thank you!

Q&A

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Appendix 1: A Description of an Activity System

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Appendix 2: Relationship Between Design Activity and Design Management Functions Focus of Study

Objects of Study

Activity Theory

Activity

Building Design Example

Project

Lean Design Management

Design, Operate, Improve

Last Planner System

Phase (Pull) Master plan (Should) Planning (Should)

Phases

Units of Analysis

Task

Action

Operation

Tasks

Actions

Operations

Plan, Execute, Control Lookahead (Can), Weekly (Will), First Run Studies, Metrics