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A view of Systems Practice: Enabling quality in design
Author(s) -
Dunford Charlotte N.,
Yearworth Mike,
York Darren M.,
Godfrey Patrick
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
systems engineering
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.474
H-Index - 50
eISSN - 1520-6858
pISSN - 1098-1241
DOI - 10.1002/sys.21220
Subject(s) - stakeholder , quality (philosophy) , computer science , grounded theory , work (physics) , engineering management , knowledge management , management science , systems engineering , process management , software engineering , risk analysis (engineering) , engineering , qualitative research , business , management , sociology , social science , philosophy , epistemology , economics , mechanical engineering
The purpose of the study was to gain a greater understanding of the use of Systems Practice among engineers working in the Rolls‐Royce Defence Sector at its Bristol site and develop hypotheses about its use. This study is part of a larger project to investigate and improve the use and embedding of Systems Practice among engineers at the site. The current situation was studied using a combination of grounded theory and system dynamics, supported by the use of a computer‐aided qualitative data analysis software (CAQDAS) package. The results from this work show that Systems Practice is valued as a way of enabling quality in design but engineers find it challenging to adopt because of (i) lack of stakeholder appreciation of its value, (ii) their lack of experience with Systems Engineering, and (iii) logistical issues with its application. This work will be followed by group model building sessions to further develop the findings by identifying interventions to create and assess improvement in Systems Practice, in particular finding errors earlier in the design lifecycle. ©2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Syst Eng 16