Analysis of design projects

Abstract The contradicting conditions of modern product development are well-known and often claimed: engineers have to collaborate in differently organised projects under time constraints, and they have to meet high quality requirements at the lowest possible price. But how can they be supported? Attempting to answer this question we need to know, what factors influence teamwork in engineering design practice, when (in what situation) they are of importance in the course of a project and, of course, how they interact. This paper presents an approach designed to answer these questions by empirical investigations in industry and highlights selected results on mechanisms that lead to success or failure in product development. This paper is based on Frankenberger and Badke-Schaub [1] and was updated and revised for this Special Issue.