Dissertation in the field of design: MA Pekka Murto
Through a single case study on the development process of the Viking Line Grace passenger ship, the dissertation studies how design is integrated to complex and networked product development.
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MA Pekka Murto will defend his dissertation Design integration in complex and networked product development. A case study of architectural design in the development process of a greener passenger ship. on Friday 1 December 2017.
Opponent: PhD, prof. Tore Kristensen, Copenhagen Business School
Custos: prof. Oscar Person, Aalto University Department of Design
Discussion will be in English.
More information:
Design can have a significant role in improving the environmental and business performance of products and services, but only if it is properly integrated to product and service development. Typically, design literature recommends that design should be integrated to development processes as early as possible and used in a prominent and leading role.
However, previous research has not thoroughly addressed questions of design integration in technically complex and networked product development, where individual professional contributions are typically small and the early phases are highly uncertain. Through a single case study on the development process of the Viking Line Grace passenger ship, this dissertation studies how design is integrated to complex and networked product development.
The results of the study show that while design held a central role in designing the passenger areas of the ship, making change in other domains – such as sustainability – was far more challenging. This was largely due to the complexity of the ship as a product and how complexity is managed in the shipbuilding process. In particular, the study shows that instead of using design as a way of envisioning and defining what will be made, it was used as a part of progressive boundary development for narrowing down development options and managing the complexity in the development process. Based on these findings, the dissertation suggests that prolonged design integration may be a better strategy in complex and networked product development.
Welcome!
The dissertation notice and the published dissertation are placed for public display at the Learning Hub Arabia (Hämeentie 135 C, 5th floor, room 570), at latest 10 days before the defence date.