Increasing Performance in Complex Product Development Through Structured Information and Cross-Functional Collaboration

A joint comparison between two separate case studies is presented in this paper. The studies targeted an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) and a selected software supplier to the OEM. Two different measuring methods based on a quantitative and a qualitative approach were used in the compared studies. These two different perspectives are integrated by cross analysis and triangulation into a synthetic understanding of what problems are in common for the two companies and how these interrelate. The studies, with focus on information management issues aimed at identifying improvement areas for performance in product development. It is concluded that factors like cross-functional collaboration and information structure were targeted as areas for critical improvement in both case studies.