Role of Design Teams in the Integration of Stakeholder Considerations

Abstract

Given the importance of stakeholder considerations to the aircraft’s overall mission and lifecycle performance, this work examines how stakeholder requirements are currently incorporated into the aircraft design process. A case study within an aircraft design firm found that human factors specialists are designated to address specific stakeholder considerations within the design process. This research explores how the perspectives of these specialists are integrated into aircraft design teams. Accounts from 25 semistructured interviews were analyzed using qualitative data analysis techniques. The results identify differences between the integration of stakeholder considerations within the pilot compartment group compared to other design groups. These differences can be described through six conditions related to group structure and goals, approaches to cross-disciplinary work, and shared language and mediums of translation among disciplines. These results highlight how to promote the integration of stakeholder concerns in complex systems design through the structure of design teams and groups, their goals, their resources, the choice of team members, and training for future and current design team members.