Challenges in Reference System Management – Descriptive Model of Barriers using Research Results as Reference System Elements in Corporate Product Engineering

When engineering new products and systems, engineers take reference to already existing (socio-)technical systems or sub-systems to reduce development time and risk. These references can originate from e.g., previous products, competitors, nature, or research. Consolidated and linked to each other in a reference system, these references form the basis and starting point of the development as reference system elements. Especially research is a rich and potent source for reference system elements regarding knowledge and technologies on the edge in all disciplines. Using this source is a non-trivial process. Thus, it can often be neglected by many companies. The goal of this publication is the exploration of barriers and challenges arising when engineers want to use research results as reference system elements in corporate product engineering. Based on semi-structured interviews with experts from nine different companies, here we present a descriptive model that explains and sets barriers and challenges in context with different types of research results as well as the methods and approaches to gather them. E.g., the results show that often the lack of a description of the possible applications of research results is a barrier to perceiving their value. ... mehrWe anticipate our model to be a starting point for further research to improve the applicability of research results as reference system elements in corporate product engineering. Therefore, we intend to develop recommendations and guidelines for product engineers and researchers respectively to overcome the barriers and improve the representation of research results.