Integrated product development project in a multi-cultural and multi-professional background team: challenges and key success factors

Abstract : This paper describes the key success factors of an integrated product development project involving several stakeholders from different professional and cultural backgrounds. Based on a summer school project, a detailed case study is described to illustrate the importance of project team commitment and member profile complementarities in achieving the project requirements under time, geographical and cultural constraints. The case study consists in designing a human washing device for elder people to allow them a certain degree of freedom and privacy to wash themselves. Thereby, engineering, manufacturing as well as a business aspects has to be considered in the final concept. After analyzing the case study, challenges as well as opportunities during the project are summarized and described in an adapted approach. At the end, the main influence factors for a successful integrated product development project are analyzed and concluded hierarchically.