ABSTRACT
In the research project ‘Teamwork in Engineering Design Practice’ engineers and psychologists are investigating engineering design processes of teams in industry in order to get a more detailed understanding of the interdependencies in design practice. In four projects group design processes were observed and protocol analyses were performed. Additional data concerning the individual prerequisites, the group prerequisites and the environment were also gathered. By identifying phases of routine work on the one hand and ‘critical situations’ on the other hand the detailed design process was reduced to the crucial phases. Across the four projects 262 critical situations were identified. A further analysis identified the influencing factors of the different types of critical situations and their interrelations.
