Annette Böhmer

TUM, ME, Faculty Member

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Papers by Annette Böhmer

Towards agile development of physical products a startup case study

2017 International Conference on Engineering, Technology and Innovation (ICE/ITMC)

Changes in product development processes can occur for many reasons, some of which are difficult ... more Changes in product development processes can occur for many reasons, some of which are difficult to predict or anticipate [1]. They are caused externally (e.g. change in customer needs) or internally (e.g. product complexity). This leads to a limited effectiveness of traditional (product-) developments methods and requires the incorporation of new ones. One of the main strategies handling uncertainty is to accomplish the challenge of being agile that goes hand in hand with ever-present change [2]. Especially, multiple-discipline mechatronic engineering needs to cope with a high level of uncertainty and complexity. This paper aims to address this challenges by examining mechatronic product development within a start-up, that is specialized on new product development and a flexible cooperation. It proposes a holistic methodology that integrates the perspectives of agile development, product architecture development and engineering change management. The goal of the project presented as a case study in this paper was to develop a machine that automatically produces a special sort of Omani bread on demand for household and small restaurant usage.

Agile Innovation - Challenges while Implementing Agile Approaches within complex mechatronic processes of large corporations

Increasing innovation dynamic requires faster processes and more flexibility for complex products... more Increasing innovation dynamic requires faster processes and more flexibility for complex products (Link, 2014). There are many innovation and innovation management related studies in agile software development. However, there is a research gap for on a detailed view on how the agile teams innovate exactly (Tomi Juhola et al., 2013). It is especially interesting to consider the corporate constraints and the related stakeholders within the corporation. What kind of agile methodologies are used while pushing innovation projects within the corporate boundaries and how do these happen? Innovation is especially challenging, where it is most disruptive not only of existing markets but rather organizational structures (Smith, 2007). Considering agile approaches within highly regulated context, the paper provides an insight into the challenges while implementing agile approaches within automotive industry.

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TAF Agile Framework

TAF Agile Framework addresses the challenge of providing a methods framework for agile mechatroni... more TAF Agile Framework addresses the challenge of providing a methods framework for agile mechatronic product development. It aims to reduce uncertainty towards the product within minimum time and resources by taking a holistic, interdisciplinary perspective on the product and iteratively increases knowledge by applying the scientific method to the domains of desirability, feasibility and viability. It crystallizes this knowledge by building prototypes and artifacts to disseminate it quickly throughout large teams. It integrates best practices from traditional mechatronic development (e.g. Munich Procedural Model) with methods inspired by lean startup, scrum and design thinking. It coordinates cross-functional teams and helps to identify critical functions in order to build the right things before building them right. TAF is applied wherever companies need to adapt to a changing market, where the current business model or rather product lost its viability and where mechatronic products...

Case Study: Individualization of a Fully Automated Coffee Machine

People aspire to individuality and look for products that correspond to their needs as much as po... more People aspire to individuality and look for products that correspond to their needs as much as possible. In the InnoCyFer project the complete process of individualization - starting with the personalization by the customer and ending with the individual manufacturing - is implemented on the basis of a fully automatic coffee machine. This paper focused on the individualization of an existing product based on the given product architecture and developed a system of criteria to evaluate the existing product with reference to possibilities for individualizations. Approaches to develop customized products are shown. Both modular and customized product development, as well as the product creation process of customized products, are discussed. An analysis of the fully automatic coffee machine is outlined and a possibility to evaluate standardized and customized components. Further options for individualization, like add-on modules or the restructuring of the product architecture of the fu...

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Cooperation between large companies and start-ups: the access to drive disruptive innovation

According to Christopher Clayton’s Innovator’s Dilemma large corporations face a threat of disrup... more According to Christopher Clayton’s Innovator’s Dilemma large corporations face a threat of disruptive innovation. By use of products and services with a moderate amount of new technologies, new business models can be created, which later on oust established companies. Particularly start-ups seem to be more prone to drive disruptive innovations than large corporations. This paper illustrates the need for cooperation between large companies and start-ups in order to pursue disruptive innovations and thereby introduces a Disruptive Innovation Strategy. With this under consideration, an extensive classification model of different types of cooperation is generated. This Strategic Classification Model takes previous classification models in literature into account and integrates these in a holistic approach. The core idea of disruptive innovation rather referring to business model innovation than purely technologically driven innovation is reflected in this model. Hence, instead of facing...

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Media Richness Theory in Agile Development

When product development involves many uncertainties and changes are highly likely, agile approac... more When product development involves many uncertainties and changes are highly likely, agile approaches are valuable. They integrate customers into the development process frequently and explore what satisfies them best. For that, the development team builds working prototypes, demonstrates them and receives feedback being incorporated into the next iteration. The team collects validated learnings and reduces risks early. However, building physical prototypes frequently is difficult, expensive and time-consuming. We contribute to that field by adapting the Media Richness Theory from communication research for agile development. As a result, we present a guiding model how to choose an appropriate kind of prototype depending on the complexity of communication task. In doing so, we illustrate it’s plausibility with an exemplary case from practice.

Medical Device Design Process: A Medical Engineering Perspective

An approach for the planning phase of a medical device design process is presented. Challenges ar... more An approach for the planning phase of a medical device design process is presented. Challenges are discussed and a strategy to identify all required specifications is proposed. Hereby, the interdisciplinary collaboration of engineer, patient and clinician will be examined. As an exemplary case a shortened version of the development of an instrumented tissue expander is illustrated. The proposed procedure gives a profound knowledge of the medical background, existing devices and resulting limitations as well as their correlations. New aspects of other fields are included, giving a new attempt. Besides, the goal of this exemplary process is to be certain that a product can be developed more easily by including a clinician with his knowledge and experience into the engineering process.

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Towards Agile Product Development - The Role of Prototyping

The complexity in all products and processes increases and the need for operative agility is seen... more The complexity in all products and processes increases and the need for operative agility is seen as a key factor of success (Link and Lewirck, 2014). Agile approaches are extremely beneficial for situations with high uncertainty and a continuously changing environment. During the exploration new insights are gathered and an abstract vision becomes a concrete product idea. Based on testing and user feedback the feature set is adapted. The guiding principles are the interdisciplinarity and the strong design orientation. Rapid implementation of ideas into objects ("manifestation") triggers internal and external communication and feedback mechanisms. The prototype is seen as a process- and phase-spanning driver of the innovation process. However to date, there is no clear understanding of how an agile development actually looks like in the field of mechatronics and what the role of prototyping is in this context. Thus, the goal of this explorative study is to evaluate how pro...

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Mastering Execution: Four Generations of THINK.MAKE.START. At a Corporation

Beyond all the tool, methods, and processes, that shall improve innovation in the organization ex... more Beyond all the tool, methods, and processes, that shall improve innovation in the organization execution is the key. Ambidexter calls for handling daily business with perfection, while simultaneously exploring new topics. However, studies and practice have shown that companies are having a hard time with both at the same time. New approaches are needed to promote the absence of thinking barriers facilitate true innovation. With Think.Make.Start. (TMS) a format was created to empower employees and give them the freedom needed to innovate. The study reflect on four generations of TMS at an OEM.

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Prototyping as a thinking approach in design

In the context of the Mechanical Engineering (ME) 203 Design and Manufacturing course at Stanford... more In the context of the Mechanical Engineering (ME) 203 Design and Manufacturing course at Stanford University, a mixed method research design called embedded design using qualitative and quantitative data was performed to explore (i) how (physical) prototyping and prototypes were used students referred to as novice designers in the ME 203 design process, (ii) the effect of prototyping on novice designers thinking processes and (iii) what affects prototyping results of novice designers? The aim of this research is not to seek testing hypotheses, but rather to develop interpretive understanding and gaining meaning from (student) experiences, thinking and learning process while prototyping. The research explores what is thinking look like going through a discovery process (gaining information and new knowledge) and forming decisions (as related to the thinking cycle) while prototyping: build to think.

Scrum within Hardware Development

Agile approaches have matured for software projects while hardware projects continue to embrace t... more Agile approaches have matured for software projects while hardware projects continue to embrace traditional development approaches. Many innovation projects fail due to late clarification of technical feasibility. Especially high-tech projects require innovative solutions to meet the restrictions of cost and schedule while still delivering high performance critical systems. Since Scrum does not have any software-specific content, it can also be used in other development areas such as hardware development. However, there are currently only isolated scientific reports that show the successful use of Scrum in hardware development. In order to investigate the potential of Scrum in hardware development, the agile approach is applied for the development of an exoskeleton at a large corporate within automotive industry (OEM). The experiences made after each iteration are outlined in detail focusing on the characteristics of hardware development and the corporate context.

Think. make. start.-an agile framework

According to Vetter (2011), there are two main perspectives regarding the innovation processes: o... more According to Vetter (2011), there are two main perspectives regarding the innovation processes: object-specific and context-specific. A pure phase and context consideration is no longer appropriate. The approach shifts from purely linear and sequentially to iterative and collaborative. Agility is the capability to react, and adopt to expected and unexpected changes within a dynamic environment constantly and quickly; and to use those changes (if possible) as an advantage. Makerspaces can also be an Open Innovation Ecosystem, boosting the innovation capability of its community.

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When digital meets physical - Agile Innovation of Mechatronic Systems

Digitalization leads to dynamic systems and makes the agility of companies a decisive competitive... more Digitalization leads to dynamic systems and makes the agility of companies a decisive competitive factor. In order to meet this challenge, an approach for the agile development of mechatronic systems was developed. The result of this research work is the agile project setting "Think.Make.Start". (TMS) and the resulting agile prototyping framework "TAF". This result-oriented approach allows the agile development of mechatronic products in minimum time and with minimal resources. The approach was evaluated in the automotive sector and an agile innovation strategy ("startup practices") was derived from it.

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Open Innovation Ecosystem - Makerspaces within an Agile Innovation Process

Successful innovation seeking and rapid realization of ideas comprises one of the main focus area... more Successful innovation seeking and rapid realization of ideas comprises one of the main focus areas for large enterprises. On this account, an Open Innovation Ecosystem is a huge opportunity to break deadlocked and rigid processes and structures to follow up on new ideas and implement them more quickly and also flexibly. This makes Makerspace a promising measure within the innovation process. The OIE allows employees a facilitated networking and communicating across spatial, organizational and hierarchical borders. A first step to formalise the application of agile frameworks in the innovation process was made. The suggested integration of frameworks has to be examined in practice. Furthermore, the importance of prototyping and thereby Makerspaces has to be analysed.

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Agile Mechatronics – Innovation Strategy for Cross-functional Teams in the Age of Uncertainty

The impact of the innovation dynamics on an existing vehicle architecture is analysed. To uncover... more The impact of the innovation dynamics on an existing vehicle architecture is analysed. To uncover areas where more agility is needed, a methodology was developed based on structural complexity management. Overall, the analysis has shown that the relevance of entertainment electronics in the vehicle is constantly increasing. A better understanding of innovation dynamics contributes to a better focus on the added value of a product for the customer. An innovation cell can act as a catalyst for change and real cross-functional teams. It increases the tolerance to failure, promotes the willing to change and may transform the organization into an agile innovation system. An independent X-department is suggested as sustainable solution for ongoing innovation projects. It helps to overcome legacy structures, politics, and culture and gives the teams autonomy, incentives, and focus required to innovate.

Evaluation of Taf Agile Framework Based on the Development of an Innovative Emergency Wearable for Seniors

Proceedings of the DESIGN 2018 15th International Design Conference

Due to shortened technology lifecycles and changing customer needs, companies are forced to get t... more Due to shortened technology lifecycles and changing customer needs, companies are forced to get their products to the market quicker. To overcome these challenges, agile product development methods have been developed. After being widely prevailed in software development, agile methods find their way into hardware development. The TAF Agile Framework provides a procedural model specifically for developing mechatronic products. In this paper TAF is used for the development of an innovative emergency wearable for seniors and is evaluated using an adaption of the 4-Dimensional Analytical Tool.

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Implications of Contextual Empathic Design for Engineering Education

2018 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition Proceedings

Benedikt studied Medical Engineering and Mechanical Engineering at the Technical University of Mu... more Benedikt studied Medical Engineering and Mechanical Engineering at the Technical University of Munich (TUM). In 2017, he joined the Designing Education Lab at Stanford University to learn more about the integration of user backgrounds in design. He was involved in various entrepreneurial activities and worked as a student in small, medium and large companies. The creation of innovation was both an essential part in his studies as it was in his jobs. Ms. Annette Isabel Böhmer, Laboratory for Product Development and Lightweight Design Annette Böhmer studied Mechanical Engineering at Technical University of Munich (TUM). Currently she is about to finish her PhD in Agile Innovation of Mechatronic Systems. She co-founded Think.Make.Start., which is a lecture at TUM, that already created˜10 startups (eg. Hawa Dawa, Kewazo, Solos mirrors). This so-called Makeathon format was evaluated at BMW Group with˜250 employees that convinced top management with their working prototypes, created in just 5 days. Besides she benefit of a scholarship "Manage&More" at UnternehmerTUM, the Center for Innovation and Business Creation at TUM.

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Engineering Change Management Within Agile Product Development—A Case Study

Smart Innovation, Systems and Technologies, 2017

Currently, numerous approaches on how to cope with engineering changes exist in form of complex E... more Currently, numerous approaches on how to cope with engineering changes exist in form of complex Engineering Change Management (ECM) systems. However, startups and small companies have difficulties implementing these systems due to the lack of flexibility and agility—in addition to financial aspects. A trend mostly used within Software Development to cope with fast changing environments is agile development. However, while transferring agile frameworks into the development of mechatronic systems new challenges on managing Engineering Changes arise. The approach proposed in this paper aims to manage Engineering Changes within an agile framework providing decision support for three different situations in which changes can occur.

Open Innovation Ecosystem: Towards Collaborative Innovation

Innovation is a precondition for the success of companies in today’s markets to differentiate fro... more Innovation is a precondition for the success of companies in today’s markets to differentiate from their competitors. Particularly disruptive innovations are addressed in numerous research contributions, product contests and advertisements. They carry a high risk of failure and often require a high investment in research and development. (Watty, 2013) Corporate groups are often very successful in specialized market segments and with incremental innovations adapted to the needs of their customers. Regarding disruptive innovations, startups and small businesses have better capabilities capturing a new market in a minimum of time (Christensen, 2013). This paper addresses the research question how an Open Innovation Ecosystem can boost the innovation capability of its community. It describes the context of an (open) innovation system from an engineering perspective and foucses on challenges and opportunities of today’s businesses. In conclusion, an exemplary case of an Open Innovation E...

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