The conceptual design phase is a critical step, since it influences the subsequent steps during product development with regard to cost, quality and performance. Previous research has focused on cross-functional teams within an organization. However, many product development projects benefit from the participation of members from different organizations, not least during the conceptual design phase of technical products, where it is essential to consider different aspects of the product-to-be. Therefore, we conducted an in-depth case study of a crossfunctional inter-organizational group testing ideation methods in a real-life setting within a development project in the railway sector. The group comprised participants from an infrastructure manager, a supplier, a maintenance contractor and research bodies. The tested ideation methods were Method 635, the gallery method and the SIL method. The participants found working in a cross-functional inter-organizational group to be beneficial both during the group-analysis of the topics and during the generation of ideas on how to address the ideation topic. Applying the ideation methods to the ideation topics facilitated the sharing of information between participants, and the diversity of the group manifested itself in several ways during ideation. Overall, the gallery method was most popular, and the SIL method was least popular among the participants.
Using ideation methods in an optimal way has a great potential to increase the number of ideas which a team can contribute during the conceptual phase of product development in industry. Previous studies on ideation methods have been mainly statistical studies in a laboratory setting. In the present study, however, the aim was to develop tailor-made ideation methods in a specific context, among actors on a deregulated railway market, through close interaction between researchers and engineers in a real-world context. Considering previous relevant research on ideation methods, associative memory models and the findings from tests of established ideation methods performed in the same group, a number of preliminary design principles were formulated and implemented in an ideation method that combines individual phases of rotational and gallery viewing with phases of verbal group interaction. The method was tested and refined in a cross-functional inter-organizational group comprising participants from different actors in the railway sector. Besides its provision of qualitative and quantitative test results, the present study has considered the opinions of the participants in detail, which can give important insights into the factors determining whether such a method will be implemented in industry. The participants found the method to be more useful and to generate more ideas that could be used in practice compared to the established ideation methods which they had tried. The learning derived from the specific case was formalized into a number of design principles for ideation methods to be used in cross-functional inter-organizational groups.
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