Modelling engineering interfaces in big science collaborations at CERN: an interaction-based model

Bertrand Nicquevert () and Jean-François Boujut ()
Additional contact information
Bertrand Nicquevert: CERN - European Organization for Nuclear Research - CERN [Genève]
Jean-François Boujut: G-SCOP_CC - Conception collaborative - G-SCOP - Laboratoire des sciences pour la conception, l'optimisation et la production - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - UGA - Université Grenoble Alpes - Grenoble INP - Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology - UGA - Université Grenoble Alpes

Post-Print from HAL

Abstract: In large engineering projects, the complexity of organizational and decision-making structures is a challenge for efficient management. Middle management plays a crucial and often underestimated role in the daily life of these complex projects. Our goal is to provide theoretical tools to seize the complexity of large engineering projects from the point of view of the human actors. An analysis of the organization of the ATLAS detector within the LHC at CERN was conducted over a period of several years. This contribution presents work on engineering interfaces in collaborative activities by showing how middle managers (mostly engineers) act as interfaces with other stakeholders and deal with complex socioeconomic and technical issues. The interface model described is human-centric and aims at reflecting the complexity of engineering management situations. Different types of interactions stem from this model, as well as the exchange spaces established through the interface actor. The potential of application of the model is illustrated through two project case studies, one in the field of big science and the second one in high-tech medical equipment.

Keywords: Interface modelling; Design collaboration; Big science; Mediation; Interaction; Middle management; Trading zones; CERN (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021-10-20
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Published in Research in Engineering Design, 2021, ⟨10.1007/s00163-021-00375-8⟩

There are no downloads for this item, see the EconPapers FAQ for hints about obtaining it.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:journl:hal-03390654

DOI: 10.1007/s00163-021-00375-8

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in Post-Print from HAL
Bibliographic data for series maintained by CCSD ().