Enhancing Collaboration In Design Groups: Lessons From Music Improvisation Towards Product Innovation

Enhancing Collaboration in Design Groups: Lessons from Music Improvisation towards Product Innovation

In turbulent and uncertain environments within design groups, conflict represents one of the most prominent threats to collaborative work towards innovation. In attempting to tackle the persisting trouble of friction in team collaboration, researchers and practitioners turn their attention to the phenomenon of improvisation extensively performed by jazz musicians. The fascination with music comes from the fact that improvisers keep an intricate and serendipitous process of high creativity and inventiveness. This book considers music improvisation a real paradigm of group effectiveness and regards design as a spontaneous and serendipitous activity. In this context, this work investigates an ensemble of musicians performing music extemporaneously and three design teams co-creating design solutions. The groups are put under scrutiny with the same improvisational criteria. It is found that verbal communication, task definition, and validation of individual performance are critical aspects in design improvisation towards effective collaboration and innovation.