Development of project management procedures for customer project business

Objective of the thesis is to develop project management procedure for chilled beam projects. In organization is recognized that project management techniques could help in large and complex projects. Information sharing have been challenging in projects, so improvement of information sharing is one key topic of the thesis. Academic researches and literature are used to find suitable project management theories and methods. Main theories are related to phases of the project and project management tools. Practical knowledge of project management is collected from two project business oriented companies. Project management tools are chosen and modified to fulfill needs of the beam projects. Result of the thesis is proposed project management procedure, which includes phases of the chilled beam projects and project milestones. Project management procedure helps to recognize the most critical phases of the project and tools help to manage information of the project. Procedure increases knowledge of the project management techniques and tools. It also forms coherent project management working method among the chilled beam project group.

Customer involvement in new service development

This case study aims at filling the research gap in the literature, by researching how customers experience customer involvement in new service development, in addition to giving insight on what are the organisational customers’ motivations to become involved in service development. These subjects are studied by conducting three interviews. The thesis gives a review of previous findings regarding customer-driven new service development, customer involvement, customer roles, modes of involvement, communication in the involvement process, what is the role of customer engagement and what are the motivational drivers for customers. The thesis also explains what new service development is and makes a distinction between new service development and new service design. The results revealed that organisational customers want to be involved throughout the development process, with active involvement in the beginning and end phases. Moreover, customers prefer face-to-face methods and active and bidirectional communication throughout the process. The findings propose seven motivational factors, a new framework for customer-driven new service development and communication process map. The managerial implications list five themes for service providers to take into consideration when involving customers to the service development process.

Customer needs in innovation and R&D strategy development

Tutkimuksen kohteena oleva yritys avasi innovaatiokeskuksen 2015 vuoden loppupuolella. Tutkimuksen tavoite on tutkia keinoja löytää asiakastarpeita innovaatiokeskuksessa sekä selvittää, kuinka asiakastarpeet sisällytetään innovaatio- ja tuotekehitysstrategiaan. Kattava prosessi asiakastarvekartoituksesta esitellään ja prosessi säädetään yritykselle sopivaksi asiakkaille tehdyn kyselyn tulosten mukaan. Lisäksi yrityksen tuotepäälliköille järjestettiin haastattelu, jotta heidän näkemyksiään asiakastarvekartoituksen kehittämisestä ja tarpeiden lisäämisestä strategiaan päästiin myös hyödyntämään. Asiakastarpeiden kartoittamiseen soveltuvaksi menetelmäksi löydettiin ryhmätyömalliin perustuva menetelmä, jossa tarpeita kerätään innovaatiokeskuksessa. Lisäksi tietokoneita hyödyntävä GDSS-kokous auttaa välttämään useita yleisiä kokousten ongelmia. Tutkimuksen mukaan asiakastarpeiden suuret kehityslinjat ja kaikista tärkeimmät tarpeet voidaan lisätä strategiaan hyödyntämällä innovaatiokenttiä, skenaarioita ja roadmappeja sekä asiakastarvetaulukkoja.