Multi-team Integration: Interdependence and Integrative Mechanisms

Abstract

The drive towards Integrated Product Development (IPD) includes an impetus to organize around Integrated Product Teams (IPTs). The use of IPTs has brought with it many issues, including those at the IPT interfaces. Program integration (crossfunctional, upstream/downstream, customer and supplier) can exist at several levels, within IPTs and between IPTs. This paper focuses on the realm of IPT interdependence and categorizes several Integrative Mechanisms (IMs) to facilitate interteam integration. IMs are strategies and tools for effectively coordinating actions across IPTs within a program. This paper is based on studies in the aerospace industry, but the implications extend to any large, complex development program.