Requirements Culture: A Case Study on Product Development and Requirement Perspectives

A desire to better understand requirements and their uses within product development inspired this case study conducted at a large power tool company. Researchers were interested in determining if a requirements culture existed within the company investigated, how this culture varied across departments, and how individuals at the company viewed requirements in engineering design. Ten semi-structured interviews were conducted by five teams of interviewers over the course of two months to answer these questions. Employees in various positions across the company were interviewed in the study including Project Engineers, a CAD Designer, an Industrial Designer, Project Managers, and Vice Presidents. Through a detailed analysis of the interview transcripts and documentation, it was determined that the company did have a definite requirement culture and that the transfer of requirements across departments must remain consistent for the individual groups to be effective. Furthermore, it was found that employee engagement with requirements was more significant with those who were involved in the early stages of product development.

Smarter Machines (1944–1952)

This chapter traces Ovshinsky’s transition from machinist to inventor. It deals mainly with his first important invention, an innovative automatic lathe. After returning to Akron, he started his own company, Stanford Roberts, where he built the prototype of his Benjamin center drive lathe, followed by more advanced models. The lathe’s superior performance led to expansion of the company, but financial difficulties eventually led Ovshinsky to sell Stanford Roberts to the New Britain Machine Tool Company, where his lathe was spectacularly successful in machining artillery shell cases for use in the Korean War. Intent on further automating his lathe, he studied cybernetics and applied its principles of using sensors and feedback to the automation of other devices, like a self-guided tractor.

Battle of Forms: Butler Machine Tool Company Limited v. Ex-Cell-O Corporation

All business-to-business contracts have now come to be done on standard contract terms. Every company has its General Conditions of Contract on which it would deal with its customers. Business parties negotiate, converge and do business with each other. However, if a dispute arises, both the parties claim that there is a contract between them. And each party also claims that the contract is on its terms. The claim is important, for each party sets terms favourable to itself. This is called the ‘battle of forms’. The Butler Machine Tool Case of the Court of Appeal explores the rules of this battle.