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THE EMERGENCE AND IMPACT OF SYNCHRONY IN DESIGN TEAMS: A COMPUTATIONAL STUDY

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 June 2023

Marija Majda Perišić ,
Mario Štorga  and
John Gero
Marija Majda Perišić*
Affiliation:
University of Zagreb, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Naval Architecture, Croatia;
Mario Štorga
Affiliation:
University of Zagreb, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Naval Architecture, Croatia; Luleå University of Technology, Sweden;
John Gero
Affiliation:
UNC Charlotte, USA
*
Perisic, Marija Majda, University of Zagreb, FSB, Croatia, [email protected]

Abstract

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Studies revealed that, while collaborating, humans tend to synchronise on multiple levels (e.g., neurocognitive or physiological). Inter-brain synchrony has been linked to improved problem-solving, decision-making, and creativity. Nevertheless, studies on synchrony in design teams started to emerge only recently. This study contributes to this stream of research by utilising a computational model of a design team to explore the relationships between team cohesion, synchrony, and team performance. The experiments revealed a positive link between team cohesion level and the emergence of (cognitive) synchrony. Furthermore, cohesive teams were found to be more efficient, converging quicker and producing solutions at a higher rate. In addition, the diversity of the solutions generated by highly cohesive teams tends to increase over time. Teams in medium- and low-cohesive settings initially generate highly diverse solutions, but such diversity decreases as the simulation progresses. Finally, highly-cohesive teams were found to be prone to premature convergence.

Keywords

TeamworkSimulationDesign cognitionSynchrony
Type
Article
Information
Proceedings of the Design Society , Volume 3: ICED23 , July 2023 , pp. 3385 - 3394
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BYCreative Common License - NCCreative Common License - ND
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is unaltered and is properly cited. The written permission of Cambridge University Press must be obtained for commercial re-use or in order to create a derivative work.
Copyright
The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press

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