Findings From A Field Study of Prototyping Digital Engineering Workflows in Operational Settings

The authors investigated the prototyping and iteration of three digital engineering prototype workflows in an operational engineering organization. Data were collected from an ethnographic field study that included observations, interviews, and participatory design workshops. The data were triangulated and synthesized thematically, yielding the following key findings: (1) The value of having an ethnographic field study in improving engineering teams' prototyping (2) Prototyping digital engineering capabilities in realistic operational settings offers enhanced opportunities for buy-in and technology infusion (3) Experienced professionals identified and refined new use cases through prototyped workflows. The findings and the context-rich details from the field study have been instrumental in furthering digital engineering applied research and in defining follow-on efforts to advance engineering practice with subject matter experts in their respective operational environments.