Admission requirements
Intended for all BA and BSc students who successfully completed their first year-programme (propedeuse)
Description
Most products and services are interrelated with other products and services, or are part of more complex systems. Innovation of products and services therefore requires understanding, managing and making decisions for all of those interfaces – usually through establishing cooperation among different stakeholders, increasingly including societal stakeholders.
For example, hydrogen can be used in cars as an alternative to petrol-based or electric cars, using fuel cell technology. From a sustainability perspective this might be the better alternative but it would require an entirely new infrastructure with standard interfaces between the cars and the ‘fuel’ stations in this infrastructure. The possible new technology competes against existing ones, the question is how to measure environmental performance, serious safety issues apply, and companies compete with each other but also need a common solution in order to make things happen. So at the supply side we observe a dynamic process of cooperation and competition between a large variety of stakeholders which should result in products (or services) that will be accepted in the market while addressing societal needs, and for which shared interface specifications are essential. Interfaces link the different parts of the system and link the system to human beings. These interface specifications should remain stable during a longer time period, which allows innovations in other parts of the system, such as the cars.
Increasingly, innovation is about integrated systems of products and services rather than single products or services and this course provides you with knowledge and skills on you how to manage such innovation projects.
Course objectives
This course aims to provide you with basic knowledge about interface management and, next, its integration in innovation management. This should enable you to develop and employ a strategy for an individual company, a supply chain or a branch of business on how to manage product or service innovation in combination with interfaces. After this course, you will be able to:
explain how interfaces support complex systems of processes, products and services.
illustrate interfaces’ roles in innovation of such systems.
describe how standards can be used to specify interfaces.
distinguish between different ways in which standards can be developed.
formulate a strategy for a company to influence interface specifications in a multi-stakeholder setting.
make concrete recommendations on using innovation and interface management to enable responsible innovation.
Timetable
The timetables are available through My Timetable.
Mode of instruction
The teaching method is a mixture of
lectures;
teaching cases;
role playing game;
class discussions;
company visit;
individual and group assignments.
Assessment method
Assessment
Individual assignment
Written test
Individual assignment
Weighing
Individual assignment 30%
Written test 30%
Individual assignment 40%
Resit
The students are allowed one resit per examination. It is not allowed to resit an examination or assignment for which they have received a pass (6,0 or higher). It is allowed to resit an examination or assignment which they haven't done during the first occasion. The resit format needs to be discussed with the teacher of the course in line with examination regulations.
In case the student is granted an extra resit by the Board of Examiners, this resit has to take place within study year 2021-2022.
Inspection and feedback
How and when an exam review will take place will be disclosed together with the publication of the exam results at the latest. If a student requests a review within 30 days after publication of the exam results, an exam review will have to be organized.
Reading list
Publications not available in the databases of Erasmus University’s library will be made available via Brightspace.
Dul, Jan, Ralph Bruder, Peter Buckle , Pascale Carayon , Pierre Falzon , William S. Marras , John R. Wilson & Bas van der (2012). A strategy for Human Factors/Ergonomics: Developing the discipline and profession. Ergonomics, 55, 4, 377-395
De Vries, Henk J. (2008) Standardisation: A Business Science Perspective. In: Judith Schueler, Andreas Fickers & Anique Hommels (Eds) Bargaining Norms, Arguing Standards – Negotiating Technical Standards. STT74. The Hague: STT Netherlands Study Centre for Technology Trends, pp. 18-32.
De Vries, Henk J., Paul Wiegmann (2017) Impact of service standardization on service innovation. In Richard Hawkins, Knut Blind & Robert Page (Eds) (2017) Handbook of Standards and Innovation. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar, pp. 187-211.
Van de Kaa, Geerten, Jan van den Ende, Henk J. de Vries & Eric van Heck (2011) Factors for winning interface format battles: A review and synthesis of the literature. Technological Forecasting & Social Change 78, 8, 1397-1411
De Vries, Henk, Albert Feilzer, Harry Gundlach & Jan Simons (2010) Conformity Assessment. In: W. Hesser, A.J. Feilzer & H.J. de Vries (Eds) Standardisation in Companies and Markets. 3rd edition. Hamburg: Helmut Schmidt University Hamburg, pp. 871-904.
De Vries, Henk J. & Andries Haverkamp (2015) Overcoming resistance against quality control – A philosophical-empirical approach. International Journal of Quality and Reliability Management 32, 1, 18-41
Wiegmann, Paul M., Henk J. de Vries & Knut Blind (2017). Multi-Mode Standardisation: A Critical Review and a Research Agenda. Research Policy, 46, 8, 1370-1386
De Vries, Henk J. & Verhagen, W. Pieter. (2016). Impact of changes in regulatory performance standards on innovation: A case of energy performance standards for new-built houses. Technovation, 48-49, 56-68
Registration
Students need to register for the minor at their home university and in uSis Leiden, and for each individual course in uSis Leiden.
Enrolment through uSis is mandatory.
General information about uSis is available on the website
uSis.
Contact
For substantive questions, contact the lecturer listed in the right information bar. Prof.dr.ir. H.J (Henk) de Vries
For questions about enrolment, admission, etc, contact the Education Administration Office: Arsenaal
Remarks
Not applicable.