Identifying and Analysing Risk Factors from a Sociotechnical System Perspective: A Case Study

Abstract

In the current paper, a set of 20 synthesised sociotechnical principles [1] is used to examine how the multidisciplinary teams’ performance affects the project design delivery. The paper aims to address the following research objectives: (1) whether an approach based on the 20 sociotechnical principles [1] is one that can lead to successful project design; and (2) identify and analyse risk factors from a Sociotechnical System (STS) perspective. To this end, the above objectives were achieved by analysing the team performance of students participating in a collaborative design case project at Heriot-Watt University. The case study findings confirmed the importance of the sociotechnical principles [1] and risk factors associated with a collaborative design project. Overall, the findings demonstrate the relevance of the sociotechnical principles for addressing project design problems.