Time to read: 5 min
机械工程师在将新的创新推向市场方面发挥了关键作用，与主要利益相关者的有效沟通是该过程的关键部分。在我们的最新构建和戏式网络研讨会中，产品设计和制造专家Greg Miner，Todd Taylor和David Cagle共享的技术共享技术，以提高工程师在产品管理中的影响力，以分享想法，获得团队的一致性并建立更好的产品。
在团队中有效沟通
Todd Taylor, Director of Program Development at Radius Innovation & Development, shared his approach to product development and communication among teams: The product has to work; it has to be viable on the market; and people have to want to buy it. Todd says he uses this framework as a tool to understand his counterparts in business and marketing if, for example, he’s breaking bad news about a product’s timeline.
“What’s the best way to put it, in terms they will receive more readily or understand?” he says. “I need to be empathetic to the marketer, business owner, and person driving the supply chain.”
原型和产品开发专家Gregg Miner同意。
“Engineers need to offer options and help other stakeholders understand you want to work with them and you’re a team player,” he says.
虚构的高级技术应用工程师David Cagle提醒机械工程师专注于了解要求是什么，并继续提出问题，以查看您获得了多少潜在解决方案。
“你可以推算出他们真正真了不得g for,” he says. “Write down requirements, show options, and show decision trees. Explain the possible paths.”
Cagle worked at Johnson & Johnson designing surgical tools.
他说：“外科医生对他们的工具非常特别。
卡格尔说，他必须弄清楚如何在没有工程指标的情况下了解该反馈。
Miner jumped in to share a JEDI mind trick he uses in situations when feedback is unclear.
“When they say, ‘It’s too squishy,’ I say, ‘Squishy?’ and pause,” he explains. “Then, they say, ‘Yeah, it’s like A, B, and C,’ and I’m gathering information. They fill in the blanks.”
People are more willing to open up and provide more information when you approach them as a helpful, engaged collaborator, says Taylor.
他说：“如果您将某人置于防御状态，那会损害您的损害，而不是他们的伤害，因为您正在尝试与该人互动并获得他们想要的东西的定义。”
沟通有关产品时间表
Webinar participant Jens asked a question:
“Schedules are so tricky, because on the one hand, setting a schedule based on everything working as expected and coming in on time–it just never happens, especially if your program is complicated, and you have a lot of dependences. On the other hand, people do need to be able to plan. Suggestions for how to handle that communication?”
Miner recommends looking at the amount of time it takes you to produce something and going backward from that, as well as working with your counterparts on other teams to understand their needs.
泰勒说：“我试图将其变成风险对话。”“即使我知道要花多长时间的时间，重要的是您如何吸收人们并接受日程安排。”
矿工强调这样一个事实，即即使一个项目资金充足，也不总是能解决所有问题。
“Money accelerates the schedule, but also the risk,” he says. “I’ve been fortunate to have worked with companies who have a lot of money, and you have to make them understand that money doesn’t always solve your problem.”
Communicating with electrical engineers
Webinar participant Daniel asked, “How can we incorporate these communications techniques with electrical engineers?”
泰勒（Taylor）指出，在他以前的公司中，电气工程团队处于完全不同的建筑物中，他与EE团队进行有关他们的担忧的沟通非常重要。
Cagle emphasizes the importance of documentation.
“Most requirements from electrical engineering to mechanical engineering should be spec’d out,” he says. “You’ll have to iterate.”
Miner recalled how at a company for which he once worked, helping to build optics, the director of electrical engineering told his team, “You need to be the squeaky wheel and always at the forefront of discussions, so you have their ear when you need to accomplish something.”
Taylor emphasizes that the best way to be heard is to be known for hearing other people.
他说：“我领导的ME团队倾向于将其放回他们身上，并说：‘如果您没有从EE同行获得所需的东西，那将有责任与他们交流。”“同情并更好地理解他们的世界。被称为团队合作者，活跃的听众，努力理解的人。然后，当您说些什么时，人们会想听。”
Webinar participant Tom chimed in:
他说：“从一开始就设定基调至关重要，使人们的预付款并在团队中获得强大的总理或盟友，以允许所有声音被听到和尊重，这对结果至关重要。”“让EE成为吱吱作响的轮非常重要，但是让每个人的观点都可以使程序目标排队非常重要。每周一次的检查，甚至每周只有15分钟的站立一次，每个学科的头部都会引起问题，这使一切都变得顺利。”
凯格尔（Cagle）在航空航天中开始了他的职业生涯，他强调写下项目要求，为沟通奠定基础。
他说：“ MES和EES会说数学和物理学，这通常就是共同点的地方。”
Applying communication skills to non-engineering counterparts
泰勒（Taylor）挑战了该集团，将与营销人员交流与工程对应人员的交流相同的能量和关注。
“In my experience, being able to help the line of business owner understand why a schedule is going to slip the way it’s going to slip, or why this prototype doesn’t work the way you hoped it would is important,” Taylor says. “It’s hard to explain to people in other disciplines how something affects the business and their KPIs, not just how it doesn’t work in terms of physics.”
泰勒说，跨学科有效沟通的最佳方法是了解他人的观点。
“I’ve always tried to coach the engineers I’ve managed to be as empathetic as possible, as curious and open-minded as possible, and frankly, as trusting as possible,” Taylor says. “These people know what they’re doing, so unpacking their reasons and getting on their page helps you be a catalyst for getting real, valuable requirements written down that we can all access and feel good about.”
Final thoughts
As the webinar wrapped up, the panelists shared a few last thoughts.
“As an ME, I have work to do, and that work requires thought,” says Cagle. “I can’t be interrupted and pulled into every single conversation.”
Cagle says he looks to the lead design engineer to set boundaries for other stakeholders so he has time for his ideas to come to fruition.
Cagle补充说：“在额外的设计裁判再次开始之前，我需要对我的完整想法进行概念化。”
Taylor reminds engineers that engaging in “interdisciplinary interactions and hiccups, and finding ways to solve those,” won’t take away from time to “flex your CAD chops” and dig into the work.
Miner reminds engineers to learn from others.
“That serves you well in your career and as a human being,” he says. “Empathizing with people and understanding how they work and what their discipline is, serves you a lot better than anything else.”
