VISITS - Networking and Interaction Work in Smart Technical Services

Technical services, such as repair or maintenance work, are characterized by close networking and interaction between machine and plant manufacturers, service providers and user companies. These various interaction interfaces are confronted with new types of work and service production processes in the course of the digital transformation: Customers of these services, for example, are becoming more involved in the "co-production" of the services and "smart" technical services, i.e., services characterized by increased networking and intensive human interaction, are emerging. One example of this is service apps, which can lead to interactive collaboration between customers and thus to new types of coordination processes in plant maintenance.

With the help of the interacting socio-technical dimensions "organization", "technology" and "people", the challenges for interaction work are continuously analyzed. For this purpose, requirement analyses are carried out in the form of qualitative interviews, workshops and process recordings. From this, strategies and design needs of the companies are derived, software demonstrators, such as a service app, are developed on a pilot basis and tested in practical use. Their effects and influences on interaction work are then to be analyzed and evaluated. On this basis, among other things, a guideline, evaluation criteria for good interaction work, and best practice cases will be developed and published freely accessible on the project homepage.

The overall result is a web-based process model for designing good interaction work in technical services. In this area, a nationwide increase in the quality of services as well as the acceptance of technology by employees and customers within the interfaces is aimed for. Overall, the findings obtained provide cross-project potential that can be used in other operational contexts, such as logistics and industry, and can also be integrated and disseminated in teaching.

The aim of the VISITS research project is to reanalyze interface management for good interaction work in smart technical services within and between companies, to identify current mechanisms of action, and to develop design options for improvement. On the basis of three operational application scenarios, two overarching questions will be addressed: How can technical aids support interaction work in technical services and what design rules are necessary for good interaction work?

Conducting requirements analyses in the form of qualitative interviews, workshops and process surveys. From this, strategies and design needs of the companies are derived, software demonstrators, such as a service app, are developed on a pilot basis and tested in practice. Their effects and influences on interaction work are then to be analyzed and evaluated.