Boundary objects for PSS Design

In PSS design, hardware and service developers often have different objectives. Lacking to communicate and negotiate them across boundaries might lead to solutions unable to generate market shares and long-term profitability. This paper aims to contribute to the definition of ‘boundary objects’ that facilitate the sharing of knowledge between members of cross-functional teams engaged in PSS conceptual design activities. Empirical data are gathered from three case studies in the Swedish manufacturing industry to reveal how servitization affects early stage design decision-making, and how hardware vs. service trade-offs are negotiated and solved. The analysis of the findings points to four main trends to be considered when designing such objects in the realm of PSS. These are: an underlying model-based logic, the use of metrics based on customer value, the ability to quickly generate and assess scenarios, the use of non linear relationships to map PSS features vs. customer value.