Globalization has certainly made its mark on the engineering world. More than half of our respondents (52 percent) have worked with international teams. Furthermore, engineers are pleased with the results of their international collaborations, meaning that the globalization trend should continue to grow.
The experience of working with international teams couldn't have been much better, according to our survey. A solid 86 percent described their experiences as good. Those figures are pretty much the same in the United Kingdom, according to a survey by our sister publication, Electronic Times. There, nearly two-thirds had worked on international teams, with about 85 percent saying it had been a positive experience.
That 80+ percent is a lofty approval level that's hard to beat. But there's a fair amount of work to be done to make sure that things flow smoothly, our readers tell us.
"Communications is critical," said a U.S. computer designer. "Sometimes they don't understand what you mean. A request for information might be interpreted as a requirement and vice versa, either of which can create hard feelings on either side."
In an era when time-to-market is crucial, the benefits of having designers in other time zones working round the clock are obvious. But engineers caution that managers can't get too aggressive when they're planning schedules.
"The pace is slow. You cannot rush," said a New York engineer.
In fact, when engineers in another time zone have the answer to a question that arises on another continent, waiting for a response to a simple question can result in maddening waits.
"Patience is very important," said a computer engineer from Silicon Valley. "Time differences can slow down the rate of communications exchange and message exchange."
Alliances with Western European companies are by far the most common, with 45 percent of respondents working with companies there. Links with companies in Japan and the United Kingdom were the next most common, at 26 percent for both.
India was the next most common partner, at 2 percent. Taiwan and Eastern Europe also had a fair amount of partnership, at 18 and 11 percent, respectively. Korea, China, Singapore, Israel and Asia were among the other homes of companies that had more than a handful of links with U.S. design engineers.
In the United States and England, there are some marked differences in the fields that have endorsed global teams. Some 65 percent of engineers in the U.S. components market have worked with a global team, more than in any other industry. Computers and automotive/consumer engineers follow closely, at 60 percent. In the United Kingdom, computer companies were by far the primary proponents of globalization, with 74 percent working internationally.
America's military/aerospace industry has to date been much less inclined to work with foreign operations, at only 38 percent. That is easy to understand, since designers there may be working on classified projects. But the picture is quite different in the United Kingdom, where international consortiums such as Airbus and the acceptance of cross-border military and aerospace companies pushed the mil/aero figure up to 66 percent.
Open lines
On both sides of the Atlantic, engineers provided plenty of commentary on the issues of an international collaboration. Communications lines have to be constantly monitored.
"Communication must be intense and often," said an American test and measurement designer. "You also need a face-to-face [meeting] at the beginning of a project."
Good communications are particularly important in the early days of a project, respondents said. "Videoconferencing is not enough," said a senior engineer in the U.K. "Initially, you must have face-to-face contact."
However, that did not mean ruling out videoconferencing for activities later in the project. "Videoconferencing is an essential communications tool," said a technical director in England's test and measurement sector.
Although U.K. engineers identified frequent talks as essential, they were clear those talks should be conducted in English. One section head working with Western European and U.S. design teams said a "good command of the English language throughout the whole team" is vital.
However, a British program manager in production was more willing to embrace other languages. "We should ensure we speak the same language, and I don't mean English."
Although respondents were concerned about the need for a common language, other problems did crop up with long-distance communications.
"There is particularly a problem with Japan, with language and time differences," said a software engineer in the industrial sector, working with Japanese teams.
A key issue in internal collaboration is how the work is divided. Uneven distribution can cause problems down the line, even with effective and continual communications.
Other engineers stress that people on both sides must look far beyond the technical issues. Knowing a bit about the partners' life-styles and expectations can improve the chances for success.
Acculturation
"Understanding their culture is very important," said a California system designer. "Another key issue is not letting them impose their culture on us."
Managers must also be sure each side knows exactly what's expected of them. "Clear partitioning and well-defined roles and responsibilities," were cited as key points by a designer at a major American corporation. That was echoed by a West Coast engineer working at a startup, who champions the need for "universal design end targets."
As might be expected, large companies are more likely to work globally, with 63 percent of their designers on a global team, compared with 60 percent at medium-sized companies. Meanwhile, only 39 percent of respondents in small firms have participated on an international project.
Nearly three-fourths of the respondents on large and medium-sized companies reported doing design work using global teams. Only 59 percent of the engineers at small companies had been part of a global design team.
The bigger companies were also more inclined to have global software teams.
Only 38 percent of the surveyed engineers in small companies participated in an offshore software project vs. 47 percent of respondents with large organizations and over half of the people in medium-sized employers. Manufacturing was the lowest area of collaboration for all sizes of companies, with an overall rating of 45 percent.
Who are the most frequent partners? Some 43 percent of U.S. computer industry engineers have linked up with Western European companies, while 25 percent and 28 percent have worked with India and Taiwan, respectively. Specifically, Japan and the United Kingdom were partners for 31 and 22 percent of the U.S. computer engineers, respectively.
