Team and communication impacts of remote work for complex aerospace system development

Abstract

Remote work is becoming increasingly common, a trend accelerated by the global COVID-19 pandemic. Existing remote work research fails to address the challenges and needs of engineers working remotely in Complex Aerospace System Development (CASD), the field responsible for creating and operating aerospace systems. This article presents an exploratory study to understand the challenges, benefits, and strategies when working remotely in CASD. We interviewed 12 CASD engineers working remotely at a major aerospace corporation. We ground our findings in six characteristics of CASD work (complex systems; design paths and feedback loops; relationships with suppliers, customers and regulators; distinct knowledge and skills; one-off innovation; and high cost of experimentation) and discuss how each of these characteristics challenges remote work. The findings show that CASD requires many teams to work together, and this is encouraged through informal communication, which almost disappears in a remote setting. CASD requires frequent feedback, and we found that feedback was slow when working remotely. Participants found it challenging to demonstrate systems to customers and verify drawings with suppliers, and the interpersonal relationships, which help to bridge disciplinary divides, were harder to maintain remotely. The one-off nature of the systems designed meant that conceptual work was important, but participants lacked the virtual tools to do this effectively. Lastly, testing hardware components required close virtual communication between technicians and engineers, which was tricky in a detail-oriented context. This study motivates areas for future work to better understand and address the nuances of remote work by engineers in CASD.