The Art of Engineering Leadership

In times of internet-based businesses and the growing importance of platform economies, how can products and services be developed that inspire people? How are new ideas and technologies translated into high-quality products? Which development methods and organizational structures are promising? How do product engineers work together efficiently in an international development network? Leaders and developers will find answers to these questions in this book.

With their holistic approach, the authors focus on current challenges and changing leadership roles in the development of products and services. They present models and approaches designed by a team of experienced product engineering leaders. These models and approaches were discussed and refined in workshops with more than 4500 leaders of the Bosch Group worldwide.

The authors develop a leadership model that combines the skills required to solve technical problems with those required to lead people. The book startswith basic questions about the purpose of leadership, values, and strategic objectives of the organization. Then essential elements of leadership in systems engineering are presented, followed by success factors for innovation. Requirements engineering, architecture design and model-based development are emphasized to ensure that quality attributes are captured in the tasks of product engineering. These topics are complemented by strategies for mastering complexity, dealing with opportunities and threats, as well as shaping the work organization and cooperation. The structure of the book follows the logic of product development. However, each chapter can be read on its own, as it forms a self-contained unit.

The target groups

This book makes leadership tasks understandable for product engineers, regardless of hierarchy level or leadership role. It shows that technical leadership can be learned. It thus helps leaders to actively shape change in their own areaof responsibility or to grow into a new role.