Modeling prize-based open design challenges: General framework and FANG-1 case study
Authored by Eun Suk Suh, Weck Olivier Ladislas de
Date Published: 2018
DOI: 10.1002/sys.21434
Sponsors:
United States Defense Advanced Research Planning Agency (DARPA)
Platforms:
No platforms listed
Model Documentation:
Other Narrative
Flow charts
Model Code URLs:
Model code not found
Abstract
Many organizations are resorting to open prize-based challenges and
competitions to identify the best possible designs for their future
products or services. As an example, the Defense Advanced Research
Projects Agency (DARPA) hosted an open challenge for designing the
drivetrain and mobility subsystem of a Fast Adaptable Next-Generation
Ground Vehicle (FANG-1) in early 2013. A \$1 million prize was awarded
to the team with the highest concept score and the design was
subsequently physically implemented and tested. The competition was the
first attempt by DARPA to utilize crowdsourcing for the design of
complex military systems, which is in contrast with contracting directly
with a small number of incumbent firms within the defense industry. The
competition attracted over 200 participating teams and the winning team
was announced in April 2013. In this paper, inspired by the FANG-1
challenge, a generalizable simulation model for predicting the dynamics
of open prize-based design challenges and competitions is developed
using a combination of several modeling methods. The model is then
applied to simulate the dynamics of the FANG-1 challenge ex post facto,
including an approximation of the distribution of team scores as well as
the interteam motivational interactions. Using the simulation model,
various sensitivity analyses were then performed to identify factors
that could enhance future design challenges and competitions in terms of
resulting innovation and productivity.
Tags
Agent-based model
Simulation
Performance
Participation
Crowdsourcing
Crowds
Open innovation competition
System
dynamics
Innovation contests
Product ideas
Competitions