Applying Systems Thinking for Early Validation of a Case Study Definition: An Automated Parking System

Case study research and industry-as-laboratory research are well-known research methods in industry–academia collaboration research projects. Defining a case study well in the early phase of an industry–academia complex sociotechnical and data-oriented research project is crucial for success. This success can be measured by the Company’s active participation and sharing of all data needed for the research project. In this paper, we apply systems thinking and its tools to validate the Company’s need in an early phase to define the case study in the research project. We use systemigrams for early validation. The foundation for the systemigram is system thinking tools. These tools include stakeholder analysis, context diagram, and Customers, Actors, Transformation, Worldview, Owner, and Environment (CATWOE) analysis. Systems thinking and its tools aid in communicating and sharing a common understanding of the Company’s case study and support further exploration of the value proposition for the Company’s actual needs.