At a time when our research center, like many others, is asked to focus more on company-relevant topics, collaborations between researchers and developers are getting more attention by the company. Because such collaborations have always been difficult, it is worthwhile to examine our project from a work practice point of view. (I am writing this paper as a member of the research group.)
We believe first and foremost that this project was successful because researchers and developers had tight interactions throughout, with the researchers paying close attention to the developers' requirements. There were several friction points, though, including differences in goals, values, education, and terminology. This paper will show that mediation, the explicit bridging of these differences by dedicated people, was an invaluable component of this project, benefiting both developers and researchers.
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