Experimentation of Integrating Roadmapping and Sci-Fi Prototyping Methods

In 2023, we proposed a hypothetical knowledge management framework that incorporates science fiction prototyping (SFP) into the traditional roadmapping (RM) method to make RM more innovative and create a future beyond what we can currently imagine. Our main objective is to create a new organizational knowledge co-creation method for generating innovative ideas by incorporating humanistic factors utilizing SFP into RM. In the current article, we present the exploratory study we conducted to examine the hypothetical framework. Experimental workshops were held in November 2023 to compare the integrated method, in which SFP is applied to RM, with the original RM method. We followed a crossover design in the workshops and analyzed the results qualitatively and quantitatively following the perspectives proposed in the hypothetical framework. The qualitative analysis revealed successful integration regarding diverse and broader perspectives. The quantitative analysis utilizing Wilcoxon signed rank tests showed that the scores of the integrated method were significantly higher than those of RM for variables evaluating the effectiveness of the integration, while not for variables related to participants' feelings and satisfaction with the workshops, and sustainability. These findings indicate that the integration was successful in terms of its effectiveness as a method, while participants' subjective feelings toward the workshops were not different in both methods. As for sustainability, which requires a long-term perspective, no apparent differences were observed in these short-term workshops.