FFE × SYSTEMS ENGINEERING
Connecting concept and design
I systematize the methods used in the concept phase and build techniques for handing their results over to requirements definition, such as deriving use cases from Jobs-to-be-Done.
SYSTEMS ENGINEERING × HUMAN–AI COLLABORATION
What should people and AI build together, and how?
Frame the problem, design the system, and test it by making it work.
I design collaboration between people, AI, and software through research and practice.
Ken Katakura
Doctoral Program, Graduate School of System Design and Management, Keio University
Visiting Researcher, University of Cambridge (2026)
SYSTEM OF INTERESTDraw the boundary from purpose and context
Designing
collaboration
collaboration
PeopleIntent · judgment · action
AIGenerate · reason · assist
SoftwareProcess · connect · record
DEFINE→DESIGN→TRY & LEARN
Take questions to the field. Turn practice into the next question.RESEARCH ↔ PRACTICE
KEN KATAKURA01 / PROFILE
Ken Katakura
Moving between research and business practice,
I explore methods that let people and AI work together.
- Research
- Doctoral Program, Graduate School of System Design and Management, Keio University
Shirasaka Lab (System Design Methodology Laboratory) - Career
- Visiting Researcher, University of Cambridge (2026)
- Practice
- CEO, Value Transformation Laboratory Pte. Ltd. (Company website ↗)
I hold a master’s degree from the Graduate School of System Design and Management, Keio University. After working at Accenture and Frontier Management, I co-founded flier, a book summary service. I founded VTL in 2015 and have supported digital strategy across a wide range of industries. Since 2024, I have been researching system design based on collaboration between people and AI.
Research and business timeline
- CONSULTINGAccenture / Frontier Management
Strategy consulting in financial services and corporate turnaround projects in retail.
- ENTREPRENEURSHIPCo-founded flier, a book summary service
Gained experience turning a concept into a business by launching the service.
- 2015Founded VTL
Supporting corporate digital strategy and the design of operations and services.
- 2021Founded Value Transformation Laboratory Pte. Ltd.
Based in Singapore, researching and developing methods and applying them in practice.
- 2024–Research on system design through human–AI collaboration
Moving between research at Keio University SDM and practice in companies.
- 2026Visiting Researcher, University of Cambridge (2026)
Memberships: INCOSE, Japan Creativity Society, Society for Serviceology
LinkedIn ↗|VTL ↗02 / RESEARCH
Connecting ideas to specifications,
with people and AI.
How can the methods used in the concept phase of a business (the fuzzy front end) be connected to systems engineering, and carried out through collaboration between people and AI? Building on this question, my ultimate aim is to clarify how far AI can autonomously carry out the concept phase.
HUMAN–AI COLLABORATION
Building methods for human–AI collaboration
I design the processing and decisions that collaboration between people and AI requires, and turn them into a method. The results are applied in practice as the VTL Method.
TOWARD AUTONOMY
Achieving autonomy in the concept phase through AI
I compare outcomes under three conditions: people working alone, people collaborating with AI, and AI working autonomously, to find out how much of the concept phase AI can take on.
Foundations: systems engineering, requirements engineering, Human–System Integration
03 / PRACTICE
Putting methods into practice in society.
Drawing on digital strategy work for trading companies, railways, real estate, manufacturing, finance, healthcare, and other industries, I move between specifications, prototypes, and validation in the field to turn research questions into practice.
METHODOLOGY
VTL Method
A way of thinking and working for taking a business transformation from concept to implementation in collaboration with AI. Based on international standards such as ISO/IEC/IEEE 15288, it is organized into five practical capabilities and published on the learning site Learn VTL (in Japanese).
View the VTL Method ↗LEARNING EXPERIENCE
VTL English
A learning experience in which vocabulary is learned through images and simple English rather than through Japanese translation. A practical example developed in collaboration with AI.
View the product ↗RESEARCH INTO PRACTICE
Partnerships with companies
Through Value Transformation Laboratory Pte. Ltd. (VTL), I co-launch AI transformation consulting businesses with IT service companies. Using the VTL Method and dedicated AI, we work through the first client project together, from shaping the concept to implementation PMO.
View VTL partnerships (in Japanese) ↗04 / PRESENTATIONS & TALKS
Presentations and talks
Research presentations and talks at international conferences and Japanese academic societies. Titles of presentations given in Japanese are translated.
Redefining the career development of early-career white-collar workers in the AI era: capability building through human–AI collaboration
AI時代における若手ホワイトカラーのキャリア形成過程の再定義：人間とAIの協働による能力形成（in Japanese）
Japan Federation of Management Related Academies (JFMRA) · Rikkyo University
December 6, 2026 · Paper (scheduled)
Revisits how early-career white-collar workers build expertise and careers as generative AI takes over entry-level work, and explores methods for building capabilities through human–AI collaboration.
A method for using system specifications as a starting point for ideation
システム仕様書を発想の起点として活用する手法（in Japanese）
48th Annual Conference of the Japan Creativity Society (2026)
Proposes a method for revisiting the use cases and actors described in system specifications to generate ideas for new services.
Practical creativity in the age of generative AI: where does the human role remain?
生成AI時代の実践的創造性 ―人間の役割はどこに残るのか―（in Japanese）
94th Creative Salon, hosted by the Japan Creativity Society
September 6, 2026 · Online (Zoom)
Using software development as an example, this talk introduced the practice of building prototypes with generative AI and systems engineering, and discussed the human role in human–AI collaboration and the creativity it will require, from both practical and research perspectives.
Designing method connections in the Discovery phase of Stage-Gate®: a systematic approach to linking fragmented knowledge
Stage-Gate® の Discovery フェーズにおける手法接続の設計研究：分断された知見をつなぐ体系的アプローチ（in Japanese）
Japan Federation of Management Related Academies (JFMRA) · Rikkyo University
December 7, 2025 · Paper
Treats the connections between methods used in early exploration as an object of design.
Designing an external service management architecture through BPO: a practical response model to the growth of shadow IT
BPOによる外部サービス管理アーキテクチャの設計 — Shadow IT 拡大への実践的対応モデル（in Japanese）
2025 Autumn Conference · iYell Inc. headquarters
November 30, 2025 · Paper
Addresses the use and management of external services from the perspectives of operations and architecture.
View the official program (in Japanese) ↗Faculty AI Agent-based University Lecture Support System: Balancing Student Engagement and Faculty Workload
Ken Katakura · DESRIST 2025 · Jamaica
Presented June 4, 2025 · Conference June 2–4, 2025
International Conference on Design Science Research in Information Systems and Technology
Addresses balancing student engagement and faculty workload, using university lecture support as the subject.
View the official program ↗LET’S EXCHANGE IDEAS
Let’s talk about
research and practice.
How has AI changed development and everyday work?
What has become possible, and where do the difficulties remain?
I would be glad to exchange ideas with people working in software development, business and service design, or talent development, bringing concrete practice to the table. Inquiries about research, speaking, and practical support are also welcome.
Contact me on LinkedIn ↗I can talk from both my research and my practical work through VTL.