scholarly journals Semantic Analysis Approach to Studying Design Problem Solving

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 1823-1832
Author(s):  
Georgi V. Georgiev ◽  
Danko D. Georgiev
Keyword(s):  
Problem Solving ◽  
Design Problem ◽  
Semantic Analysis ◽  
Semantic Networks ◽  
Analysis Approach ◽  
Design Solution ◽  
Lexical Database ◽  
Semantic Approach ◽  
Time Dynamics ◽  
Problem Solving Process

AbstractTo objectively and quantitatively study transcribed protocols of design problem solving conversations, we propose a semantic analysis approach based on dynamic semantic networks of nouns constructed with WordNet 3.1 lexical database. We examined the applicability of the semantic approach focused on a dynamic evaluation of the design problem solving process in educational settings. Using a case of real- world design problem-solving conversations, we show that the approach is able to determine the time dynamics of semantic factors such as level of abstraction, polysemy or information content, and quantify convergence/divergence of semantic similarity in design conversations between students, instructors and real clients. The approach can also be used to evaluate the aforementioned semantic factors for successful and unsuccessful ideas generated in the process of design problem solving, or to assess the effect of external feedback on the developed design solution. The proposed semantic analysis approach allows fast computation of the semantic factors in real time thereby demavonstrating a potential for both monitoring and support of the design problem solving process.

scholarly journals SEMANTIC ANALYSIS OF ENGINEERING DESIGN CONVERSATIONS

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 1265-1274
Author(s):  
G. V. Georgiev ◽  
D. D. Georgiev
Keyword(s):  
Problem Solving ◽  
Engineering Design ◽  
Information Content ◽  
Real World ◽  
Design Problem ◽  
Semantic Analysis ◽  
Semantic Networks ◽  
Dynamic Semantic ◽  
Time Dynamics ◽  
Problem Solving Process

AbstractTo objectively and quantitatively study transcribed protocols of design conversations, we apply a semantic analysis approach based on dynamic semantic networks of nouns. We examined the applicability of the approach focused on a dynamic evaluation of the design problem solving process in engineering design educational settings. Using a case of real-world case, we show that the approach is able to determine the time dynamics of semantic factors such as level of abstraction, polysemy, information content, and quantify convergence/divergence in engineering design conversations.

Design Team Convergence: The Influence of Example Solution Quality

2010 ◽  
Vol 132 (11) ◽  
Author(s):  
Katherine Fu ◽  
Jonathan Cagan ◽  
Kenneth Kotovsky
Keyword(s):  
Problem Solving ◽  
Engineering Design ◽  
Semantic Analysis ◽  
Cognitive Engineering ◽  
Design Solution ◽  
Solution Quality ◽  
Team Members ◽  
Solution Approach ◽  
Over Time

This study examines how engineering design teams converge upon a solution to a design problem and how their solution is influenced by information given to them prior to problem solving. Specifically, the study considers the influence of the type of information received prior to problem solving on team convergence over time, as well as on the quality of produced solutions. To understand convergence, a model of the team members’ solution approach was developed through a cognitive engineering design study, specifically examining the effect of the introduction of a poor example solution or a good example solution prior to problem solving on the quality of the produced solutions. Latent semantic analysis was used to track the teams’ convergence, and the quality of design solutions was systematically assessed using pre-established criteria and multiple evaluators. Introducing a poor example solution was shown to decrease teams’ convergence over time, as well as the quality of their design solution; introducing a good example solution did not produce a statistically significant different effect on convergence compared with the control (with no prior example solution provided) but did lead to higher quality solutions.

scholarly journals Metaphors as Discourse Interaction Devices in Architectural Design

Buildings ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 52
Author(s):  
Hernan Casakin
Keyword(s):  
Problem Solving ◽  
Design Problem ◽  
Architectural Design ◽  
Protocol Analysis ◽  
Analysis Approach ◽  
Front Edge ◽  
Levels Of Detail ◽  
Reasoning Mechanism ◽  
Different Levels ◽  
Insight Into

Metaphor is a fundamental heuristic supporting cognitive and communicative requirements in design problem solving. This reasoning mechanism helps structure how architects reason about problems, and how they approach design situations from novel perspectives. This paper investigated empirically the use of metaphors during the conceptual front edge design, known as the most creative stage of the process. Figurative phenomena were analyzed in their original context of occurrence. Emerging metaphorical expressions generated during communication interactions maintained by sixty architects were identified and examined based on protocol analysis approach. Metaphors were further categorized according to main experiential domains at different levels of detail, as well as in terms of image and conceptual descriptions. The study contributed to gain a deeper insight into the rhetorical potential of metaphor during design problem solving, and to strengthen its centrality in architecture.

Where Is the ‘Problem’ in Design Studio: Purpose and Significance of the Design Task

2014 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 32 ◽  
Author(s):  
Beatriz C. Maturana
Keyword(s):  
Problem Solving ◽  
Design Problem ◽  
Design Solution ◽  
Design Studio ◽  
Teaching Model ◽  
Design Task

Design studio is characterised by a teaching model that is distinctly suited for problem-solving. Correspondingly, literature, including information produced by Australian faculties of architecture about their courses asserts that design studio is modelled around problem-solving. However, my research into design studio handouts found a common omission in posing a ‘problem’—a problem that would justify a design solution and from which the ´significance´ of the task would derive. I argue that a well-articulated design problem imbues the case with purpose and significance. It also provides a benchmark against which the results can be assessed and verified. 

scholarly journals The Meaning of “Near” and “Far”: The Impact of Structuring Design Databases and the Effect of Distance of Analogy on Design Output

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katherine Fu ◽  
Joel Chan ◽  
Jonathan Cagan ◽  
Kenneth Kotovsky ◽  
Christian Schunn ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Engineering Design ◽  
Design Process ◽  
Design Problem ◽  
Semantic Analysis ◽  
Cognitive Engineering ◽  
Design Solution ◽  
Data Mapping ◽  
Design Study ◽  
Design By Analogy ◽  
The Impact

This work lends insight into the meaning and impact of “near” and “far” analogies. A cognitive engineering design study is presented that examines the effect of the distance of analogical design stimuli on design solution generation, and places those findings in context of results from the literature. The work ultimately sheds new light on the impact of analogies in the design process and the significance of their distance from a design problem. In this work, the design repository from which analogical stimuli are chosen is the U.S. patent database, a natural choice, as it is one of the largest and easily accessed catalogued databases of inventions. The “near” and “far” analogical stimuli for this study were chosen based on a structure of patents, created using a combination of Latent Semantic Analysis and a Bayesian based algorithm for discovering structural form, resulting in clusters of patents connected by their relative similarity. The findings of this engineering design study are contextualized with the findings of recent work in design by analogy, by mapping the analogical stimuli used in the earlier work into similar structures along with the patents used in the current study. Doing so allows the discovery of a relationship between all of the stimuli and their relative distance from the design problem. The results confirm that “near” and “far” are relative terms, and depend on the characteristics of the potential stimuli. Further, although the literature has shown that “far” analogical stimuli are more likely to lead to the generation innovative solutions with novel characteristics, there is such a thing as too far. That is, if the stimuli are too distant, they then can become harmful to the design process. Importantly, as well, the data mapping approach to identify analogies works, and is able to impact the effectiveness of the design process. This work has implications not only in the area of finding inspirational designs to use for design by analogy processes in practice, but also for synthesis, or perhaps even unification, of future studies in the field of design by analogy.

scholarly journals The Meaning of “Near” and “Far”: The Impact of Structuring Design Databases and the Effect of Distance of Analogy on Design Output

2013 ◽  
Vol 135 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Katherine Fu ◽  
Joel Chan ◽  
Jonathan Cagan ◽  
Kenneth Kotovsky ◽  
Christian Schunn ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Engineering Design ◽  
Design Process ◽  
Design Problem ◽  
Semantic Analysis ◽  
Cognitive Engineering ◽  
Design Solution ◽  
Data Mapping ◽  
Design Study ◽  
Design By Analogy ◽  
The Impact

This work lends insight into the meaning and impact of “near” and “far” analogies. A cognitive engineering design study is presented that examines the effect of the distance of analogical design stimuli on design solution generation, and places those findings in context of results from the literature. The work ultimately sheds new light on the impact of analogies in the design process and the significance of their distance from a design problem. In this work, the design repository from which analogical stimuli are chosen is the U.S. patent database, a natural choice, as it is one of the largest and easily accessed catalogued databases of inventions. The “near” and “far” analogical stimuli for this study were chosen based on a structure of patents, created using a combination of latent semantic analysis and a Bayesian based algorithm for discovering structural form, resulting in clusters of patents connected by their relative similarity. The findings of this engineering design study are juxtaposed with the findings of a previous study by the authors in design by analogy, which appear to be contradictory when viewed independently. However, by mapping the analogical stimuli used in the earlier work into similar structures along with the patents used in the current study, a relationship between all of the stimuli and their relative distance from the design problem is discovered. The results confirm that “near” and “far” are relative terms, and depend on the characteristics of the potential stimuli. Further, although the literature has shown that “far” analogical stimuli are more likely to lead to the generation of innovative solutions with novel characteristics, there is such a thing as too far. That is, if the stimuli are too distant, they then can become harmful to the design process. Importantly, as well, the data mapping approach to identify analogies works, and is able to impact the effectiveness of the design process. This work has implications not only in the area of finding inspirational designs to use for design by analogy processes in practice, but also for synthesis, or perhaps even unification, of future studies in the field of design by analogy.

Design Problem Solving

2006 ◽  
Vol 214 (2) ◽  
pp. 73-86 ◽  
Author(s):  
Constance Winkelmann ◽  
Winfried Hacker
Keyword(s):  
Problem Solving ◽  
Design Problem

Zusammenfassung. In zwei experimentellen Studien werden mögliche alternative Bedingungen der lösungsgüteverbessernden Wirkung einer Frage-Antwort-Technik im Entwurfsdenken (Design Problem Solving) geprüft. In der ersten Studie (N = 84) wurden differential- und kognitionspsychologische Bedingungen geprüft. Eine Aussagenanalyse in einer zweiten Studie (N = 94) sollte die nachgewiesenen Ergebnisse vertiefen. Für die in beiden Studien ermittelten Lösungsgüteverbesserungen konnten keine differentialpsychologischen Abhängigkeiten von Vorgehensstilen nachgewiesen werden. In kognitionspsychologischer Hinsicht zeigte sich, dass sowohl Fragen, die die Forderungen der Aufgabe in Erinnerung bringen, als auch Fragen, deren Beantwortung die Auslösung von Denkprozessen fördern, zur Lösungsgüteverbesserung beitragen. Größere Effekte werden bei der Kombination beider Fragenarten nahe gelegt. Die Ergebnisse der Aussagenanalyse weisen auf eine sowohl beschreibende als auch begründende und bewertende Vorgehensweise der Untersuchungsteilnehmer hin, die Verbesserungen erzielten. Fragen für weiterführende Untersuchungserfordernisse werden abgeleitet.

Moving to Solution

2013 ◽  
Vol 60 (6) ◽  
pp. 403-409 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Werner ◽  
M. Raab
Keyword(s):  
Problem Solving ◽  
Embodied Cognition ◽  
Cognitive Functions ◽  
Problem Space ◽  
Arm Swing ◽  
String Problem ◽  
Problem Solving Process ◽  
Problem Solving Task ◽  
Bodily Movements

Embodied cognition theories suggest a link between bodily movements and cognitive functions. Given such a link, it is assumed that movement influences the two main stages of problem solving: creating a problem space and creating solutions. This study explores how specific the link between bodily movements and the problem-solving process is. Seventy-two participants were tested with variations of the two-string problem (Experiment 1) and the water-jar problem (Experiment 2), allowing for two possible solutions. In Experiment 1 participants were primed with arm-swing movements (swing group) and step movements on a chair (step group). In Experiment 2 participants sat in front of three jars with glass marbles and had to sort these marbles from the outer jars to the middle one (plus group) or vice versa (minus group). Results showed more swing-like solutions in the swing group and more step-like solutions in the step group, and more addition solutions in the plus group and more subtraction solutions in the minus group. This specificity of the connection between movement and problem-solving task will allow further experiments to investigate how bodily movements influence the stages of problem solving.

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