Tangible interactions in a digital age: Medium and graphic visualization in design journals

2009 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 237-249 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lora Oehlberg ◽  
Kimberly Lau ◽  
Alice Agogino
Keyword(s):  
New Product Development ◽  
Design Process ◽  
Design Theory ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Preliminary Investigation ◽  
Digital Design ◽  
Product Development Process ◽  
Concept Generation ◽  
Test Bed ◽  
Media Type

AbstractDesigners are interacting with an increasing number of digital tools in their design process; however, these are usually in addition to the traditional and ubiquitous paper-based design journals. This paper explores the medium of informal design information and its relationships with sketching behavior over three stages of the design process: preliminary investigation and user needs analyses, concept generation and development, and prototyping and testing. Our test bed consists of tangible, digital, and hybrid design journals collected from four semesters of UC Berkeley's graduate level, multidisciplinary course titled “Managing the New Product Development Process: Design Theory and Methods.” We developed protocols for two categories of analysis: one that codes for the media type of each journal and its content, and another one that characterizes the content within the journal. We found a trend toward hybrid digital–tangible journals for the engineering students over the 4-year period. These hybrid journals exhibited a higher degree of detail over advancing design stages, which has been shown to correlate with improved project performance. We also present several case studies of unusual design journals that illustrate the range of designers' interpretations of design journals as a medium. Based on this descriptive research, features for interactive hybrid tangible–digital design journals are recommended.

Design Methods Used During Early Stages of Product Development: Three Company Cases

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlye A. Lauff ◽  
Daria Kotys-Schwartz ◽  
Mark E. Rentschler
Keyword(s):  
Product Development ◽  
Engineering Design ◽  
New Product Development ◽  
Design Process ◽  
Design Education ◽  
Design Theory ◽  
Design Methods ◽  
Consumer Electronics ◽  
Concept Generation ◽  
Early Stages

Companies need to employ new design methods and tools to remain competitive in today’s global economy. Design methods are used to help teams move through the different stages of the design process, such as during project scoping, concept generation, and concept selection. Concept generation design methods are meant to help teams generate diverse, novel, and creative potential solutions. However, most design methods are developed and refined based on studies with student teams. This limits our understanding of how professionals engage with design methods in practice. This is a case study exploring the design methods used by three companies during the early stages of new product development. These companies are from the consumer electronics, footwear, and medical devices industries, and each design team within the companies was tasked with developing a new physical end product. We identified that all three teams heavily relied on internal and external benchmarking and reverse engineering design methods as part of concept generation. Ultimately, the products they developed were all considered evolutionary, meaning that the final product was a slightly improved version of similar products already on the market. This contrasts revolutionary products, which can change or disrupt the current field in one or more ways. This research contributes to design theory and methodology through empirically studying how companies engage in the design process, identifying the methods employed by professionals, and raising new questions about design methods, especially translation to industry. This research also contributes to design education by identifying methods that professionals use in practice, which can translate to direct recommendations for improving project-based engineering design courses.

Evaluating the Discriminatory Value and Reliability of Ideation Metrics for Their Application to Concept Development and Prototyping

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica Menold ◽  
Kathryn Jablokow ◽  
Timothy Simpson ◽  
Rafael Seuro
Keyword(s):  
Product Development ◽  
New Product Development ◽  
New Product ◽  
Concept Development ◽  
Product Development Process ◽  
Concept Generation ◽  
Market Place ◽  
Design Changes ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Original Concept

Approximately half of new product development projects fail in the market place. Within the product development process, prototyping represents the largest sunk cost; it also remains the least researched and understood. While researchers have recently started to evaluate the impact of formalized prototyping methods and frameworks on end designs, these studies have typically evaluated the success or failure of these methods using binary metrics, and they often evaluate only the design’s technical feasibility. Intuitively, we know that a product’s success or failure in the marketplace is determined by far more than just the product’s technical quality; and yet, we have no clear way of evaluating the design changes and pivots that occur during concept development and prototyping activities, as an explicit set of rigorous and informative metrics to evaluate ideas after concept selection does not exist. The purpose of the current study was to investigate the discriminatory value and reliability of ideation metrics originally developed for concept generation as metrics to evaluate functional prototypes and related concepts developed throughout prototyping activities. Our investigation revealed that new metrics are needed in order to understand the translation of product characteristics, such as originality, novelty, and quality, from original concept through concept development and prototyping to finalized product.

scholarly journals Concept Clustering in Design Teams: A Comparison of Human and Machine Clustering

2017 ◽  
Vol 139 (11) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chengwei Zhang ◽  
Youngwook Paul Kwon ◽  
Julia Kramer ◽  
Euiyoung Kim ◽  
Alice M. Agogino
Keyword(s):  
Machine Learning ◽  
Product Development ◽  
New Product Development ◽  
Learning Algorithm ◽  
Product Development Process ◽  
Design Teams ◽  
Concept Generation ◽  
Support Design ◽  
Concept Clustering ◽  
Student Teams

Concept clustering is an important element of the product development process. The process of reviewing multiple concepts provides a means of communicating concepts developed by individual team members and by the team as a whole. Clustering, however, can also require arduous iterations and the resulting clusters may not always be useful to the team. In this paper, we present a machine learning approach on natural language descriptions of concepts that enables an automatic means of clustering. Using data from over 1000 concepts generated by student teams in a graduate new product development class, we provide a comparison between the concept clustering performed manually by the student teams and the work automated by a machine learning algorithm. The goal of our machine learning tool is to support design teams in identifying possible areas of “over-clustering” and/or “under-clustering” in order to enhance divergent concept generation processes.

Autogenetic Design Theory: A Contribution to an Extended Design Theory

2000 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sándor Vajna ◽  
Tibor Bercsey ◽  
Steffen Clement ◽  
Peter Mack
Keyword(s):  
Product Development ◽  
Evolutionary Algorithm ◽  
Design Process ◽  
Design Theory ◽  
Development Process ◽  
Product Development Process ◽  
Design Activity ◽  
New Approach ◽  
Development Models ◽  
Design Theories

Abstract Based on an analysis of the product development process and the study of relevant product development models, the paper presents a new approach aiming at modeling and supporting the design activity as the substantial activity within the product development process. The Autogenetic Design Theory is an approach advancing general design theories. It facilitates the integration of intuition, creativity and artificial intelligence into the conventional design process. To this end, a phase-like allocation of the design process is assumed as the essential structure and an evolutionary algorithm is integrated as the core facilitating purposeful searching and combining. Hence, the flow of the design process can be influenced as all requirements can be included and, on the other hand, intuition and creativity are ensured through the evolutionary algorithm.

Can Design Teams Be Empathically Creative? A Simulation-Based Investigation on the Role of Team Empathy on Concept Generation and Selection

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad Alsager Alzayed ◽  
Scarlett R. Miller ◽  
Jessica Menold ◽  
Jacquelyn Huff ◽  
Christopher McComb
Keyword(s):  
Engineering Design ◽  
Design Process ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Computational Simulation ◽  
Idea Generation ◽  
First Year ◽  
Concept Generation ◽  
Team Members ◽  
Design Activities ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Research on empathy has been surging in popularity in the engineering design community since empathy is known to help designers develop a deeper understanding of the users’ needs. Because of this, the design community has been invested in devising and assessing empathic design activities. However, research on empathy has been primarily limited to individuals, meaning we do not know how it impacts team performance, particularly in the concept generation and selection stages of the design process. Specifically, it is unknown how the empathic composition of teams, average (elevation) and standard deviation (diversity) of team members’ empathy, would impact design outcomes in the concept generation and selection stages of the design process. Therefore, the goal of the current study was to investigate the impact of team trait empathy on concept generation and selection in an engineering design student project. This was accomplished through a computational simulation of 13,482 teams of noninteracting brainstorming individuals generated by a statistical bootstrapping technique drawing upon a design repository of 806 ideas generated by first-year engineering students. The main findings from the study indicate that the elevation in team empathy positively impacted simulated teams’ unique idea generation and selection while the diversity in team empathy positively impacted teams’ generation of useful ideas. The results from this study can be used to guide team formation in engineering design.

New methodology for product development process using structured tools

2020 ◽  
pp. 095440542097122
Author(s):  
Carlos Relvas ◽  
António Ramos
Keyword(s):  
Product Development ◽  
New Product Development ◽  
Development Process ◽  
New Product ◽  
Development Cooperation ◽  
Product Development Process ◽  
Concept Generation ◽  
Systematic Method ◽  
Development Team ◽  
Future Developments

The product development is a multidisciplinary process but also involves different areas of knowledge ranging from creativity in concept generation to refinement of design and finally the validation of the product. There are different approaches that attempt to define the best product development process, and thereby establishes a reliable method for efficiently transforming ideas into products. The use of a method that systematically establishes a work process seems to be highly advantageous, not only because it defines a critical and guiding path of work, organizing the tasks and their results, but also facilitates the communication of the development team. The methodology can provide records and other graphic documents that allow the development team to access these for future developments. The work presented here is the development of a systematic method supported by the use of structured tools to support the decisions, data processing and transposition of the same to the project in the approach to the new Product Development process. This research methodology was introduced and already implemented in projects at Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Aveiro. The work developed on it, both at the level of the students’ project and in the work of Development cooperation with companies presented good results. This method result in a structured way to transforming ideas into products.

A New Strategy for Automating the Generation of Product Family Members and Artifacts Applied to an Aerospace Application

2003 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gregory M. Roach ◽  
Jordan J. Cox ◽  
Jared M. Young
Keyword(s):  
Product Development ◽  
Product Design ◽  
Development Strategy ◽  
New Product Development ◽  
Design Process ◽  
Cycle Time ◽  
Development Process ◽  
Parametric Models ◽  
Product Development Process ◽  
New Strategy

A major challenge in industry today is to reduce the cost and cycle time in product development while maintaining enough flexibility to adapt to changing markets. Businesses are requiring more and more flexibility in order to produce custom goods at low cost. A new strategy called the Product Design Generator is presented to provide flexible product platforms through an automated design process where product variation is built into the product development process and is achieved through scalable and in some instances modular parametric models for a given product platform embodiment. A case study of web-based Product Design Generator is presented. The axial turbine disk Product Design Generator demonstrated cycle time reduction from 500 man hours to 15 minutes. This new product development strategy has demonstrated the potential to provide engineers the ability to study more potential design solutions, reduce the number of opportunities to introduce error in the product development process, and allows companies to apply a consistent design process across the organization.

Autopoiesis and Digital Design Theory: CAD Systems as Cognitive Instruments

2005 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 317-333 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eduardo Lyon
Keyword(s):  
Design Process ◽  
Distributed Cognition ◽  
Design Theory ◽  
Digital Design ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Digital Tools ◽  
Cad Systems ◽  
Knowledge Based ◽  
Creative Space ◽  
Design Software

In contrast to traditional models of design process fundamentally defined by the abstract manipulation of objects, this study recognizes that the resources available for rethinking architecture are to be found in a reformulation of its theory and practice. This reformation should be based on non-linear design processes in which dynamic emergence and invention take the place of a linear design process fixed on a particular object evolution. Advances in computation thinking and technology have stimulated the design and formulation of a large number of design software. Its elaboration supposes a new conceptualization of our discipline's knowledge, in a body of principles and regulations, which commands the artifact's design and its realization; therefore, it constitutes a preliminary datum for its comprehension, and thereby is of theoretical importance. Despite the continuous increment of power in computers and software capacities, the creative space of freedom defined by them acting as cognitive instruments remains almost unexplored. Therefore, we propose a change from a design knowledge based on objects to one focused on design as a network of processes. In addition, this study explores the concept of Distributed Cognition in order to redefine the use of digital tools in design process as Cognitive Instruments.

Factors Affecting the Use of Outside, Intermittent Resources during NPD

2014 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tucker Marion ◽  
Sebastian Fixson
Keyword(s):  
Product Development ◽  
New Product Development ◽  
New Ventures ◽  
Innovation Process ◽  
Digital Design ◽  
Product Development Process ◽  
Fixed Costs ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Management Actions ◽  
Use Of Resources

Information technology, globalization, and digital design have all contributed to the changing composition of new product development (NPD). These developments have led to a paradigm shift where continuous resources can be replaced by outsourced resources that are used intermittently throughout the entire innovation process. These resources can be plugged into the project at opportune times thereby lowering fixed costs and speeding commercialization. However, this intermittent use of resources requires appropriate management actions. This study reports on longitudinal, ethnographic case research performed over the span of the product development cycle of two projects. We look at multiple factors that can influence the effective coordination of outside, intermittent resources on the project. We explore critical characteristics of intermittent resources employed by new ventures, focusing on project management, the product development process, and the role of technology enablers such as IT collaboration. We find that technology's role in coordination of resources is less important than the robustness of interaction. Our qualitative study suggests that only when skilled project coordination is combined with precise communication can intermittent resources be effective. We conclude the article with the limitations and directions for further research.

How Engineering Design Students’ Creative Preferences and Cognitive Styles Impact Their Concept Generation and Screening

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katie Heininger ◽  
Hong-En Chen ◽  
Kathryn Jablokow ◽  
Scarlett R. Miller
Keyword(s):  
Engineering Design ◽  
Design Process ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Idea Generation ◽  
Risk Tolerance ◽  
Concept Generation ◽  
Undergraduate Engineering ◽  
Engineering Design Process ◽  
Individual Traits ◽  
The Impact

The flow of creative ideas throughout the engineering design process is essential for innovation. However, few studies have examined how individual traits affect problem-solving behaviors in an engineering design setting. Understanding these behaviors will enable us to guide individuals during the idea generation and concept screening phases of the engineering design process and help support the flow of creative ideas through this process. As a first step towards understanding these behaviors, we conducted an exploratory study with 19 undergraduate engineering students to examine the impact of individual traits, using the Preferences for Creativity Scale (PCS) and Kirton’s Adaption-Innovation inventory (KAI), on the creativity of the ideas generated and selected for an engineering design task. The ideas were rated for their creativity, quality, and originality using Amabile’s consensual assessment technique. Our results show that the PCS was able to predict students’ propensity for creative concept screening, accounting for 74% of the variation in the model. Specifically, team centrality and influence and risk tolerance significantly contributed to the model. However, PCS was unable to predict idea generation abilities. On the other hand, cognitive style, as measured by KAI, predicted the generation of creative and original ideas, as well as one’s propensity for quality concept screening, although the effect sizes were small. Our results provide insights into individual factors impacting undergraduate engineering students’ idea generation and selection.

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