Formality in design communication

2013 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 91-103 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claudia Eckert ◽  
Martin Stacey ◽  
Christopher Earl
Keyword(s):  
Case Studies ◽  
Design Process ◽  
Mechanical Engineering ◽  
End Users ◽  
Design Teams ◽  
Design Communication ◽  
Design Information ◽  
Knitwear Design

AbstractHow designers communicate within design teams, and with users, suppliers, and customers, differs in formality both between industries and between different situations within one project. This paper identifies three layers of structure in design communication, each of which can be more or less formal: the design process, the interaction between participants, and the representations of design information that are constructed and used. These layers can be formal across a spectrum from explicit rules to habitual conventions. The paper draws on a range of contrasting case studies in mechanical engineering and knitwear design, as well as a larger corpus of cases comparing design domains more generally, to analyze how formality affects design interaction in different situations and process contexts. Mismatches in the understanding of formality can lead to misunderstandings, in particular across expertise boundaries and between designers and their clients or customers. Formality can be modulated in the mannerism of communication, the rhetoric employed, and how representations are constructed, to make communication more effective. The effort and skill put into modulating formality is greater in domains where designers work with end users, like architecture, than it is in companies where designers interact mainly with other professionals.

Informing sustainable building design

2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 194-203 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mathilde Landgren ◽  
Signe Skovmand Jakobsen ◽  
Birthe Wohlenberg ◽  
Lotte Bjerregaard Jensen
Keyword(s):  
Built Environment ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Design Process ◽  
Integrated Design ◽  
Building Design ◽  
Design Teams ◽  
Design Decisions ◽  
Sustainable Building ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Interdisciplinary Design

Purpose In recent decades there has been a focus on reducing the overall emissions from the built environment, which increases the complexity of the building design process. More specialized knowledge, a greater common understanding and more cooperation between the stakeholders are required. Interdisciplinary design teams need simple and intuitive means of communication. Architects and engineers are starting to increase their focus on improving interdisciplinary communication, but it is often unclear how to do so. The purpose of this paper is to define the impact of visually communicating engineering knowledge to architects in an interdisciplinary design team and to define how quantifying architectural design decisions have an impact during the early phases of sustainable building design. Design/methodology/approach This work is based on a study of extensive project materials consisting of presentations, reports, simulation results and case studies. The material is made available by one of the largest European Engineering Consultancies and by a large architectural office in the field of sustainable architecture in Denmark. The project material is used for mapping communication concepts from practice. Findings It is demonstrated that visual communication by engineers increases the level of technical knowledge in the design decisions made by architects. This is essential in order to reach the goal of designing buildings with low environmental impact. Conversely, quantification of architectural quality improved the engineer’s acceptance of the architects’ proposals. Originality/value This paper produces new knowledge through the case study processes performed. The main points are presented as clearly as possible; however, it should be stressed that it is only the top of the iceberg. In all, 17 extensive case studies design processes were performed with various design teams by the 3 authors of the paper Mathilde, Birthe and Signe. The companies that provided the framework for the cases are leading in Europe within sustainability in the built environment, and in the case of Sweco also in regards to size (number of employees). Data are thus first hand and developed by the researchers and authors of this paper, with explicit consent from the industry partners involved as well as assoc. Professor Lotte B. Jensen Technical University of Denmark (DTU). This material is in the DTU servers and is in the PhD dissertation by Mathilde Landgren (successful defence was in January 2019). The observations and reflection is presented in selected significant case examples. The methods are descriped in detail, and if further information on method is required a more in depth description is found in Mathilde Landgrens PhD Dissertation. There is a lack in existing literature of the effect of visualisation in interdisciplinary design teams and though the literature (e.g. guidelines) of integrated design is extensive, there is not much published on this essential part of an integrated design process.

scholarly journals Teacher-Centered Dashboards Design Process

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohamed Ezzaouia
Keyword(s):  
Case Studies ◽  
Design Process ◽  
Process Model ◽  
End Users ◽  
Validation Process ◽  
Domain Space ◽  
Data Transparency ◽  
Teacher Centered

Interest in dashboards in schools has been growing in recent years as they have great potential in fostering data transparency and informing teachers' practices. However, research surrounding them is not unified and even less transparent, because of a lack of guidance in grounding their design as a process tailored to end-users needs. We present a process model for teacher-centered dashboards as a design and validation process with four mutually informed stages: (1) situate the domain space by framing teachers' routines, practices, and needs, (2) ideate the domain into multiple alternatives and prototypes, (3) develop, and (4) evaluate the dashboard. We drive recommendations within each stage to inform the process. We borrowed the foundations of the model from research in the HCI and InfoVis fields. We apply our model to five case studies from literature. We find that this model can provide a framework to scaffold dashboards' design process, mutually inform the underlying stages, and guide consolidating artifacts. We reflect on our work to provide design implications to point towards explainable dashboards design to best support teachers.

scholarly journals Utilizing Virtual Environments for the Evaluation of Lighting Controls

2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Vassilis Javed Khan ◽  
Tino Van de Kraan ◽  
Johan Van Leest ◽  
Jon Mason ◽  
Dzmitry Aliakseyeu
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Environments ◽  
Design Process ◽  
User Study ◽  
Light Output ◽  
User Interaction ◽  
End Users ◽  
Design Teams ◽  
Potential Solution ◽  
Evaluative Feedback ◽  
Lighting Industry

When designing a new user interaction (UI) technology or applying UI modalities to a product or system, the designer can select from many methods and tools to assist them with evaluating the UI’s function and appeal with end users. Testing early in a design process is highly desirable since any issues found can be resolved more easily and often at less expense. However, for lighting solutions, these methods and tools are less suitable due to the qualities of light as a medium. Light is often detached from the UI itself and the light output is generally experienced throughout an environment which is often encompassing the users. For example, testing a new UI to control a yet to be installed media façade is not a simple system to mock up in advance, due to scale and cost. There is a need therefore, within the lighting industry, to have tools or methods with which design teams can test lighting UI, in conjunction with the light output, early in the design process. A potential solution is to use virtual environments. These would provide designers with a space in which they can show virtual light output that can be controlled using any developmental UI; this would enable them to evaluate lighting UI much earlier and potentially in more detail than is currently possible. In this paper we report on a user study that compares three different environments (physical, virtual CAVE and screen) in a bid to determine whether the virtual environments could provide reliable evaluations of UI for lighting versus a real setup. Our findings show that virtual environments indeed have the potential to elicit similar evaluative feedback from end users as a real environment when considering the functional utilitarian elements.

Comparing the Effectiveness of Four Different Design Media in Communicating Desired Performance Outcomes With Clinical End Users

2018 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 87-99 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deborah Wingler ◽  
Herninia Machry ◽  
Sara Bayramzadeh ◽  
Anjali Joseph ◽  
David Allison
Keyword(s):  
Design Process ◽  
Performance Outcomes ◽  
End Users ◽  
Communication Media ◽  
User Engagement ◽  
End User ◽  
Design Communication ◽  
Holistic Understanding ◽  
Design Solutions ◽  
Design Media

Objective: The purpose of this study was to compare the effectiveness of four different design communication media in helping clinical end users understand spatial and functional information and in supporting their ability to provide design feedback. Background: It is critical to involve clinical end users early in the design process to test design solutions and ensure the design of a new healthcare facility supports their ability to deliver high-quality care. Traditional architectural design communication media such as floor plans and perspectives can be challenging for clinical design team members to understand. Physical and virtual mock-ups are becoming more popular as design communication media. However, nominal evidence exists comparing the effectiveness of different design media in supporting clinical end-user engagement and contribution during the design process. Method: An exploratory, qualitative study was conducted with clinical end users to evaluate the effectiveness of four different media commonly used in design communication. Results: Traditional architectural representations convey limited useful information to clinical end users, impacting the amount and type of feedback they can provide. More immersive media, such as physical and virtual mock-ups, support an increasingly holistic understanding of proposed design solutions, inciting more design solutions that range from the inclusion and exclusion of design features to location, position, and functionality of those features. Conclusions: When used in combination, each media can contribute to eliciting clinical end-user feedback at varying scales. The overall preference and higher effectiveness in eliciting design feedback from clinical end users highlights the importance of physical mock-up in communicating healthcare design solutions.

A Meta-Design Model for Creative Distributed Collaborative Design

2012 ◽  
pp. 252-268
Author(s):  
Li Zhu ◽  
Barbara R. Barricelli ◽  
Claudia Iacob
Keyword(s):  
Case Studies ◽  
Design Process ◽  
Collaborative Design ◽  
Design Model ◽  
Multidisciplinary Design ◽  
Software Systems ◽  
Multidisciplinary Teams ◽  
Design Teams ◽  
Factory Automation ◽  
New Strategies

As collaboration in creating software systems becomes more complex and frequent among multidisciplinary teams, finding new strategies to support this collaboration becomes crucial. The challenge is to bridge the communication gaps among stakeholders with diverse cultural and professional backgrounds. Moreover, future uses and issues cannot be completely anticipated at design time, and it is necessary to develop open-ended software environments that can be evolved and tailored in opportunistic ways to tackle co-evolution of users and systems. A conceptual meta-design model, the Hive-Mind Space (HMS) model, has been proposed to support multidisciplinary design teams’ collaboration and foster their situated innovation. The model provides localized habitable environments for diverse stakeholders and tools for them to tailor the system, allowing the co-evolution of systems and practices. The authors explore the possibility of utilizing boundary objects within the HMS model to facilitate the communication amongst stakeholders as well as their participation in the creative distributed design process. Two concrete case studies, a factory automation and the Valchiavenna Portal, demonstrate the implementation of the HMS model and provide a possible solution to overcome the complex, evolving and emerging nature of the collaborative design.

scholarly journals Understanding the Acceptance of an eHealth Technology in the Early Stages of Development: An End-User Walkthrough Approach and Two Case Studies (Preprint)

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lex van Velsen ◽  
Mirka Evers ◽  
Cristian-Dan Bara ◽  
Harm Op den Akker ◽  
Simone Boerema ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Case Studies ◽  
Design Process ◽  
Development Process ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
User Acceptance ◽  
Perceived Usefulness ◽  
Design Teams ◽  
End User ◽  
Implementation Plans

BACKGROUND Studies that focus on the acceptance of an electronic health (eHealth) technology generally make use of surveys. However, results of such studies hold little value for a redesign, as they focus only on quantifying end-user appreciation of general factors (eg, perceived usefulness). OBJECTIVE We present a method for understanding end-user acceptance of an eHealth technology, early in the development process: The eHealth End-User Walkthrough. METHODS During a walkthrough, a participant is guided by using the technology via a scenario, a persona, and a low-fidelity protoype. A participant is questioned about factors that may affect acceptance during and after the demonstration. We show the value of the method via two case studies. RESULTS During the case studies, participants commented on whether they intend to use a technology and why they would (not) use its main features. They also provided redesign advice or input for additional functions. Finally, the sessions provide guidance for the generation of business models and implementation plans. CONCLUSIONS The eHealth End-User Walkthrough can aid design teams in understanding the acceptance of their eHealth application in a very early stage of the design process. Consequently, it can prevent a mismatch between technology and end-users’ needs, wishes and context.

THE USE OF CASE STUDY METHOD IN TEACHING THE TERMINOLOGY IN THE FIELD OF AGRICULTURAL MACHINERY

2019 ◽  
pp. 123-130
Keyword(s):  
Case Studies ◽  
High Performance ◽  
Mechanical Engineering ◽  
The United States ◽  
Machine Building ◽  
Soil Tillage ◽  
Case Study Method ◽  
Agricultural Machine ◽  
Manufacturing Machine

The scientific research works concerning the field of mechanical engineering such as, manufacturing machine slate, soil tillage, sowing and harvesting based on the requirements for the implementation of agrotechnical measures for the cultivation of plants in its transportation, through the development of mastering new types of high-performance and energy-saving machines in manufacturing machine slate, creation of multifunctional machines, allowing simultaneous soil cultivation, by means of several planting operations, integration of agricultural machine designs are taken into account in manufacturing of the local universal tractor designed basing on high ergonomic indicators. For this reason, this article explores the use of case studies in teaching agricultural terminology by means analyzing the researches in machine building. Case study method was firstly used in 1870 in Harvard University of Law School in the United States. Also in the article, we give the examples of agricultural machine-building terms, teaching terminology and case methods, case study process and case studies method itself. The research works in the field of mechanical engineering and the use of case studies in teaching terminology have also been analyzed. In addition, the requirements for the development of case study tasks are given in their practical didactic nature. We also give case study models that allow us analyzing and evaluating students' activities.

scholarly journals A MODEL OF CREATIVE HERITAGE FOR INDUSTRY: DESIGNING NEW RULES WHILE PRESERVING THE PRESENT SYSTEM OF RULES

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 141-150
Author(s):  
Honorine Harlé ◽  
Pascal Le Masson ◽  
Benoit Weil
Keyword(s):  
Case Studies ◽  
Design Process ◽  
Industry 4.0 ◽  
Innovation Management ◽  
Present System ◽  
Innovative Capability ◽  
Current Change ◽  
A Site ◽  
Do So

AbstractIn industry, there is at once a strong need for innovation and a need to preserve the existing system of production. Thus, although the literature insists on the necessity of the current change toward Industry 4.0, how to implement it remains problematic because the preservation of the factory is at stake. Moreover, the question of the evolution of the system depends on its innovative capability, but it is difficult to understand how a new rule can be designed and implemented in a factory. This tension between preservation and innovation is often explained in the literature as a process of creative destruction. Looking at the problem from another perspective, this article models the factory as a site of creative heritage, enabling creation within tradition, i.e., creating new rules while preserving the system of rules. Two case studies are presented to illustrate the model. The paper shows that design in the factory relies on the ability to validate solutions. To do so, the design process can explore and give new meaning to the existing rules. The role of innovation management is to choose the degree of revision of the rules and to make it possible.

scholarly journals ENGAGING END USERS IN AN AI-ENABLED SMART SERVICE DESIGN - THE APPLICATION OF THE SMART SERVICE BLUEPRINT SCAPE (SSBS) FRAMEWORK

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 1363-1372
Author(s):  
Fan Li ◽  
Yuan Lu
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Design Process ◽  
End Users ◽  
Social Lives ◽  
Mobility Service ◽  
Ai Ethics ◽  
Smart Service ◽  
Design Case Study ◽  
Diverse Context ◽  
Service Blueprint

AbstractArtificial Intelligence (AI) has expanded in a diverse context, it infiltrates our social lives and is a critical part of algorithmic decision-making. Adopting AI technology, especially AI-enabled design, by end users who are non-AI experts is still limited. The incomprehensible, untransparent decision-making and difficulty of using AI become obstacles which prevent these end users to adopt AI technology. How to design the user experience (UX) based on AI technologies is an interesting topic to explore.This paper investigates how non-AI-expert end users can be engaged in the design process of an AI-enabled application by using a framework called Smart Service Blueprint Scape (SSBS), which aims to establish a bridge between UX and AI systems by mapping and translating AI decisions based on UX. A Dutch mobility service called ‘stUmobiel ’ was taken as a design case study. The goal is to design a reservation platform with stUmobiel end users. Co-creating with case users and assuring them to understand the decision-making and service provisional process of the AI-enabled design is crucial to promote users’ adoption. Furthermore, the concern of AI ethics also arises in the design process and should be discussed in a broader sense.

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