Enhancing Design Research in the Context of Design Education

2007 ◽  
Vol 129 (7) ◽  
pp. 717-729 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vassilis Agouridas
Keyword(s):  
Doctoral Students ◽  
Design Education ◽  
Design Theory ◽  
Design Research ◽  
Case Study Research ◽  
Design Practice ◽  
Research Methodologies ◽  
Research Education ◽  
Course Of Action ◽  
Design Theory And Methodology

Research into design theory and methodology is central to postgraduate design education. It has been widely acknowledged in the literature that a key activity in ensuring the quality of research in the area of design theory and methodology is to put particular emphasis on addressing both technical and social aspects that underpin the socio-technical nature of design research. In addition, this is requisite in linking design theory to design practice. However, explicit research methodologies that take into consideration both of these aspects, as well as explicitly address the issue of linking design theory to design practice, are scarce. The overall aim of this paper is to increase the awareness of stakeholders involved in design research education (e.g., master and doctoral students, faculty, and education planners), of the need to safeguard and assure the credibility and validity of design research outputs. The paper reviews issues and challenges associated with the use of research methodologies in the context of design theory and methodology research. It reports findings from the development, application, and evaluation of a research methodology based on hypothesis testing, action research, and case study research methodologies. Application and evaluation of the methodology showed that the introduced concepts of basis-of-action and course-of-action proved key elements in establishing intellectual frameworks for design research. Conclusions are drawn on the effectiveness of the methodology to address issues and challenges associated with the nature of design research, and on pedagogical benefits that can be gained from its application in postgraduate design research education.

Design Theory and Methodology in Eastern Europe

1990 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tomasz Arciszewski
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Eastern Europe ◽  
Engineering Design ◽  
Design Theory ◽  
Design Research ◽  
East Germany ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Research Environments ◽  
Design Theories ◽  
Design Theory And Methodology

Abstract The paper provides a brief review of general tendencies and interesting developments in the area of engineering design theory and methodology in Eastern Europe. This review is limited to East Germany, Poland, and the Soviet Union. Particular attention was given to the design research environments in individual countries, and to developed design theories and methods in the context of these environments.

scholarly journals Systemic design agendas in education and design research

2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Susu Nousala ◽  
David Ing ◽  
Peter Hayward Jones
Keyword(s):  
Design Education ◽  
Design Research ◽  
Sociotechnical Systems ◽  
Design Practice ◽  
High Quality ◽  
Design Problems ◽  
Experimental Workshop ◽  
Societal Problems ◽  
Tongji University ◽  
Systemic Design

Since 2014, an international collaborative of design leaders has been exploring ways in which methods can be augmented, transitioning from the heritage legacy focus on products and services towards a broad range of complex sociotechnical systems and contemporary societal problems issues. At the RSD4 Symposium (2015), DesignX co-founder Don Norman presented a keynote talk on the frontiers of design practice and necessity for advanced design education for highly complex sociotechnical problems. He identified the qualities of these systems as relevant to DesignX problems, and called for systemics, transdisciplinarity and the need for high-quality observations (or evidence) in these design problems.  Initial directions found were proposed in the first DesignX workshop in October 2015, which were published in the design journal Shè Jì.  In October 2016, another DesignX workshop was held at Tongji University in Shanghai, overlapping with the timing of the RSD5 Symposium where this workshop was convened. The timing of these events presented an opportunity to explore design education and research concepts, ideas and directions of thought that emerged from the multiple discussions and reflections through this experimental workshop. The aim of this paper is to report on the workshop as a continuing project in the DesignX discourse, to share reflections and recommendations from this working group.

Transforming Design Practice in a Small Manufacturing Enterprise

1994 ◽  
Author(s):  
David F. Radcliffe ◽  
Peter Harrison
Keyword(s):  
New Product Development ◽  
Quality Function Deployment ◽  
Design Theory ◽  
Manufacturing Industry ◽  
Development Project ◽  
Practice Research ◽  
Design Practice ◽  
Manufacturing Enterprises ◽  
Design Theory And Methodology ◽  
House Design

Abstract Small manufacturing enterprises comprise the bulk of manufacturing industry yet little account is taken of such firms in the literature on design theory and methodology. This paper presents an account of the in-house design style of a small, innovative company that designed and manufactures an award winning range of hydraulic cylinders. With assistance from the University of Queensland this company is adopting more formal design methods as part of a major new product development project over three years. The company’s experience of learning about and adopting quality function deployment (QFD) concepts and procedures is presented as an example of this process. The transition to new methods has been accompanied by changes in personnel and responsibilities. Based on this shared experience, the process of transforming design practice in the company is not characterised by a linear model of technology transfer. Rather it is best described by an action research model of cyclic learning and mutual discovery focused on practice, research and teaching leading to a set of concurrent outcomes for each participant.

Concurrent design happens at the interfaces

1995 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 89-99 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan Finger ◽  
Suresh Konda ◽  
Eswaran Subrahmanian
Keyword(s):  
Concurrent Engineering ◽  
Design Education ◽  
Design Research ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Information Organization ◽  
Concurrent Design ◽  
Research Practice ◽  
Design Practice ◽  
Computer Based ◽  
Mobile Computers

AbstractConcurrent engineering is often viewed either from a technical point of view—that is, as a problem that can be solved by creating and integrating computer-based tools—or from an organizational point of view—that is, as a problem that can be solved by creating and reorganizing teams of designers. In this paper we argue that concurrent engineering requires both technical and organizational solutions, and we call the result concurrent design. We believe that the essence of concurrent design is the myriad of interactions that occur at the interfaces among all of the members of a design team and all their tools. Solving either the technical or organizational problems by assuming away the interactions will not solve the problems of concurrent design.In this paper we present two case studies of concurrent design in practice that have changed our assumptions about design and which have changed our research agenda. We also present the evolution of concurrent design research at the Carnegie Mellon Engineering Design Research Center. In our research, we have designed, manufactured, and used our own tools as well as observed their use by others—where the tools include mobile computers, design analysis programs, and information organization tools. Through this process, we have learned about design education and design practice, and we have uncovered new issues for design research. We see the interactions among design research, practice, and education as essential to understanding concurrent design.

A Retrospective on Twenty Years of the Design Theory and Methodology Conference

2008 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacquelyn K. Stroble ◽  
Robert L. Nagel ◽  
Kerry R. Poppa ◽  
Matt R. Bohm ◽  
Robert B. Stone
Keyword(s):  
Artificial Intelligence ◽  
Design Automation ◽  
Design Education ◽  
Design Theory ◽  
Industrial Applications ◽  
Research Topics ◽  
The Past ◽  
Design Theory And Methodology ◽  
Education Decision ◽  
Areas Of Interest

Since its birth from the Design Automation Conference (DAC) and the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AAAI) twenty years ago, the Design Theory and Methodology (DTM) Conference has accepted 769 papers for presentation in a total of 179 tracks. Papers have covered advances in design theory and methods as well as design education, decision making, product development, collaborative endeavors, case studies, information processing, computational methods and industrial applications. Through the years tracks have evolved to better define existing research topics and branched to spawn new areas of interest. This paper presents a retrospective of the past twenty years of the DTM conference including a look at the evolution of tracks, those researchers who have contributed and predictions for the upcoming twenty years.

Ignorance, Environmental Education Research and Design Education

2005 ◽  
Vol 21 ◽  
pp. 39-46 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deirdre Barron ◽  
Simon Jackson ◽  
Lyndon Anderson
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Education ◽  
Design Education ◽  
Design Research ◽  
Design Practice ◽  
Sustainable Society ◽  
Education Development ◽  
Relative Lack ◽  
The World ◽  
Ecologically Sustainable ◽  
Research And Design

AbstractIn the relatively new discipline of design education we have the opportunity to frame the way that design education is formulated. The relative lack of theorists in the field of design education studies leaves unquestioned the relevance of conventional practices of design education that are premised on only tangentially relevant Art, Science and Information Technology models. There is a gap in design education development regarding how to mediate ecological concerns with techno-scientific imperatives. Environmental education researchers can influence this new field by challenging existing approaches to design education with particular attention to the ways design either contributes to or hinders the development of a sustainable society. In order to enter this discussion with environmental education researchers we identify three ecological issues faced by designers and design educators, here we pay particular attention to Industrial Design. The question for this paper is, can environmental education researchers offer advice to the design education area that may help us develop ecologically sustainable design-based programs. The newness of ecological concerns in the design research and design education areas means that we have a great deal to learn. If environmental education researchers are able to assist us with our reflections on designing curricula that in turn encourages a more ecologically aware design profession then this would be a worthwhile contribution to design practice in Australia, and indeed the world.

The Education of Research Psychologists in Sweden

2003 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 34-38 ◽  
Author(s):  
Knut Larsson ◽  
Josef Frischer
Keyword(s):  
Social Science ◽  
Doctoral Students ◽  
Doctoral Programs ◽  
Science Department ◽  
Research Education ◽  
The Core ◽  
Social Science Department ◽  
Learning Alliance ◽  
Laissez Faire ◽  
The Government

The education of researchers in Sweden is regulated by a nationwide reform implemented in 1969, which intended to limit doctoral programs to 4 years without diminishing quality. In an audit performed by the government in 1996, however, it was concluded that the reform had failed. Some 80% of the doctoral students admitted had dropped out, and only 1% finished their PhD degree within the stipulated 4 years. In an attempt to determine the causes of this situation, we singled out a social-science department at a major Swedish university and interviewed those doctoral students who had dropped out of the program. This department was found to be representative of the nationwide figures found in the audit. The students interviewed had all completed at least 50% of their PhD studies and had declared themselves as dropouts from this department. We conclude that the entire research education was characterized by a laissez-faire attitude where supervisors were nominated but abdicated. To correct this situation, we suggest that a learning alliance should be established between the supervisor and the student. At the core of the learning alliance is the notion of mutually forming a platform form which work can emerge in common collaboration. The learning alliance implies a contract for work, stating its goals, the tasks to reach these goals, and the interpersonal bonding needed to give force and endurance to the endeavor. Constant scrutiny of this contract and a mutual concern for the learning alliance alone can contribute to its strength.

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