Impacting Designer Creativity Through IT-Enabled Concept Generation

Author(s):  
Ken English ◽  
Aziz Naim ◽  
Kemper Lewis ◽  
Susanne Schmidt ◽  
Vimal Viswanathan ◽  
...  

One of the innovation’s fundamental mechanisms, designer creativity, is both unsupported by rigorous information-technology-enabled tools and uncharacterized as a scientific phenomenon. In this paper, we present VISUALIZEIT—a project seeking to identify a scientific basis and develop the supporting cyberinfrastructure needed to facilitate, evaluate, and disseminate information-technology-enabled innovation methodologies that augment designer creativity. This particular research paper describes a method of synthesizing concept representations through the development and expansion of platforms focused on computational concept generation, clustering of design concepts, a repository of archived design knowledge, and an information integration and representation interface. We also present the initial results from implementing VISUALIZEIT using two populations of students.

Author(s):  
Matt R. Bohm ◽  
Jayson P. Vucovich ◽  
Robert B. Stone

This paper describes how a design repository can be used as a concept generation tool by drawing upon archived function-based design knowledge. Modern design methodologies include several types of activities to formally generate design concepts. Typical concept generation methods range from open-ended creative brainstorming activities to quantitative function-component analysis. A combination of two such methods—the Chi Matrix and Morphological Matrix techniques—is the basis for this work. Building on existing functionality of the design repository, desired product functions can be specified in a search of stored design knowledge, returning a Morphological Matrix of artifacts solving the specified functions. Such a search is termed a Morphological Search. The repository Morphological Search feature is evaluated against concepts generated in a previous original design project. Results of the Morphological Search return are then compared to ten of the original concept variants generated during the design project. This comparison shows that 76% of the specified subfunctions return results and that, on average, 61.35% of the components used in the hand-generated concepts can be derived by using the Morphological Search feature.


Author(s):  
Matt R. Bohm ◽  
Jayson P. Vucovich ◽  
Robert B. Stone

This paper describes how a design repository can be used as a concept generation tool by drawing upon archived function-based design knowledge. Modern design methodologies include several types of activities to formally generate design concepts. Typical concept generation methods range from open-ended creative brainstorming activities to quantitative function-component analysis. A combination of two such methods—the chi-matrix and morphological matrix techniques—is the basis for this work. Building on existing functionality of the design repository, desired product functions can be specified in a search of stored design knowledge, returning a morphological matrix of artifacts solving the specified functions. Such a search is termed a morphological search. The repository morphological search feature is evaluated against concepts generated in a previous original design project. Results of the morphological search return are then compared to ten of the original concept variants generated during the design project. This comparison shows that 89% of the specified subfunctions return results and that, on average, 77% of the components used in the hand-generated concepts can be derived by using the morphological search feature.


Author(s):  
Andrea CAPRA ◽  
Ana BERGER ◽  
Daniela SZABLUK ◽  
Manuela OLIVEIRA

An accurate understanding of users' needs is essential for the development of innovative products. This article presents an exploratory method of user centered research in the context of the design process of technological products, conceived from the demands of a large information technology company. The method is oriented - but not restricted - to the initial stages of the product development process, and uses low-resolution prototypes and simulations of interactions, allowing users to imagine themselves in a future context through fictitious environments and scenarios in the ambit of ideation. The method is effective in identifying the requirements of the experience related to the product’s usage and allows rapid iteration on existing assumptions and greater exploration of design concepts that emerge throughout the investigation.


Author(s):  
Matt R. Bohm ◽  
Karl R. Haapala ◽  
Kerry Poppa ◽  
Robert B. Stone ◽  
Irem Y. Tumer

This paper describes efforts taken to further transition life cycle analysis techniques from the latter, more detailed phases of design, to the early-on conceptual phase of product development. By using modern design methodologies such as automated concept generation and an archive of product design knowledge, known as the Design Repository, virtual concepts are created and specified. Streamlined life cycle analysis techniques are then used to determine the environmental impacts of the virtual concepts. As a means to benchmark the virtual results, analogous real-life products that have functional and component similarities are identified. The identified products are then scrutinized to determine their material composition and manufacturing attributes in order to perform an additional round of life cycle analysis for the actual products. The results of this research show that enough information exists within the conceptual phase of design (utilizing the Design Repository) to reasonably predict the relative environmental impacts of actual products based on virtual concepts.


2015 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seda Yilmaz ◽  
Shanna R. Daly ◽  
Colleen M. Seifert ◽  
Richard Gonzalez

Research supports the central role cognitive strategies can play in successful concept generation by individual designers. Design heuristics have been shown to facilitate the creation of new design concepts in the early, conceptual stage of the design process, as well as throughout the development of ideas. However, we know relatively little about their use in differing disciplines. This study examined evidence of design heuristic use in a protocol study with 12 mechanical engineers and 12 industrial designers who worked individually to develop multiple concepts. The open-ended design problem was for a novel product, and the designers’ sketches and comments were recorded as they worked on the problem for 25 min and in a retrospective interview. The results showed frequent use of design heuristics in both disciplines and a significant relationship to the rated creativity of the concepts. Though industrial designers used more heuristics in their concepts, there was a high degree of similarity in heuristic use. Some differences between design disciplines were observed in the choice of design heuristics, where industrial designers showed a greater emphasis on user experience, environmental contexts, and added features. These findings demonstrate the prevalence of design heuristics in individual concept generation and their effectiveness in generating creative concepts, across two design domains.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yaqin Yuan ◽  
Linlin Liu ◽  
Liu Liu

PurposeThis paper aims to investigate the relationship between information integration, supply chain capabilities and credit quality of small and middle enterprises (SMEs) in supply chain finance (SCF).Design/methodology/approachGrounded in the resource-based view (RBV) and signaling theory, this study proposes a theoretical model. Then, structural equation modeling and interview analysis are employed to test the theoretical model.FindingsThe results show that both two aspects of information integration, namely, information technology and information sharing, have positive effects on the SMEs’ credit quality in SCF, and these effects are mediated by supply chain capabilities.Originality/valueFirst, the paper contributes to SCF literature by simultaneously examining the role of two dimensions of information integration (information technology and information sharing) in enhancing SMEs’ credit quality. Second, this paper enriches the existing theoretical research on SCF by integrating the SMEs perspective and SCF service provider perspective. Moreover, this paper explores the indirect effects of information integration on SMEs’ credit quality by incorporating supply chain capabilities as a mediating factor.


2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-18
Author(s):  
W. B. Lee ◽  
W. M. Wang ◽  
C. F. Cheung ◽  
Z. H. Wu

Industrial and product design involves a lot of unstructured information for the generation of innovative product design ideas. However, the generation of innovative design concepts is not only time consuming but also heavily relies on the experience of product designers. Most existing systems focus mainly on the technical aspects of realizing product designs, which are inadequate to support concept generation process at the pre-design stage. In this paper, a knowledge extraction and design support system (KEDSS) is presented. The system aims at extracting key design concepts and depicting the trends of these concepts from the massive amount of unstructured design information in the open domain. A summary report, a related concept list, and concept trend graphs are produced based on the inputs of the designers' design ideas. A series of experiments have been conducted to measure the performance of the system. Moreover, the system has been successfully trial implemented as part of a public service platform for modern industrial design of injection molding machinery and equipment.


Author(s):  
Jayson Vucovich ◽  
Nikhil Bhardwaj ◽  
Hoi-Hei (Terence) Ho ◽  
Manjeshwar Ramakrishna ◽  
Mayur Thakur ◽  
...  

Modern product and engineering design research explores methods for formally generating design concepts from stored knowledge. We discuss a design methodology which utilizes archived design knowledge gained from product dissection to aid novice designers in developing new product designs. In this design paradigm, new designs are developed as a model of the product’s intended functionality, rather than a model of actual, physical components. This paper formulates an algorithm to automatically generate a set of components to instantiate such a functional model using archived design knowledge, which maps components to the functions they can satisfy and provides precedents for which components can be connected. In order to avoid generating an exponential number of instantiations, component failure data is leveraged to develop a dynamic programming algorithm. In addition, a method which uses this information to train a Hidden Markov Model is also developed. This Hidden Markov Model is consulted to generate a set of instantiations with low failure rates while avoiding exponential runtime.


2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (7) ◽  
pp. 142
Author(s):  
Oksana V. Handabura ◽  
Valentyna I. Sliuzko ◽  
Ruslana M. Melnyk ◽  
Liudmyla M. Hlushok

The article deals with possible ways of using information technologies in teaching future teachers of foreign language and foreign literature. It is established that the primary task of the organizer of the educational process is to build an educational process with a view to facilitating the development of the competences necessary for the future teachers of foreign language and foreign literature. The latest information technologies are analysed and the effective ways of their use are suggested. It was found out that information technologies actively contribute to the unique function of preparing the future specialist for the quality realization of educational services in the information and digital space. It is researched that the functional approach to the analysis of IT in the context of the educational process outlines the specific scientific basis of the proposed scientific search, which allows to organically combine the postulates of media-oriented education with cognitive and communicative principles in the study of the ways of using IT in teaching teachers of foreign language and foreign literature. According to the guidelines of this approach, the functional purpose of IT influences the processes of formation of the form and value of the obtained knowledge. An important element in describing the use of IT is the principle of consistency. It is confirmed that the general competences of future teachers of foreign language and foreign literature are represented by both subject and general competencies, where IT competence is ranked as one of the top priorities. It implies the teacher’s ability to use information technology in the course of his/her professional activities effectively and appropriately. Information technology competence, in turn, is divided into three main competences, which correspond to the separate activities of teachers of foreign language and foreign literature: general, diagnostic and subject-oriented. Examples of tasks aimed at forming different types of competences in future teachers of foreign language and foreign literature with IT involvement are given. It is proved that the use of information technologies in the process of realization of educational and professional training of future teachers of foreign language and foreign literature contributes to a more effective fulfilment of the basic curriculum assignments, in-depth study of the content of the studied discipline, optimization of self-education and self-development of the level of future specialists, an individual way of perceiving information and working with it.


Author(s):  
Duc Truong Pham ◽  
Huimin Liu

This paper presents a new approach to producing innovative design concepts. The proposed approach involves extending the inventive principles of TRIZ by integrating other TRIZ and TRIZ-inspired tools. The set of inventive principles is then structured according to a framework adapted from I-Ching and represented using TRIZ’s Behaviour-Entity (BE) formalism to which constraints have also been added. The adoption of the BE representation enables a reduction in the amount of repeated information in the inventive principles. A BE pair contains information on a design solution. A Behaviour-Entity-Constraint (BEC) triple additionally has information on constraints on the solution. The BEC representation thus facilitates the retrieval and generation of design solutions from design specifications. The paper uses the problem of laying out seats in an aircraft cabin to illustrate advantages of the proposed approach.


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