From Values to Design Requirements

Author(s):  
Christoffer Madsen ◽  
Sebastian Madsen ◽  
Mikkel Mørk

In this paper, we aim to highlight important challenges that are integral to any design process that purports to be essentially value-driven or value-geared. For value-driven design processes specifically, we formulate a guidance requirement that serves as a general requirement for any value-driven design. Furthermore, we sketch a preliminary structure for a value-driven design process consisting of an upstream and a downstream movement that translates values into design requirements. We argue that the two movements form a design loop and that it is through the iterations of this loop that we make a design process that satisfies the guidance requirement.

Author(s):  
Jitesh H. Panchal ◽  
Christiaan J. J. Paredis ◽  
Janet K. Allen ◽  
Farrokh Mistree

Design processes for multiscale, multifunctional systems are inherently complex due to the interactions between scales, functional requirements, and the resulting design decisions. While complex design processes that consider all interactions lead to better designs; simpler design processes where some interactions are ignored are faster and resource efficient. In order to determine the right level of simplification of design processes, designers are faced with the following questions: a) how should complex design-processes be simplified without affecting the resulting product performance? and b) how can designers quantify and evaluate the appropriateness of different design process alternatives? In this paper, the first question is addressed by introducing a method for determining the appropriate level of simplification of design processes — specifically through decoupling of scales and decisions in a multiscale problem. The method is based on three constructs: interaction patterns to model design processes, intervals to model uncertainty resulting from decoupling of scales and decisions, and value of information based metrics to measure the impact of simplification on the final design outcome. The second question is addressed by introducing a value-of-information based metric called improvement potential for quantifying the appropriateness of design process alternatives from the standpoint of product design requirements. The metric embodies quantitatively the potential for improvement in the achievement of product requirements by adding more information for design decision making. The method is illustrated via a datacenter cooling system design example.


Author(s):  
Jitesh H. Panchal ◽  
Christiaan J. J. Paredis ◽  
Janet K. Allen ◽  
Farrokh Mistree

Design-processes for multiscale, multifunctional systems are inherently complex due to the interactions between scales, functional requirements, and the resulting design decisions. While complex design-processes that consider all interactions lead to better designs, simpler design-processes where some interactions are ignored are faster and resource efficient. In order to determine the right level of simplification of design-processes, designers are faced with the following questions: (a) How should complex design-processes be simplified without affecting the resulting product performance? (b) How can designers quantify and evaluate the appropriateness of different design-process alternatives? In this paper, the first question is addressed by introducing a method for determining the appropriate level of simplification of design-processes—specifically through decoupling of scales and decisions in a multiscale problem. The method is based on three constructs: interaction patterns to model design-processes, intervals to model uncertainty resulting from decoupling of scales and decisions, and value-of-information based metrics to measure the impact of simplification on the final design outcome. The second question is addressed by introducing a value-of-information based metric called the improvement potential for quantifying the appropriateness of design-process alternatives from the standpoint of product design requirements. The metric embodies quantitatively the potential for improvement in the achievement of product requirements by adding more information for design decision-making. The method is illustrated via a datacenter cooling system design example.


Author(s):  
M. Messer ◽  
J. H. Panchal ◽  
J. K. Allen ◽  
F. Mistree ◽  
V. Krishnamurthy ◽  
...  

Designers are continuously challenged to manage complexity in embodiment design processes (EDPs), in the context of integrated product and materials design. In order to manage complexity in design processes, a systematic strategy to embodiment design process generation and selection is presented in this paper. The strategy is based on a value-of-information-based Process Performance Indicator (PPI). The approach is particularly well-suited for integrated product and materials design, and all other scenarios where knowledge of a truthful, i.e., perfect, design process and bounds of error are not available in the entire design space. The proposed strategy is applied to designing embodiment design processes for photonic crystal waveguides in the context of a next-generation optoelectronic communication system. In this paper, it is shown that the proposed strategy based on the Process Performance Indicator is useful for evaluating the performance of embodiment design processes particularly when accuracy of the prediction or the associated error bounds are not known.


Author(s):  
Camilo POTOCNJAK-OXMAN

Stir was a crowd-voted grants platform aimed at supporting creative youth in the early stages of an entrepreneurial journey. Developed through an in-depth, collaborative design process, between 2015 and 2018 it received close to two hundred projects and distributed over fifty grants to emerging creatives and became one of the most impactful programs aimed at increasing entrepreneurial activity in Canberra, Australia. The following case study will provide an overview of the methodology and process used by the design team in conceiving and developing this platform, highlighting how the community’s interests and competencies were embedded in the project itself. The case provides insights for people leading collaborative design processes, with specific emphasis on some of the characteristics on programs targeting creative youth


2016 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 34
Author(s):  
Maral Babapour Chafi

Designers engage in various activities, dealing with different materials and media to externalise and represent their form ideas. This paper presents a review of design research literature regarding externalisation activities in design process: sketching, building physical models and digital modelling. The aim has been to review research on the roles of media and representations in design processes, and highlight knowledge gaps and questions for future research.


Author(s):  
Ehud Kroll ◽  
Lauri Koskela

AbstractThe mechanism of design reasoning from function to form is suggested to consist of a two-step inference of the innovative abduction type. First is an inference from a desired functional aspect to an idea, concept, or solution principle to satisfy the function. This is followed by a second innovative abduction, from the latest concept to form, structure, or mechanism. The intermediate entity in the logical reasoning, the concept, is thus made explicit, which is significant in following and understanding a specific design process, for educating designers, and to build a logic-based computational model of design. The idea of a two-step abductive reasoning process is developed from the critical examination of several propositions made by others. We use the notion of innovative abduction in design, as opposed to such abduction where the question is about selecting among known alternatives, and we adopt a previously proposed two-step process of abductive reasoning. However, our model is different in that the two abductions used follow the syllogistic pattern of innovative abduction. In addition to using a schematic example from the literature to demonstrate our derivation, we apply the model to an existing, empirically derived method of conceptual design called “parameter analysis” and use two examples of real design processes. The two synthetic steps of the method are shown to follow the proposed double innovative abduction scheme, and the design processes are presented as sequences of double abductions from function to concept and from concept to form, with a subsequent deductive evaluation step.


Author(s):  
Michael J. Safoutin ◽  
Robert P. Smith

Abstract As engineering design is subjected to increasingly formal study, an informal attitude continues to surround the topic of iteration. Today there is no standard definition or typology of iteration, no grounding theory, few metrics, and a poor understanding of its role in the design process. Existing literature provides little guidance in investigating issues of design that might be best approached in terms of iteration. We review contributions of existing literature toward the understanding of iteration in design, develop a classification of design iteration, compare iterative aspects of human and automated design, and draw some conclusions concerning management of iteration and approaches to design automation.


Author(s):  
Masaharu Yoshioka ◽  
Tetsuo Tomiyama

Abstract Most of the previous research efforts for design process modeling had such assumptions as “design as problem solving,” “design as decision making,” and “design by analysis,” and did not explicitly address “design as synthesis.” These views lack notion and understanding about synthesis. Compared with analysis, synthesis is less understood and clarified. This paper discusses our fundamental view on synthesis and approach toward a reasoning framework of design as synthesis. To do so, we observe the designer’s activity and formalize knowledge operations in design processes. From the observation, we propose a hypothetical reasoning framework of design based on multiple model-based reasoning. We discuss the implementation strategy for the framework.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marco Tartagni

Get up to speed with the fundamentals of electronic sensor design with this comprehensive guide, and discover powerful techniques to reduce the overall design timeline for your specific applications. Includes a step-by-step introduction to a generalized information-centric approach for designing electronic sensors, demonstrating universally applicable practical approaches to speed up the design process. Features detailed coverage of all the tools necessary for effective characterization and organization of the design process, improving overall process efficiency. Provides a coherent and rigorous theoretical framework for understanding the fundamentals of sensor design, to encourage an intuitive understanding of sensor design requirements. Emphasising an integrated interdisciplinary approach throughout, this is an essential tool for professional engineers and graduate students keen to improve their understanding of cutting-edge electronic sensor design.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (20) ◽  
pp. 9430
Author(s):  
Fabiola Cortes-Chavez ◽  
Alberto Rossa-Sierra ◽  
Elvia Luz Gonzalez-Muñoz

The medical device design process has a responsibility to define the characteristics of the object to ensure its correct interaction with users. This study presents a proposal to improve medical device design processes in order to increase user acceptance by considering two key factors: the user hierarchy and the relationship with the patient’s health status. The goal of this study is to address this research gap and to increase design factors with practical suggestions for the design of new medical devices. The results obtained here will help medical device designers make more informed decisions about the functions and features required in the final product during the development stage. In addition, we aim to help researchers with design process didactics that demonstrate the importance of the correct execution of the process and how the factors considered can have an impact on the final product. An experiment was conducted with 40 design engineering students who designed birthing beds via two design processes: the traditional product design process and the new design process based on hierarchies (proposed in this study). The results showed a significant increase in the user acceptance of the new birthing bed developed with the hierarchical-based design process.


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