The integration of information and ideas : creating linkages through a novel concept design method

This paper describes the ICR Grid as a novel representation of information and ideas. Developed as a method for enhancing utilization of digital information sources in conceptual design, the name is derived from the cognitive processes (inform, create, reflect) that are systematically employed and the resulting grid output. As a prescriptive method, it requires design teams to find and build information resources in parallel with creating solutions. It does, however, maintain the freedom of designers to decide on the direction of exploration, and encourages flexible thinking by using an activity-based approach. The output of the method is a linked grid of information sources and their application that emphasizes their relationships and evolution over time. The paper reviews the evaluation of a prototype ICR Grid in a number of industrial scenarios using a shared OneNote document, and outlines the development path for future bespoke implementations. As digital technologies and organizational strategies continue to rapidly evolve, this work is timely in bringing new thoughts on how information is sourced, used and managed in the development of ideas. Issues regarding team structures and interaction, information reuse, and the capture of rationale are also addressed in relation to the grid format. It is anticipated the findings will be of particular interest to industrial designers, information specialists, and the digital library community, as well as being of relevance to any organization undertaking idea generation or problem solving

Student search behaviour in a digital library

This paper covers student search behaviour in a digital library. It was presented at the eighth international conference of engineering and product design education, in Salzburg, in 2006

TikiWiki: a tool to support engineering design students in concept generation

For student design engineers, the concept generation stage of the design process is usually one of most creative, but poses problems in handling large amounts of information when developing new ideas. Storing such information digitally potentially makes its retrieval and utilisation quicker and easier - ideal for the inherently spontaneous nature of the concept generation task. There is, however, currently a low use of existing electronic resources amongst undergraduate students. This paper discusses how a group of product design engineering students were encouraged to use TikiWiki, a groupware product, as an integral part of a design project. It was observed that a digital repository has a positive effect on concept generation, despite the logistical problems with moving information into the digital domain. Students were able to better interact with the information, evidenced by hierarchical and well constructed topic information resources, a high number of ‘hits’ on their Wiki pages, clear references to information used in concept design templates and instances of ‘topic-led’ designs where the research carried out by a group clearly influenced design direction. Additionally, students showed a strong preference for browsing the structured Wiki pages they had created rather than searching with keywords, in keeping with the open-ended nature of concept generation

Enabling creative virtual teams in SMEs

This chapter describes, through four case studies, how a typical small and medium size enterprise (SME) achieved successful virtual team working within their organization. A 'Strategy for Enabling Creative Virtual Teams' encompassing the processes, methods, and tools developed and implemented within the company to achieve this success is presented. Generic and transferable findings drawn from this study aimed at helping other SMEs, form the conclusion of this chapter

Educating designers for a global context?: proceedings of the 4th engineering and product design education international conference, Salzburg, Austria, 7-8 September, 2006

This book is the proceedings from the 4th Engineering and Product Design Education International Conference. It was held in Salzburg, Austria on the 8th of September 2006

Computer support for distributed design teams

Describes the need for advanced computational methods of information capture and storage, due to the global distribution of design teams and the implementation of design activities into the digital domain. Highlights the need for such tools to be developed. Focuses on the application of wiki technologies for providing design teams with support through information capture and storage within distributed design environments

Reducing the uncertainty of the prototyping decision

This paper covers reducing the uncertainty of the prototyping decision. It was presented at the Third National Conference on Rapid Prototyping, Tooling, and Manufacturing in June 2002, which was held at the Buckinghamshire Chilterns University College

A framework for supporting intelligent and flexible workflow-based engineering design process

To support an efficient management of a creative and dynamic Engineering Design Process (EDP), this paper proposes a new intelligent and flexible workflow-based EDP management framework entitled EnDesProM. The Autonomic Object (AO) based on autonomic computing is embedded in the nodes of flexible workflow to ensure the intelligence of the framework. An innovative flexible workflow modelling method based on dynamic instance creation is proposed as part of the EnDesProM. Both the formalised definition and graphical expression of the EDP models are introduced to ensure the rigour of the approach. The architecture of the intelligent workflow is designed and the application of the weighted Certainty Factor (CF) model in the knowledge expression is investigated to deal with the incomplete information in EDP. The EnDesProM has been evaluated through an EDP in a Make-to-Order (MTO) company and the results show that EnDesProM can support the creative and dynamic EDP satisfactorily, though further improvements are required

A study of student learning in design projects

Undergraduate courses in design engineering address both the form and functional design of products. This apparently simple objective belies some of the real challenges faced in educating students on such courses. These challenges tend to relate to achieving a balance in the consideration of form and functional issues in a manner appropriate to the product context being considered. This paper will describe a study undertaken at the University of Strathclyde that attempted to develop a better understanding of student learning with respect to this issue