Different Problem Types Logical Story Decision- Diagnosis- Design Making Solution Algorithmic Rule- Trouble- Case Using shooting Analysis Well-defined Ill-structured More abstract context Real-world Single, correct answer Multiple solutions Constrained Information Provided Many unknowns Source: Jonassen (2000). Toward a Design Theory of Problem Solving.
Developing Design Expertise Novice Expert
I. Explore the Challenge Contrasting Strategies Title What Beginning Designers Do What Informed Designers Do Tools Premature / Delayed Decision Making Treat design as well-structured and make premature design decisions Delay making decisions in order to explore challenge, learn about critical issues Functional descriptions, Problem Scoping Skip / Do Research & Info Searches Skip doing research and information searched, and instead start generating design solutions immediately. Do research and information searched about the problem, includeing materials, prior art, users, product histories, etc. Studying prior art, Product history and analysis, Researching users Confounded/ Valid Investigations Do few early investigations or conduct confounded tests that build little understanding of the design problem. Do valid investigations to help them learn quickly about design variables, users, materials, & how things work. Product dissections, Product comparisons Source: Crismond, D. (2007). Contrasting strategies of beginning and informed designers: One representation of learning progressions in engineering design.
II. Generate, Build & Communicate Ideas Contrasting Strategies Title What Beginning Designers Do What Informed Designers Do Tools Idea Fixation / Idea Fluency Fixate on first design ideas, which they won’t let go of, and work depth-first in developing a single plan. Practice idea fluency via brainstorming, sketching, and rapid prototyping, and use gestures, words, & artifacts to communicate these ideas Brainstorming, Constraint Relaxation & “Dream Designing”, Database Searches, Rapid Prototyping, Task Sequencing Surface / Deep Drawing & Modeling Describe & sketch surface features of device that would not work if built. Make drawings and models that show how parts connect and interact well, and models that test key features. Alternate Sequencing for Sketching, Discussions & Annotated Sketches, Gestures and Artifacts as Stand-ins for Drawings Unfocused / Diagnostic Vision Have a generalized unfocused way of viewing tests and troubleshooting their ideas. Use diagnostic vision to focus their attention while troubleshoot critical areas of the design plans and products. Cognitive Training, Teaching Modeling & Coaching Source: Crismond, D. (2007). Contrasting strategies of beginning and informed designers: One representation of learning progressions in engineering design.
III. Test & Evaluate Solutions, Reflect on Practice Contrasting Strategies Title What Beginning Designers Do What Informed Designers Do Tools Ignore / Balance Benefits & Tradeoffs in Making Decisions Ignore or pay too much attention to constraints and focus on + or – aspects of ideas without also thinking of benefits and tradeoffs. Balance systems of benefits and tradeoffs when making design decisions, and use guidelines and rules-of-thumb to make these choices. Design decision charts, Design Guidelines, Heuristics & Rules-of-Thumb Haphazard, Linear / Iterative, Managed Design Design in a haphazard ways, working on whatever problems emerge, or treat design as a set of steps to be done once in linear order. Do design as an iterative process, improving ideas based on feedback, and use strategies in any order, as needed, in a managed way. Project & Time Management, Design Process Knowledge and Support Tacit / Reflective Thinking* Do tacit designing when they think with little self-reflection & monitoring of actions. Practice reflective thinking by keeping tabs on design work in a metacognitive way. Design Notebooks and Portfolios, Computer-supported structured reflections Source: Crismond, D. (2007). Contrasting strategies of beginning and informed designers: One representation of learning progressions in engineering design. *Self-monitoring is associated with higher levels of design performance and product quality (Adams & Atman, 2000).
Characteristics of Designers Good designers have the ability to: Tolerate ambiguity that shows up in viewing design as inquiry or as an iterative loop of divergent-convergent thinking Maintain sight of the big picture by including systems thinking and systems design Handle uncertainty Dym, Agogino, Eris, Frey, and Leifer (2005)
Characteristics of Designers Good designers have the ability to: Make decisions Think as part of a team in a social process Think and communicate in the several languages of design Dym, Agogino, Eris, Frey, and Leifer (2005)
Designer’s challenge: Not exhibiting the “Novice concepts of design” Newstetter and McCracken (2001, p. 67-68) list five, but I would like to challenge you on three of them! Design arrogance – Students do not place their designs in the context of the environment in which the design will reside. The “arrogantly” ignore the constraints of the user (whether that is a machine or a person). They often design for themselves.
Designer’s challenge: Not exhibiting the “Novice concepts of design”, cont. Design shutdown – Students tend to focus on single point solutions to problems once beyond the ideation stage. In other words, once they have an idea, they stop considering alternative and focus all their energy on that one solution regardless of its feasibility. Design routinization – Students act as though designing is a serial/linear process. The way they deal with design problems resembles the linear parsing of the algebra problem. Iteration, revisiting past decisions and evaluating alternatives is not in their process model.
Learning by doing Students learn by making mistakes, reflecting and trying again
Prototypes Prototyping….rough, quick, very iterative IDEO working with Gyrus ACMI to design new apparatus for operating on delicate nasal tissues Prototype: http://cataligninnovation.blogspot.com/2008/11/prototyping-foundational-competency-of.html
From IDEO HCD Toolkit What do people desire? What can be financially viable? What is technically and organizationally feasible?