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A Design Data Analysis Approach to Early Stage Design Process

A Design Data Analysis Approach to Early Stage Design Process NSF Innovation and Discovery Workshop: The Scientific Basis of Individual and Team Innovation and Discovery May 18, 2006 Maria C. Yang University of Southern California. Under the support of NSF DMI-0547629 .

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A Design Data Analysis Approach to Early Stage Design Process

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  1. A Design Data Analysis Approach to Early Stage Design Process NSF Innovation and Discovery Workshop: The Scientific Basis of Individual and Team Innovation and Discovery May 18, 2006 Maria C. Yang University of Southern California Under the support of NSF DMI-0547629

  2. [Ulrich & Eppinger 95; Pahl & Beitz 96]. Early stage design processHow are things designed? • High-impact phase • Design practice and design teacher • Good design process linked to good design outcome • Deeper understanding of design methodologies • Examine output of design activities over time

  3. Research questions • What is “good” early stage design process? • What is “good” design outcome? • How are process and outcome linked? • How can process metrics help design? • Research goals: • Comprehensive measures of early design process • Time-based models of process information • Framework that links measures with outcome -> indicators

  4. Research framework (1) Design content: Concepts Design context: Process measures (3) Design data (2) Designers Early stage design process Final concept Design problem Clarify Generate Select Controls: Resources & strategy

  5. Research framework (1) Design content: Concepts Design context: Process measures (3) Design data (2) Designers Early stage design process Final concept Design problem Clarify Generate Select Controls: Resources & strategy

  6. Concept generation and sketching • Fluency, flexibility, originality • “Quantity breeds quality” [Osborn] • IDEO approach [Kelley & Littman] • Sketching tied to design cognition [Nagai & Noguchi 03; Suwa & Tversky 97; Goel 95; Cross; Shah; Goldschmidt; Tovey] • Questions • How might concept quantity be linked to design outcome? • Sketch quantity? • If sketching is a design language, does drawing skill impact design performance? [Yang & Cham (accepted); Cham & Yang 05]

  7. Research/Teaching Test bed • Design courses at Caltech • Engineering design contest (2 different years) • Introduction to design • Outcomes • Grades • Contest performance (Engineering Contest)

  8. Related work • Sketch classification • Function [Ullman 90; Ferguson 92; van der Lugt 05; Goel 95] • Elements [McGown 98; Rodgers 00] • Sketching and outcome • Teams who sketch vs. those who don’t [Schütze 03] • 3D sketching & outcome [Song & Agogino 04] • What about sketching skill?

  9. 1. Concept generation • Correlations between brainstormed ideas and grade • Text lists and sketches • Introduction to Design course only • Beginning of project N = 33, Rs = 0.291 for a = 0.05

  10. 2. Sketch quantity and design outcome • Design earlier vs. later • Engineering Design • Contest N = 24, Rs > 0.343 for α = 0.05 Year 1 Year 2 N = 21, Rs = 0.370 for a= 0.05

  11. 3. Sketching Skill a. What is the nature of sketching skill in design? • Generic or task-based? • Research in mental imagery [Kosslyn] • Comprehensive, generic “trait” • Task-based skill • Somewhere between 1) and 2) • Hypothesis • Sketching ability similar to (3) b. How is skill related to design outcome? • Hypothesis: Sketching skill important, but not only factor

  12. Results: 3a. Types of sketching skill • Possible results • Comprehensive skill: Strong correlations between tasks • Task-based skill: No correlation • Skill lies between the two: Range of correlations • Results suggest option 3 Correlation between sketch tasks. N = 32, Rs >= 0.350 for  = 0.05

  13. 3b. Sketching and Design Outcome • Sketching skill: No clear trends • Design process depends on many skills/factors • Project type, outcome measures • More studies needed N = 32, Rs >= 0.350 for = 0.05

  14. Thoughts on future work (1) Design content: Concepts Design context: Process measures (3) Design data (2) Designers Early stage design process Final concept Design problem Clarify Generate Select Controls: Resources & strategy

  15. Research questions 2 & 3 2. How is sketching ability linked to fluency? • Hypothesis: Those who draw better also draw more

  16. 2. Sketching ability and sketch fluency • Total: Drawing “well” correlates positively • 3D: Bike task correlates negatively • Drawing skill vs. other means of visualization? N = 32, Rs >= 0.296 for  = 0.10

  17. Concluding remarks • What does this say about sketching skill in engineering design? • Sketching skills not created equal • Gearheads and Artists • How is sketching ability linked to fluency? • Maybe - ability to visualize without drawing • Logbook resisters • Does better sketching also mean better design? • No clear trends • Design requires many skills, sketching only one • Outcome measure consistency

  18. Conclusions • Quantity may correlate with quality, early on • In course 1, last minute sketching correlates negatively • Dimensioned drawings • Linked closely to prototyping • Would expect it better to delay • Class heavily emphasizes prototyping

  19. Research in early stage design • Clarifying design requirements • Need finding [Faste 87], Voice of Customer [Griffin & Hauser 93], QFD [Hauser & Clausing 88] • Concept generation & creativity • Brainstorming [Osborn 63], Deep Dive [Kelley & Littman 01], Conceptual blockbusting [Adams 76], TRIZ [Altshuller 99]; shape grammars [Schmidt & Cagan 97], Method of Imprecision [Wood & Antonsson 89] • Concept selection • Concept selection [Pugh 91], optimal design [Papalambros & Wilde 88], robust design [Phadke 89] • Descriptive approaches • Protocol studies [Blessing 95; Bucciarelli 94; Tang & Leifer 91] • Text analysis [Mabogunje & Leifer 96; Dong & Agogino 97] • Sketch analysis [McKim 80; Schön & Wiggins 92; Ullman 90] • (does not incl work in other fields: cog sci, psych, ….)

  20. Sketching results Engineering design contest 2 Engineering design contest 1 • Average weekly total and dimensioned sketches • Proportionally fewer dimensioned early on • Conceptualization earlier, prototyping later • Peak sketching for (1) earlier than for (2)

  21. Role of design activities • Concept generation [Yang 03] • “Going for quantity” • Prototyping & time [Yang 05, Yang 04]

  22. Design outcome measures • Spearman Rank Correlation Rs = correlation coefficient di = Xi – Yiwhere X and Y are ordinal rank of the variables N = sample size Rsvalue between –1 and 1 If –1 < Rs < 0, negative correlation If 0 > Rs > 1, positive correlation If Rs > threshold, statistically significant correlation

  23. Survey to assess drawing skill(do try this at home) • Draw a bicycle from memory • Draw your non-dominant hand holding two small objects • Draw a rectangular box that is open at the top. Inside the box is a rubber ball. The front of the box has a large button, and each side of the box has a large “X” painted on it.

  24. 3b. Sketching and Design Outcome • Sketch fluency: Positive but no sig. correlation • Sketching skill: No clear trends • Design process depends on many skills/factors • Project type, outcome measures • More studies needed N = 32, Rs >= 0.296 for = 0.10 N = 33, Rs >= 0.291 for  = 0.10

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