4. R
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Thinking
Design
WHAT IS DESIGN?
As a Verb, “to design”
Refers to the activity of developing or originating a plan for a
component, system, product, and or an idea, an organization, a
methodology, a program, a piece of art
As a Noun, “a design”
Refers to a plan (drawings, proposals, descriptions) or the result of
implementing a plan
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Design
WHAT IS DESIGN?
“Design is a way of changing life and influencing the future”
Sir Ernest Hall. Pianist, Entrepreneur, and Philanthropist
“The ultimate defense against complexity”
David Gelernter, Professor of Computer Science, Yale
“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication”
Leonardo da Vinci
“The Ultimate Object of Design is Form”
Christopher Alexander, Architect and Emeritus Professor, Berkeley
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Design
WHAT IS DESIGN?
Design – A Planned and Intentional (or even Unplanned and
Unintentional) process of Change
Design – A Conception and Realization of New Things
Design – A Search and a Choice for Alternatives
Design – The Creative Counterpart to the Scientific Problem-
Solving Method
Design – The Problem-Solving Process that Presumes that there
is more than One Right Solution to any Problem and
many Paths to each Alternatives
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Thinking
Design
WHAT IS DESIGN?
Design - A Progression of Balancing Trade-offs and Controlling
Risk to Accomplish a Task
Design - A Language, the Language of Modeling
Design - An Answer, the Answer to an exhaustive list of
“what if” Questions
Design - A Map, the direction to reach an Outcome, a Destination
Design - A How to, the Design Thinking Approach
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10. R
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Thinking
Design
A FIVE-STEP PROCESS
ASK: What is the problem? How have others approached it?
What are your constraints?
IMAGINE: What are some solutions? Brainstorm ideas. ...
PLAN: Draw a diagram. Make lists of materials you will need.
CREATE: Follow your plan and create something. Test it out!
IMPROVE: What works? What doesn't?
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Thinking
Design
THE DESIGN PROCESS
CONSISTS OF 6 STEPS:
Define the Problem. You can't find a solution until you have a
clear idea of what the problem is.
Collect Information. Collect sketches, take photographs and
gather data to start giving you inspiration.
Brainstorm and Analyze Ideas. ...
Develop Solutions. ...
Gather Feedback. ...
Improve.
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Thinking
Design
DESIGN VS. DESIGN THINKING
If Defining Design is Hard
Let Alone Thinking
How can we handle Design Thinking?
Is this something New or Just a Different Name
for What Good Designers have always done?
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Design
WHAT IS DESIGN THINKING?
Design Thinking is “a Complex Cognitive Process”
It includes:
Divergence–Convergence,
A System Perspective,
Ambiguity
Collaboration
(Dym, Agogino, Eris, Frey, & Leifer, 2005)
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Thinking
Design
“COMPLEX COGNITIVE PROCESS”
Cognitive - Mental Activities used during a Design Challenge
Process - Ways in which Issues are Approached or Sequenced
Complex - Hard to Separate, Analyze, or Solve
Complexity typically involves Systems and their interacting phenomena
Systems Thinking is an Essential Facet of Engineering Design Cognition
(Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology, 2007; Dym et al., 2005;
Katehi, Pearson, & Feder, 2009; Ottino, 2004; Schunn, 2008).
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Design
WHAT ARE COMPLEX SYSTEMS?
Complexity Can Be another Ambiguous Term
Complex Systems are:
Dynamic
Adaptive
Emergent
Non-Linear and Iterative
These Systems are also Influenced by:
Multiple Time Scales
Contain interconnected variables
Often Include Human Activity as Another Variable
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Thinking
Design
WHAT IS CONVERGENT THINKING?
Thinking that Focuses on Coming up with the Single, Well-
Established Answer to a Problem (no room for ambiguity)
Convergent Thinking Emphasizes Logic, Accuracy, and
Efficiency
Focuses on Recognizing the Familiar, Reapplying Techniques,
and Accumulating Stored Information.
It is most effective in Situations where an Answer readily Exists
and Simply Needs to be either Recalled or Worked out
through Decision Thinking Strategies.
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Thinking
Design
WHAT IS DIVERGENT THINKING?
A thought process or method used to generate creative ideas by
exploring many possible solutions.
Occurs in a spontaneous, free-flowing, "non-linear" manner,
such that many ideas are generated in an emergent cognitive
fashion.
Many possible solutions are explored in a short amount of time,
and unexpected connections are drawn.
After the process of divergent thinking has been completed,
ideas and information are organized and structured using
convergent thinking.
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20. R
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Thinking
Design
PERSONALITY TRAITS OF DIVERGENT
AND CONVERGENT THINKING
Two personality traits were found to be significantly associated
with Divergent Thinking:
Openness
Extraversion
Openness assesses intellectual curiosity, imagination, artistic
interests, liberal attitudes, and originality
No Personality Traits are associated with Convergent Thinking
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22. R
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Thinking
Design
HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE
Design Thinking, Peter Rowe, (1987)
Change by Design: How Design Thinking Transforms Organizations
and Inspires Innovations, Tim Brown, IDEO, (2009)
The Design of Business: Why Design Thinking is the Next
Competitive Advantage, Roger Martin, Rotman School of Business,
Toronto, (2009)
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Thinking
Design
DESIGN THINKING AS A
COGNITIVE STYLE
DESIGN THINKING AS A
GENERAL THEORY OF
DESIGN
DESIGN THINKING AS
AN ORGANIZATIONAL
RESOURCE
Key texts
Cross 1982;
Schon 1983;
Rowe 1987;
Lawson 1997;
Cross 2006; Dorst 2006
Buchanan 1992
Dunne and Martin 2006;
Brown 2009;
Martin 2009;
Bauer and Eagan 2008
Focus
Individual designers,
especially experts
Design as a field or discipline
Business and other
organizations in need of
innovation
Design’s Purpose Problem solving Taming wicked problems Innovation
Key Concepts
Design ability as a form of
intelligence; reflection-in-
action, abductive thinking
Design has no special subject
matter of its own
Visualization, prototyping,
empathy, integrative thinking,
abductive thinking
Nature of design
problems
Design problems are ill-
structured, problem and
solution co-evolve
Design problems are wicked
problems
Organizational problems are
design problems
Sites of design expertise
and activity
Traditional design disciplines Four orders of design
Any context from healthcare to
access to clean water (Brown
and Wyatt 2010)
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Table 1. Different ways of describing design thinking. Table by Lucy Kimbell
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Thinking
Design
DESIGN THINKING
Core Beliefs:
Everyone is Creative Everyone Can Contribute
“User-Centered”
Combining Abductive as well as Inductive and Deductive Reasoning
Not about Choosing between Alternatives but generating entirely
new concepts
Represents the Epistemology (the study of knowledge and justified
belief) of Creative Work
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Thinking
Design
CREATIVITY & DESIGN THINKING
Knowing the habits of design thinking and its approaches has
the potential:
of unlocking your creativity
Making you capable of coming-up with routinely wonderful ideas
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Design
WHAT IS DESIGN THINKING?
Design Thinking Starts with People
It is about Putting Human Needs at the Center of all we Do
It is about a Simple Mindset Shift
A New Way of Looking at Problems through Empathy and Collaboration
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Thinking
Design
THREE DIFFERENT
BASIC REASONING TYPES
Deductive reasoning deals with certainty and involves
reasoning toward certain conclusions
Inductive reasoning deals with probability and involves
reasoning toward likely conclusions based on data
Abductive reasoning deals with guesswork, involves
reasoning toward possible conclusions based on guesswork (a
best guess), it is a type of reasoning that is used in formulating a
hypothesis for further testing.
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Thinking
Design
DESIGN THINKING
Design Thinking Unfolds in many Iterative loops
To Learn it you have to try it for yourself!
The skills and mindsets of Design Thinking can help you tackle
your biggest challenges and build your creative confidence!
Once you put it into practice and make it your own who knows
what important problems you will be able to solve!
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Thinking
Design
DESIGN THINKING
To Learn it you have to try it for yourself
The skills and mindsets of Design Thinking can help you tackle
your biggest challenges and build your creative confidence
Once you put it into practice and make it your own who knows
what important problems you will be able to solve!
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48. R
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Thinking
Design
QUESTIONING DESIGN THINKING
Industry Observers are Beginning to Question its most
Fundamental Assumptions
Some even Calling it a “Failed Experiments”
The Term has become more Ubiquitous
Dualism between “Thinking” and “Doing” remains
Generalization about a Unified Design Thinking has Failed
The fallacy about “user-centered” yet the designer is still the
main agent within design
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50. R
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Thinking
Design
ABET DEFINITION OF DESIGN
“Engineering design is a
decision-making process (often iterative),
in which
the basic science and mathematics
and engineering sciences
are applied to convert resources optimally
to meet a stated objective”
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51. R
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Thinking
Design
ABET DEFINITION OF DESIGN
“Among the fundamental elements of
the design process are the
establishment of objectives and
criteria, synthesis, analysis,
construction, testing and evaluation”
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Thinking
Design
ABET DEFINITION OF DESIGN
“The engineering design component of a curriculum must include
most of the following features:
development of student creativity,
use of open-ended problems,
development and use of modern design theory and methodology,
formulation of design problem statements and specification,
consideration of alternative solutions,
feasibility considerations, production processes, concurrent engineering
design, and detailed system description”
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Thinking
Design
ABET DEFINITION OF DESIGN
“Further it is essential to include
a variety of realistic constraints,
such as economic factors, safety,
reliability, aesthetics, ethics and
social impact."
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54. R
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Thinking
Design
ABET DEFINITION OF DESIGN
Elsewhere in the ABET criteria for accreditation, they stress the
use of teams in solving problems and performing designs.
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55. R
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Thinking
Design
OLD ABET DEFINITION OF DESIGN
Engineering design is the process of devising a system, component, or
process to meet desired needs. It is a decision-making process (often
iterative), in which the basic science and mathematics and engineering
sciences are applied to convert resources optimally to meet a stated
objective. Among the fundamental elements of the design process are
the establishment of objectives and criteria, synthesis, analysis,
construction, testing and evaluation. The engineering design
component of a curriculum must include most of the following
features: development of student creativity, use of open-ended
problems, development and use of modern design theory and
methodology, formulation of design problem statements and
specification, consideration of alternative solutions, feasibility
considerations, production processes, concurrent engineering design,
and detailed system description. Further it is essential to include a
variety of realistic constraints, such as economic factors, safety,
reliability, aesthetics, ethics and social impact."
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Thinking
Design
NEW DEFINITION –
ADDING CONSIDERING RISK
Engineering Design – Engineering design is a process of
devising a system, component, or process to meet desired needs
and specifications within constraints. It is an iterative, creative,
decision-making process in which the basic sciences,
mathematics, and engineering sciences are applied to convert
resources into solutions. Engineering design involves identifying
opportunities, developing requirements, performing analysis and
synthesis, generating multiple solutions, evaluating solutions
against requirements, considering risks, and making trade-offs,
for the purpose of obtaining a high-quality solution under the
given circumstances.
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Thinking
Design
THE PHRASE
“FOR ILLUSTRATIVE PURPOSES ONLY”
LISTS EXAMPLES.
For illustrative purposes only, examples of possible constraints
include accessibility, aesthetics, codes, constructability,
cost, ergonomics, extensibility, functionality,
interoperability, legal considerations, maintainability,
manufacturability, marketability, policy, regulations,
schedule, standards, sustainability, or usability
Examples are not mandatory
Examples are not comprehensive
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58. R
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Thinking
Design
SO#1 REQUIRES
COMPLEX PROBLEMS.
1. an ability to identify, formulate, and solve complex
engineering problems by applying principles of engineering,
science, and mathematics
Programs may not notice the addition of complex
Programs do not need to include all elements of the definition
of complex problems – 1 is sufficient
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Thinking
Design
PROBLEM SOLVING MUST ADDRESS
COMPLEX PROBLEMS (SO#1)
Complex Engineering Problems – Complex engineering problems
include one or more of the following characteristics: involving
wide-ranging or conflicting technical issues, having no obvious
solution, addressing problems not encompassed by current
standards and codes, involving diverse groups of stakeholders,
including many component parts or sub-problems, involving
multiple disciplines, or having significant consequences in a
range of contexts.
Only one of the above characteristics is needed.
Programs have freedom to choose where they assess and evaluate
complex problems.
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Thinking
Design
SO#2 ALL FACTORS
MUST BE CONSIDERED.
2. an ability to apply engineering design to produce solutions
that meet specified needs with consideration of public health,
safety, and welfare, as well as global, cultural, social,
environmental, and economic factors
List of factors that must be considered – even if all factors do
not influence the specific design
It is expected that at some point in the curriculum the phases
of the design process will be incorporated.
All phases do NOT have to be present in the major design
experience.
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Thinking
Design
SO#5 TEAMS CONSIDER FUNCTION,
ENVIRONMENT, AND PROJECT MANAGEMENT
5. an ability to function effectively on a team whose members
together provide leadership, create a collaborative and inclusive
environment, establish goals, plan tasks, and meet objectives
Shared leadership
Tools and techniques (schedules, scrum, goal setting, decision
matrices)
Inclusiveness and collaboration can be characterized in
various ways
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62. R
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Thinking
Design
POSSIBLE TECHNIQUES FOR ASSESSING
COLLABORATIVE AND INCLUSIVE TEAMS
INCLUDE:
1. Videotaping a team meeting and evaluating the team performance using a rubric.
2. Students write descriptions of their contributions and their team members' contributions
indicating how they collaborated and were inclusive. A rubric is often used to evaluate
the description.
3. External clients meet with students over a period of time and evaluate their
contributions and inclusiveness.
4. Use of web-based peer evaluations such as CATME.org or TEAMMATES. The peer
evaluations include specific questions about collaboration and inclusiveness.
5. Verbal feedback from course TAs or instructors about a team's collaboration and
inclusiveness. Students take notes and give evidence to support or refute the feedback.
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Design
C5 ALSO CLARIFIED THE CULMINATING
MAJOR DESIGN EXPERIENCE INCLUDES
1 AND 2 BELOW.
(d) a culminating major engineering design experience that
1) incorporates appropriate engineering standards and multiple
constraints, and
2) is based on the knowledge and skills acquired in earlier course work.
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