Prototypes are a common feature of many product design and development endeavours. An ever widening range of prototyping options are available to designers and engineers. May particular options be superior to others, or more appropriate for particular endeavours? This paper reviews current literature on the nature of what constitutes a prototype and the benefits they offer to the discipline. They principally facilitate communication, aid learning, help gain and provide feedback, inform decision making and generally provide superior design outcomes. In order to determine if any particular manner of prototype is preferable for achieving these benefits a comparative study of some of the contemporary prototyping methods is subsequently conducted: A 3D printed prototype (physical prototype), a CAD prototype (represented using a computer monitor), an augmented reality prototype (represented using a tablet device) and a virtual reality prototype (represented using a stereo projector and polarised glasses). The results indicate that while all provide benefits, overall the physical prototype performs best and the augmented reality prototype performs most poorly.

Academics teach engineering design based on design theory and best practices, practitioners teach design based on their experience. Is there a difference between them? There appears to be little prior work in comparing the design processes of design academics and practitioners. This paper presents a case study in which the design activity of a team of academics was compared to that of a team of practitioners. The participants’ verbalizations during team discussions were coded using the Function- Behaviour-Structure (FBS) ontology. A qualitative comparison reveals that the team of practitioners constructs the design space earlier and generally spends more time in the solution space than the team of academics. Further, the team of practitioners has a significant number of direct transitions from function (F) to structure (S), while no such transitions are observed for the team of academics. Given that this is a single case study, the results cannot be used as the basis for any generalizations on how academics and practitioners compare. This is a successful proof of methodologies that lay the foundation for a series of hypotheses to be tested in a future study.

Breakthrough technologies introduce a radically new capability or a drastic performance improvement. However, the existing engineering design literature does not specifically pay attention to them. In this paper, we present a conceptual framework for breakthrough technologies, aiming for a more detailed characterization of breakthrough technologies. First, based on a literature survey, we reflect on the relationship between breakthrough technology and innovation. In addition, we explore the relationship between breakthrough technologies at the component and system level. Next, we propose a conceptual framework with dimensions in which breakthroughs may occur and the corresponding expansion of concepts and knowledge, drawing from C-K theory. We subsequently apply the framework to the case of a laser sail-propelled interstellar probe. We conclude that the relationship between component and system-level breakthrough technologies requires further exploration. Furthermore, the coupling between the breakthrough technology and market breakthrough in the form of a new business model seems interesting for future work.

Aero-engine component design decisions should consider re-manufacturing and/or repair strategies and their impact on lifecycle cost. Existing design approaches do not account for alternative production technologies such as the use of additive manufacturing in life extension processes. This paper presents a modeling and optimization methodology for examining the impact of design decisions in the early development stage on component lifecycle cost during the in-service phase while considering the potential use of additive manufacturing in life extension strategies. Specifically, a system dynamics model is developed to assess different end-of-life scenarios. Finally, an optimization problem is formulated and solved to minimize lifecycle cost with respect to design variables related to re-manufacturing.

Maier and Fadel pioneered Affordance-Based Design (ABD) based on Gibson's revolutionary theory of affordances and Norman's deployment of the concept in his book, “The Design of Everyday Things”. Gibson (1979) introduced the affordance concept into the discipline of Ecological Psychology to address the interactions between an object and an agent. The Ecological approach includes the direct perception of affordances for the user along with a consideration of the users’ biomechanics. However, as the concept of affordance was imported and utilized in different disciplines, including engineering design, some important aspects of Ecological theory were omitted.

This paper is an attempt to review the definitions and different utilizations of the affordance concept focusing on the design of usable products to identify the different views and the missing elements. After addressing the divergent viewpoints of affordances, we provide recommendations to improve the usability aspects in ABD by considering direct perception and ergonomics. We claim that a design (based on affordances) that fails to address both criteria may result in a product that is less usable.

This contribution presents a systematic for the elicitation of objectives and the utilization of objectives to identify reference products. The systematic is based on existing meta models. The model of objectives as proposed in this research eases decision-making and outlines the next validation activities. A key success factor is the project transferability between teams, which is often necessary in predevelopment. This is ensured through comprehensibility of objectives which benefits from the linkage between the model of objectives and the knowledge base. The proposed systematic is applied to a predevelopment project which is used as case study. In the case study it has been shown that objectives can be used to identify reference products. The approach is validated in a live-lab setting with seven engineering teams with six graduate students, two engineers of an industrial partner and a research associate. Several workshops were used to train all members of the teams in the systematic. The effects of the systematic are assessed in dedicated interviews, a survey as well as with observation of the engineering teams during milestones and engineering activities between milestones.

Design research faces a critical 'impact gap' where the potential for scientific and practical impact is yet to be fully realised. A key means of bridging this gap is the adoption of fundamental theory from other fields to support clarification and synergy in design research. In this paper we examine one of the main candidates for adoption: dual-process theory of cognition. Cognition forms a common element across much of the design literature and leads to fundamental dual-process theories of reasoning. While dual- process theory has started to be recognised in design research, its widespread recognition and potential utility have not been widely explored. Following a conceptual theory development approach we identify and logically describe interactions between dual-process theory and design research. We conclude the paper with a proposition of a design research framework with a core rooted in dual-process theory, and based on this, an agenda for theory-driven design research. This contributes to the debate on how to improve impact, and theoretical and scientific rigour in design research, and provides a concrete agenda for discussion and development within the community.

This paper presents the findings of a preliminary study comparing implementation of design changes using various computer-aided design (CAD) working styles. Our study compares individuals’ and pairs’ completion of a series of changes to a toy car CAD model. We discuss the results in terms of productivity and value added ratio, derived from time-based quantitative data. We also discuss qualitative findings acquired through post-study surveys. Overall, our findings suggest that pairs were less efficient than individual designers due to overheads like communication, history dependency and complex couplings within the CAD model tree. However, it is also noteworthy that within each pair the lead participant's performance was at par with individual participants. Lastly, we also discuss behaviors and patterns that emerge as unique to the synchronous collaborative environment, motivating future work.

Technology use provides great benefits by extending human ability, but the negative effects cannot always be ignored. The author examined the dilemmas of technology use based on Shibata's analysis of McLuhan's extension theory and indicated two types of dilemmas in continuous technology use. First is the decreased human ability as the innate functionality is substituted by the technology. Second is excessive utilisation of the technology, which may instil a false sense of naturally extended ability.

Subsequently, the author considered and suggested approaches for mitigating both types of dilemmas. The decreased-ability dilemma might be resolved by continuously utilising the technology and designing technology relevant to the degree of human ability. Meanwhile, the excessive-utilisation dilemma might be resolved by regulating the technology use and designing technology that achieves the desired disposition change in users.

Finally, the possibility of advancing the existing design approaches to further resolve the dilemmas was discussed.

Resilient systems have the capability to survive and recover from seriously affecting events. Resilience engineering already is established for socio-economic organisations and extended network-like structures e. g. supply systems like power grids. Transferring the known principles and concepts used in these disciplines enables engineering resilient load-carrying systems and subsystems, too. Unexpected load conditions or component damages are summarised as disruptions caused by nesciense that may cause damages to the system or even system breakdowns. Disruptions caused by nescience can be controlled by analysing the resilience characteristics and synthesising resilient load-carrying systems. This paper contributes to a development methodology for resilient load-carrying systems by presenting a resilience applications model to support engineers analysing system resilience characteristics and behaviour. Further a concept of a systematically structured solution catalogue is provided that can be used for the classification of measures to realise resilience functions depending on system adaptivity and disruption progress. The resilience characteristics are illustrated by 3 examples.

Generating novel design concepts is a cornerstone for producing innovative products. Although many methods have been proposed for supporting the task, their performance depends on human ability. The goal of this research is to build a method supporting designers to generate novel design concepts with the knowledge of what factors have positive effects on the novelty. Toward the goal, this research assumes that the more distant two function concepts chosen, the more novel idea would come up with by the combination of the two concepts. Based on the assumption, this paper introduces a notion of novelty potential of the combination of two function concepts, and proposes a method to assess it by the function similarity. It is calculated with the integration of a lexical database for natural language called WordNet and a distributional semantics method called word2vec. The proposed method is adapted to case studies in which students perform design concept generation for given design tasks. The correlation analysis is performed to verify the assessment performance of the proposed method. This paper discusses its possibility based on the results of the case studies.

Novel product concepts are often down-selected in favour of the incremental development of available designs. This can be attributed to the fact that for the development of a new product, simulations and analysis based on high-fidelity CAD models are required, which are expensive to create. To solve this problem, the use of a function model (FM) as intermediate step between ideation and embodiment is suggested.

The approach has been examined in a case study with an aerospace company for the development of a turbine rear assembly, using multiple workshops and interviews with practitioners from the company. A multitude of novel solutions, even extending the functionality of the legacy design, were captured. The FM approach proved to support the representation, analysis, and configuration of 102 different concepts. Although supported by the FM model, the embodiment still showed to be a bottle neck for further development. The subsequent interviews with practitioners showed that the benefits of the approach were seen, but experienced as too complex.

Further work will concern a more systematic connection between the FM and CAD model, in order to automate of the embodiment process.

The design of various products is driven by requirements that describe extremes. In marine structural design, joint extremes of environmental variables like wave height and wind speed are used to define load cases. Similarly, in ergonomic design minimum and maximum values of anthropometric variables are considered to make sure a product is suitable for a wide range of users. Here, we present a method that supports designers to define requirements using joint extreme values: the requirements contour method. The method is based on structural engineering's environmental contour method and uses a dataset and statistical methods to specify a region in the variable space that must be considered in the design process. That region's enclosure is the requirements contour and holds the joint extremes. After formally describing the method, we give an illustrative example of its usage: we use it to define requirements for the design of an ergonomic handle for a power tool. The requirements contour method is a field-independent approach to design for extremes. In the tradition of design for X, we think that a design project can benefit from applying methods that focus on different 'X's.

Design Thinking has become increasingly popular across different disciplines. However, what it exactly entails is becoming more and more vague, leading to the term being used for many different approaches and applications. This paper presents an interview study with experts on the application and training of Design Thinking in academia and industry. We find a divide with some seeing Design Thinking as a mere toolbox of methods, while others see it as an umbrella term for the mindset that determines how designers think and act. Subjects unanimously attest the approach large potential to support certain types of businesses, when applied under the leadership of trained designers, but see a lot of danger for the approach to become meaningless if it keeps being advertised as an all-purpose problem-solving tool. The interviewees further share extensive experiences on specific success factors and pitfalls in applying Design Thinking in practice.

Digital technology is dramatically changing our life, industry, and society. Recent evolution of digital technology is expected to significantly impact service work, such as healthcare and social welfare. Meanwhile, an insufficient understanding of service work and workers' needs leads to the failure of technology development and integration. To make digital technology better fit to values and work practices of service workers, various studies have been conducted, especially in the field of participatory design, interaction design, and service design. However, the contribution of engineering design to this topic is still limited. This paper proposes an engineering design approach to design digital technology for better integration in service work. This study combines a modelling method to represent specifications of digital technology and the participatory approach in alignment with the changing service work and workers' values. A case study of the mobile application system for elderly-care professionals is introduced to exemplify the effectiveness of the proposed method. This study intends to foster innovation of service work through digitalization.

Design methods can provide valuable support in structuring and solving complex product design problems. However, the application and the transfer of methods from academia to industry is limited. To date, research has tended to focus on solving this through improved method selection, method adaptation and training. The development of design methods itself has attracted surprisingly low attention. This paper closes this gap and adds a quite new perspective of systematic requirement management of method development. However, the variety of methods, method users and application contexts is a key challenge and does not allow for a universal set of requirements. Thus, this paper transfers the concept of solution-neutral requirements frameworks, which are established in product design, to method development. The framework is derived from analysing and structuring different requirements found in literature. Different requirement sub-/categories allow for accommodating the varying levels of detail of requirements. The framework works like a checklist and helps design researchers to consider the most important requirement categories, which subsequently can be detailed project-specifically.

Various tools for participatory design approach have been developed to support users to engage design process. Doll scenario is proposed as a generative tool for letting participants make and enact scenarios. However, suitable context to practice doll scenario is unclear in comparison with other tools using scenario. Therefore, our overall objective is to increase understanding of characteristics of making scenario in two different ways of expression; with doll and storyboard. We developed a doll scenario method, doll staging. The tool was evaluated in comparison to storyboard at a workshop which is a part of a new product development project in a corporate. The workshop was evaluated by semi-structured interviews with the participants and observations of the workshop and design outcome. The result suggests that doll staging allows participants to think from users’ perspective in developing new idea. These findings provides new direction to choose scenario based design tools according to objective or context of design project. We also discuss potentials and research directions to use tools for developing scenario in corporate contexts.

In embodiment design, functions are implemented in a technical systems embodiment. For doing so, design engineers need to understand the relations of embodiment and function. Many systems change their states during function fulfilment which complicates their relations and leads to ambiguity in design decisions. The challenge for design engineers is that they often need to make important decisions about the design before they can use sophisticated analytical models to investigate them. This contribution presents a structure for the C&C²-Sequence Model as a non-analytical model to support design engineers in modelling embodiment function relations. This structure contains four dimensions that are derived from the state of the art and preliminary work. It enables the structuring of gained knowledge about embodiment function relations and supports their communication in design engineering teams. Two development projects in academic and corporate environment are conducted using the structure to investigate its applicability. In these projects, design engineers were able to document and use gained knowledge about the investigated complicated systems.

A first exploration is conducted to what the French biological philosophy of technology perspective has to offer to the field of design methodology. If this French perspective is combined with contemporary speculative pragmatism a generative design methodology emerges offering novelty in what is sensed as important in a design situation. Within this perspective, drawing upon the late French philosopher Gilbert Simondon, technical objects have their own mode of existence and their own trajectory of development apart from human intention.

Designers working with such a generative design methodology follow the constitutive value of openness and attune to the regulative value of techno-aesthetic judgments. By way of a 'vignette+', a paradigmatic example from a real case, a more encompassing argument is made towards design situations where a sophisticated machine is 'inserted' into a domestic setting.

The example taken is the use of an artificial kidney machine in a domestic setting and the development of a novel machine with a design team. Four aspects were sensed as important in the unfolding design situation and directions for further research are discussed.

Testing contributes to success of engineering design as it plays an important role in gaining insights about the system in development. Literature indicates that for success in engineering design, gaining insights about relations of embodiment and function is crucial. In this contribution, an investigation of how insights about embodiment function relations are gained in testing, is conducted. For this, the testing documentation in a student development project is analysed. The results show a correlation of gaining insights about embodiment function relations to success in engineering design. Potential for improvement in data acquisition and processing is uncovered, which will be used in a succeeding study to investigate this issue in more detail.