Hostname: page-component-76fb5796d-45l2p Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-28T09:53:27.570Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

WHAT IS SUCCESSFUL PROTOTYPING? INSIGHTS FROM NOVICE DESIGNERS’ SELF-EVALUATION OF PROTOTYPING SUCCESS

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 July 2021

Camilla Arndt Hansen ,
Nuno Miguel Martins Pacheco ,
Ali Gürcan Özkil  and
Markus Zimmermann
Camilla Arndt Hansen*
Affiliation:
Technical University of Denmark;
Nuno Miguel Martins Pacheco
Affiliation:
Technical University of Munich;
Ali Gürcan Özkil
Affiliation:
GN Audio A/S
Markus Zimmermann
Affiliation:
Technical University of Munich;
*
Hansen, Camilla Arndt, Technical University of Denmark Mechanical Engineering Denmark, cahan@mek.dtu.dk

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

Prototyping is essential for fuzzy front-end product development. The prototyping process answers questions about critical assumptions and supports design decisions, but it is often unstructured and context-dependent. Previously, we showed how to guide novice designers in early development stages with prototyping milestones. Here, we studied the prototyping success perceived by novice design teams. This was done in two steps: (1) teams were asked to assign each prototype to a milestone, a specific purpose, a fidelity level, and a human-centered design lens, and then evaluate the success using a predefined set of criteria. (2) Teams were interviewed about the success of the prototyping process, this time using self-chosen criteria. Results related to (1) show that teams perceived prototyping activities with respect to desirability and problem validation significantly less successful than prototyping activities towards feasibility and solution validation. Results related to (2) show that teams mostly chose success criteria related to how well prototypes supported communication, decision making, learning, and tangibility. This insight may be used to give priorities to further improvement of methods and guidance in these areas.

Keywords

PrototypingDesign processNew product developmentEvaluationEducation
Type
Article
Information
Proceedings of the Design Society , Volume 1: ICED21 , August 2021 , pp. 3431 - 3440
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BYCreative Common License - NCCreative Common License - ND
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is unaltered and is properly cited. The written permission of Cambridge University Press must be obtained for commercial re-use or in order to create a derivative work.
Copyright
The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press

References

Blomkvist, J. and Homlid, S. (2011), “Existing prototyping perspectives: considerations for service design”, presented at the Nordes: Nordic Design Research Conference.Google Scholar
Burnard, P. (1991), “A method of analysing interview transcripts in qualitative research”, Nurse Education Today, Churchill Livingstone, Vol. 11 No. 6, pp. 461–466.Google Scholar
Camburn, B. and Wood, K. (2018), “Principles of maker and DIY fabrication: Enabling design prototypes at low cost”, Design Studies, Vol. 58, pp. 63–88.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Camburn, B.A., Dunlap, B.U., Kuhr, R., Viswanathan, V.K., Linsey, J.S., Jensen, D.D., Crawford, R.H., et al. (2013), “Methods for Prototyping Strategies in Conceptual Phases of Design: Framework and Experimental Assessment”, Proceedings of ASME IDETC/CIE 2013, presented at the IDETC/CIE, ASME, Portland, Oregon, USA, p. V005T06A033.Google Scholar
Deininger, M., Daly, S.R., Sienko, K.H. and Lee, J.C. (2017), “Novice designers’ use of prototypes in engineering design”, Design Studies, Vol. 51, pp. 25–65.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dow, S.P., Heddleston, K. and Klemmer, S.R. (2009), “The Efficacy of Prototyping Under Time Constraint. Creativity and Cognition”.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Elverum, C.W. and Welo, T. (2016), “Leveraging prototypes to generate value in the concept-to-production process: a qualitative study of the automotive industry”, International Journal of Production Research, Vol. 54 No. 10, pp. 3006–3018.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Erichsen, J.F., Sjöman, H., Steinert, M. and Welo, T. (2020), “Protobooth: gathering and analyzing data on prototyping in early-stage engineering design projects by digitally capturing physical prototypes”, Artificial Intelligence for Engineering Design, Analysis and Manufacturing, pp. 1–16.Google Scholar
Gassmann, O. (2014), Managing the unmanageable: The fuzzy front end of innovation, Management of the Fuzzy Front End of Innovation, Springer International Publishing, pp. 3–14.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hansen, C.A. and Özkil, A.G. (2020a), “‘You Cannot Test It Before It Is Verified. When It Is Verified You Cannot Change It’: Prototyping Challenges In Industry”, IDETC-CIE 2020, presented at the ASME 2020 IDETC/CIE.Google Scholar
Hansen, C.A. and Özkil, A.G. (2020b), “From Idea to Production: A Retrospective and Longitudinal Case Study of Prototypes and Prototyping Strategies”, Journal of Mechanical Design, Vol. 142 No. 3, p. 031115.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
IDEO. (2015), The Field Guide to Human-Centered Design, Design Kit.Google Scholar
Lauff, C., Kotys-Schwartz, D. and Rentschler, M.E. (2017), “Perceptions of Prototypes: Pilot Study Comparing Students and Professionals”, ASME 2017 IDETC-CIE Conference, ASME, Cleveland, Ohio, USA, p. V003T04A011.Google Scholar
Lauff, C.A., Kotys-Schwartz, D. and Rentschler, M.E. (2018), “What is a Prototype? What are the Roles of Prototypes in Companies?”, Journal of Mechanical Design, Vol. 140 No. 6, p. 061102.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pacheco, Martins, Vazhapilli Sureshbabu, N.M., and Zimmermann, A., M. (2021), “A Role-Based Prototyping Approach for Human-Centered Design in Industry”, presented at the ICoRD'21--Design for Tomorrow (Accepted), Springer.Google Scholar
Menold, J., Jablokow, K. and Simpson, T. (2017), “Prototype for X (PFX): A Holistic Framework for Structuring Prototyping Methods to Support Engineering Design”, Design Studies, Vol. 50, pp. 70–112.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nelson, J., Mahan, T., McComb, C. and Menold, J. (2019), “The Prototyping Behaviors of Startups: Exploring the Relationship Between Prototyping Behavior and the Financial Success of Startups”, presented at the ASME 2019 IDETC/CIE, available at: https://doi.org/10.1115/DETC2019-97475.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nelson, J. and Menold, J. (2020), “The Value of Prototyping: An Investigation of the Relationship Between the Costs of Prototyping, Perceived Value, and Design Outcome”, p. 10.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tiong, E., Seow, O., Camburn, B., Teo, K., Silva, A., Wood, K.L., Jensen, D.D., et al. (2019), “The Economies and Dimensionality of Design Prototyping: Value, Time, Cost, and Fidelity”, Journal of Mechanical Design, Vol. 141 No. 3, p. 031105.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Viswanathan, V.K. and Linsey, J.S. (2013), “Role of Sunk Cost in Engineering Idea Generation: An Experimental Investigation”, Journal of Mechanical Design, Vol. 135 No. 12, p. 121002.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Walker, V. (2010), “Effects of an early prototyping experience on the innovation process: Can design fixation be avoided?”, Asee Annual Conference and Exposition, Conference Proceedings.Google Scholar