A scientific approach to engineering design

The Future of Design Methodology

The notion of the design process structure is given, as well as the reasons for analysis and synthesis of the structure. There are proposed three model structures: the macro-structure, the micro-structure and the model of decomposition in designing. They describe three different approaches to the design process. They are of a wide generality and, where appropriate, they permit a full description of the structure of the real design process, and they can be used in superposition.

The Structure of the Design Process

Design tasks are omnipresent in our everyday lives. Previous research shows that reflective thinking is one of the critical factors in solving design problems. Related research has attempted to capture designers’ reflective thinking process. Yet a close inspection of designers’ reflective thinking taking place during their design process demands further effort. To understand designer’s reflective practice and to find better ways to promote novices’ reflective thinking in solving real-world design problems, a comprehensive model was developed. This model identified three dimensions to guide the understanding of designers’ reflective thinking during a design process: (1) the timing of reflection, indicating the points in the process where reflective thinking occurs, (2) the objects of reflection, showing the different types of objects that designers may reflect upon, and (3) the levels of reflection, referring to the different levels of designers’ reflection. This model provides for meaningful aspects of reflective thinking to be situated in a design process, which can guide educators and instructional designers in developing appropriate learning environments for facilitating novice and practicing designers’ reflective thinking. Moreover, the model can serve as a stepping stone for further research.

Three dimensions of reflective thinking in solving design problems: a conceptual model

During the last decade several architecture design approaches have been introduced. These approaches however have to cope with several obstacles and software architecture design remains a difficult problem. To cope with these obstacles this chapter introduces a novel architecture design approach. The approach is based on the concept of synthesis that is a well-known and effective problem solving technique in traditional engineering disciplines. The approach is illustrated for the design of an atomic transaction architecture for a real industrial project.

/pdf/synthesis-based-software-architecture-design-d5abcr7qj7.pdf

Edward V. Krick

Papers

An introduction to engineering and engineering design