The Nature of Constraints and Their Effect on Quality and Satisficing

A taxonomy of constraints is presented based on design considerations, source, context, strength, and use. The taxonomy is developed from observations of two sets of real-time protocol data of mechanical designers, along with the work of other researchers. The taxonomy begins to explain the nature of constraints. A hypothesis of how introduced constraints affect design quality is also presented. Finally, a more specific definition of satisficing is developed based on an experiment demonstrating constraint satisfaction.