Assessing Creativity and Innovation at the Concept Generation Stage in Engineering Design: A Classroom Experiment Available to Purchase

This paper explores how to identify creativity factors in the early stages of engineering concept design and how to apply metrics to quantify that creativity. Prototype designs from a junior-level design course over two years are evaluated using design metrics that analyze a set of ideas based on novelty and quality. Further creativity analyses are included to statistically verify that the developed metrics are valid. Innovative products provide companies with a competitive advantage in the market to stimulate the economy. Creativity metrics will enable them to choose innovative designs in the early stages of concept design, reducing time and cost associated with uncreative design implementation. This paper will go into detail about the implementation of an “Innovation Equation” on a real-world set of designs generated by a junior-level mechanical engineering design class and statistical verification of the validity of the analysis results. Conclusions are drawn that detail the ideal procedures needed to create a successful creativity analysis using these methods.