Conceptual design is a high-level cognitive activity that draws upon distinctive human mental abilities. An early and fundamental part of the design process is problem formulation, in which designers determine the structure of the problem space they will later search. Although many tools have been developed to aid the later stages of design, few tools exist that aid designers in the early stages. In this paper, we describe Problem Formulator, an interactive environment that focuses on this stage of the design process. This tool has representations and operations that let designers create, visualize, explore, and reflect on their formulations. Although this process remains entirely under the user's control, these capabilities make the system well positioned to aid the early stages of conceptual design.
Issue Section:
Research Papers
References
1.
Howard
, T. J.
, Culley
, S. J.
, and Dekoninck
, E.
, 2008
, “Describing the Creative Design Process by the Integration of Engineering Design and Cognitive Psychology Literature
,” Des. Stud.
, 29
(2
), pp. 160
–180
.10.1016/j.destud.2008.01.0012.
Christiaans
, H. H. C. M.
, 1992
, “Creativity in Design: The Role of Domain Knowledge in Designing
,” Ph.D. thesis, Delft University of Technology, Lemma, BV.3.
Newell
, A.
, and Simon
, H. A.
, 1972
, Human Problem Solving
, Prentice-Hall
, New York
.4.
Simon
, H. A.
, 1974
, “The Structure of Ill Structured Problems
,” Artif. Intell.
, 4
(3
), pp. 181
–201
.10.1016/0004-3702(73)90011-85.
Chi
, M. T. H.
, Feltovich
, P. J.
, and Glaser
, R.
, 1981
, “Categorization and Representation of Physics Problems by Experts and Novices
,” Cogn. Sci.
, 5
, pp. 121
–152
.10.1207/s15516709cog0502_26.
Hinsley
, D. A.
, Hayes
, J. R.
, and Simon
, H. A.
, 1977
, “From Words to Equations: Meaning and Representation in Algebra Word Problems
,” Cognitive Processes in Comprehension
, P. A.
Carpenter
and M. A.
Just
, eds., Lawrence Erlbaum Associates
, Hillsdale
, pp. 89
–106
.7.
Hayes
, J. R.
, and Simon
, H. A.
, 1974
, “Understanding Written Problem Instructions
,” Knowledge and Cognition
, L. W.
Gregg
, ed., Lawrence Erlbaum
, Oxford
.8.
Ohlsson
, S.
, 1992
, “Information-Processing Explanations of Insight and Related Phenomena
,” Advances in the Psychology of Thinking
, M. T.
Keane
and K. J.
Gilhooly
, eds., Harvester Wheatsheaf
, London
.9.
MacLellan
, C.
, 2011
, “An Elaboration Account of Insight
,” ACS: Papers From the AAAI Fall Symposium
, pp. 194
–201
.10.
Christiaans
, H. H. C. M.
, and Dorst
, K.
, 1992
, “An Empirical Study Into Design Thinking
,” Research in Design Thinking
, N.
Roozenburg
and K.
Dorst
, eds., Delft University Press
, Delft
.11.
Fricke
, G.
, 1999
, “Successful Approaches in Dealing With Differently Precise Design Problems
,” Des. Stud.
, 20
(5
), pp. 417
–429
.10.1016/S0142-694X(99)00018-612.
Christiaans
, H. H. C. M.
, 1992
, “Cognitive Models in Industrial Design Engineering: A Protocol Study
,” Design Theory and Methodology
, D. L.
Taylor
and D. A.
Stauffer
, eds., American Society of Mechanical Engineers
, New York
, pp. 131
–140
.13.
Atman
, C. J.
, Chimka
, J. R.
, and Bursic
, K. M.
, 1999
, “A Comparison of Freshman and Senior Engineering Design Processes
,” Des. Stud.
, 20
(2
), pp. 131
–152
.10.1016/S0142-694X(98)00031-314.
Valkenburg
, R.
, and Dorst
, K.
, 1998
, “The Reflective Practice of Design Teams
,” Des. Stud.
, 19
(3
), pp. 249
–271
.10.1016/S0142-694X(98)00011-815.
Gero
, J. S.
, 2004
, “The Situated Function-Behaviour-Structure Framework
,” Des. Stud.
, 25
, pp. 373
–391
.10.1016/j.destud.2003.10.01016.
Fricke
, G.
, 1993
, “Empirical Investigation of Successful Approaches When Dealing With Differently Precised Design Problems
,” ICED
, pp. 359
–367
.17.
Harfield
, S.
, 2007
, “On Design ‘Problematization’: Theorising Differences in Designed Outcomes
,” Des. Stud.
, 28
(2
), pp. 159
–173
.10.1016/j.destud.2006.11.00518.
Cross
, N.
, and Dorst
, K.
, 1998
, “Co-Evolution of Problem and Solution Spaces in Creative Design: Observations From an Empirical Study
,” Computational Models of Creative Design IV
, J. S.
Gero
and M. L.
Maher
, eds., University of Sydney
, New South Whales
.19.
Maher
, M. L.
, and Poon
, J.
, 1996
, “Modeling Design Exploration as Co-Evolution
,” Comput.-Aided Civil Infrastruct. Eng.
, 11
(3
), pp. 195
–209
.10.1111/j.1467-8667.1996.tb00323.x20.
Kolodner
, J.
, and Wills
, L. M.
, 1996
, “Powers of Observation in Creative Design
,” Des. Stud.
, 17
(4
), pp. 385
–416
.10.1016/S0142-694X(96)00021-X21.
Dinar
, M.
, Shah
, J. J.
, Hunt
, G. R.
, Campana
, E.
, and Langley
, P.
, 2011
, “Towards a Formal Representation Model of Problem Formulation in Design
,” IDETC/CIE, pp. 1
–10
.22.
Dinar
, M.
, MacLellan
, C.
, Danielescu
, A.
, Shah
, J. J.
, and Langley
, P.
, 2012
, “Beyond Function-Behavior-Structure
,” DCC, J. S.
Gero
, ed.23.
Dinar
, M.
, Shah
, J. J.
, Langley
, P.
, Hunt
, G. R.
, and Campana
, E.
, 2011
, “A Structure for Representing Problem Formulation in Design
,” ICED, S. J.
Culley
, B. J.
Hicks
, T. C.
McAloone
, T. J.
Howard
, and W.
Chen
, eds., pp. 392
–401
.24.
Kassoff
, M.
, Zen
, L.-M.
, Garg
, A.
, and Genesereth
, M.
, 2005
, “PrediCalc: A Logical Spreadsheet Management System
,” VLDB, pp. 1247
–1250
.25.
Novak
, J.
, and Cañas
, A. J.
, 2008
, “The Theory Underlying Concept Maps and how to Construct and Use Them
,” Technical Report IHMC CmapTools 2006-01 Rev 2008-01, Institute for Human and Machine Cognition
, Pensacola, Florida
.26.
Dorta
, T.
, 2008
, “Ideation and Design Flow Through the Hybrid Ideation Space
,” Rev. Centro de Invest. Univ. La Salle
, 8
(29
), pp. 25
–30
.27.
Gross
, M. D.
, 1996
, “The Electronic Cocktail Napkin—A Computational Environment for Working With Design Diagrams
,” Des. Stud.
, 17
(1
), pp. 53
–69
.10.1016/0142-694X(95)00006-D28.
Mohan
, M.
, Shah
, J. J.
, and Narsale
, S.
, 2012
, “Capturing Ideation Paths for Discovery of Design Exploration Strategies in Conceptual Engineering Design
,” DCC
, J. S.
Gero
, ed.29.
Mohan
, M.
, 2011
, “A Framework for Holistic Ideation in Conceptual Design Based on Experiential Methods
,” Ph.D. thesis, Arizona State University, ProQuest UMI.30.
Zlotin
, B.
, Zusman
, A.
, Altshuller
, G.
, and Philatov
, V.
, 1999
, “Tools of Classical TRIZ
,” Technical Report No. 266, Ideation International Inc., Ideation International Inc.31.
Sääksvuori
, A.
, and Immonen
, A.
, 2008
, Product Lifecycle Management
, Springer-Verlag
, Berlin
.32.
Bergsjö
, D.
, Almefelt
, L.
, Dinar
, M.
, and Malmqvist
, J.
, 2010
, “Customizing Product Data Management for Systems Engineering in an Informal Lean-Influenced Organization
,” Syst. Res. Forum
, 4
(1
), pp. 101
–120
.10.1142/S179396661000019333.
Jennings
, M.
, and Rangan
, R.
, 2005
, “Managing Complex Vehicle System Simulation Models for Automotive System Development
,” ASME J. Comput. Inf. Sci. Eng.
, 4
(4
), pp. 372
–378
.10.1115/1.181438434.
Nagel
, R. L.
, Perry
, K.
, Stone
, R. B.
, and McAdams
, D. A.
, 2009
, “FunctionCAD: A Functional Modeling Application Based Design Framework
,” IDETC/CIE.35.
Stone
, R. B.
, and Wood
, K. L.
, 2000
, “Development of a Functional Basis for Design
,” ASME J. Mech. Des.
, 122
, pp. 359
–370
.10.1115/1.128963736.
Bryant
, C.
, McAdams
, D. A.
, Stone
, R. B.
, Kurtoglu
, T.
, and Campbell
, M.
, 2005
, “A Computational Technique for Concept Generation
,” IDETC/CIE.37.
Goel
, A. K.
, Rugaber
, S.
, and Vattam
, S.
, 2009
, “Structure, Behavior, and Function of Complex Systems: The Structure, Behavior, and Function Modeling Language
,” Artif. Intell. Eng. Des. Anal. Manuf.
, 23
(1
), pp. 23
–35
.10.1017/S0890060409000080Copyright © 2013 by ASME
You do not currently have access to this content.
