Towards a Science of Innovative Design

University Of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh PA

Investigators

Abstract

Engineering design is not a purely mental process. Successful design engineers move from ideas to completed designs using artifacts and tools. Over the past several decades, the number of tools and artifacts available to engineers has become virtually limitless. These tools include drawing programs, quantitative modeling software, sketch paper, CAD programs, and prototyping facilities. Despite their importance for supporting creativity and innovation, little is known about the role of tools in supporting the cognitive processes of innovative design. With support of the National Science Foundation, Dr. Schunn and Dr. Novell will investigate the roles of tools and artifacts in the creation of innovative designs. Their research team combines the strengths of cognitive science theories and methods with best practices in innovative design education. The investigators will conduct a large-scale experiment in which approximately 2500 hours of video data will be collected. These data will capture the design activities of about 50 undergraduate and graduate-level engineering design teams. The data will be strategically sampled in order to establish promising directions for more in-depth coding efforts on the nature of cognitive processing in conjunction with design tools. The goal is to identify the combinations of tools, artifacts, and cognition that lead to more innovative design outcomes.