Activity Theory as a means for multi-scale analysis of the engineering design process: A protocol study of design in practice

Cash, Philip; Hicks, Ben; Culley, S J

doi:10.1016/j.destud.2015.02.001

Cited by 45 publications

(37 citation statements)

References 77 publications

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“…This conclusion is reinforced by the results presented in (Dorst & Cross, 2001), as well as the behaviour underpinning designers interaction with information (Robinson, 2010). Ultimately these findings link to wider concepts of human work where multiple cognitive processes interact in a complex weave of activity (Cash, Hicks, & Culley, 2015), and dynamically influence each other as well as reacting to the physical world (Pinker, 1999).…”

Section: Logbooks In Support Of Mediationsupporting

confidence: 53%

The role of logbooks as mediators of engineering design work

2017

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Section: Logbooks In Support Of Mediationsupporting

confidence: 53%

The role of logbooks as mediators of engineering design work

2017

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“…Recent calls in design research, such as in design engineering (Cash, Hicks, & Culley, 2015) and the graphic design field (Tarbox, 2006) have particularly stressed the usefulness of Activity Theory as a framework for studying design practices from the contextual perspective it offers. As it will be further asserted in the following section, some of the key strengths that make Activity Theory stand out from other practice-based research methods are: first, Activity Theory does not rule out other practice-based theories 1 , rather it provides a framework that expands on them (Tarbox, 2006) and second, Activity Theory offers a visual model (that other practice theories do not) that enables a holistic analysis of the context and the multilevel phenomena influencing the activity process (NPD) as these are experienced from the members' point of view (Cash et al, 2015). Due to its historical link with developmental psychology, Activity Theory draws on heavy conceptual tools and therefore this paper will discuss only those concepts that have immediate relevance to its scope.…”

Section: Activity Theorymentioning

confidence: 99%

A Multilevel Approach to Research ‘Obscure’ Innovation Processes and Practices

2016

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The paper's aim is to discuss a need for a multilevel research approach to investigate innovation practices in organisations. We argue that this approach overcomes some of the limitations of the single level research methods commonly used investigating innovation performance and success. Specifically, the multilevel research approach allows researchers and subsequently organisations to take into consideration 'obscured' practices within innovation processes. First, we put forward a motion that innovation processes permeate the formalised organisational structures and practices. Then, we outline a case where many of the practices associated with innovation are 'obscured'. This is followed with discussion on how the commonly used single level research methods fail to take into consideration these obscured factors. We then introduce Activity Theory and propose a multilevel framework which aims to overcome the shortfalls of the previous analytical methods.

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“…Although this type of model is a powerful tool for shaping overall process flow and is more specific than the Double Diamond, it again fails to reflect the actual process dynamics of design activity. For example, within the detailed design stage there is a progression of different tasks and inter--related processes not captured in the overall model as found by Cash et al (2015). In contrast, Dorst and Cross' (2001) explanation explicitly links creativity, problem solving, and design progression at the activity level.…”

Section: Ideation: a Design Perspectivementioning

confidence: 99%

Multifaceted assessment of ideation: using networks to link ideation and design activity

Cash

Štorga

2015

Journal of Engineering Design

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Ideation is core to the innovation process, and has been the subject of study across a range of fields, from psychology to engineering. However, despite substantial progress in outcome--based descriptions of idea generation, research has often resulted in more questions than answers. For example, open questions remain with respect to the differences in behaviour related to ideation between novices and experts, the change in rates of ideation over time in different design teams, and the changing role of ideation from conceptual to detailed design. In each of these cases robust explanation has proved elusive due to difficulties in characterising the ideation process itself. This paper discusses a major new approach for elucidating ideation and its related design processes through direct observation. A novel network visualization approach is demonstrated in practice for the first time. This uses network analysis to link ideas dynamically to both the engineering context and the wider design process. This linking analysis gives substantial new insight into what drives ideation and how previously inscrutable results can potentially be explained by linking ideation into other design processes.Keywords: creativity and innovation; human creativity; psychology of creativity; descriptive models of the design process; empirical study To cite this article : Philip Cash & Mario Štorga (2015): Multifaceted assessment of ideation: using networks to link ideation and design activity, Journal of Engineering Design, DOI: 10.1080DOI: 10. /09544828.2015 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09544828.2015.1070813 2 IntroductionIdea generation is the foundation of innovation and forms the basis for much of new product development and business growth (Chulvi et al. 2012; López--Mesa et al. 2011). This key role has driven an on--going focus on understanding and supporting ideation in practice (Lopez--Mesa et al. 2009;Kudrowitz and Wallace 2013). There have been numerous studies of ideation processes in both cognitive science, and design and innovation (Dorst and Cross, 2001). However, models in cognition have typically been derived from controlled laboratory experiments using simple, isolated tasks (Kirk, 2009). These bear little similarity to ideation in the real world context where there are multiple interacting processes (Spitas 2011).Conversely, more realistic tasks have difficulty discriminating the numerous processes at work due to limitations in measurement approaches (Vargas--Hernandez, Shah, and Smith, 2010). These more 'real world' studies can struggle to generalise their results across contexts due to difficulties in drawing relations between interacting process elements (Kitchenham, 1996). This is highlighted by works such as Schlecht and Yang (2014) where ideation is a key element, but the mechanisms by which it occurs are difficult to assess due to a reliance on outcome--based metrics, such as, number of ideas or quality. In both cases, the reliance on outcome measures means that suggestions for process improv...

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Activity Theory as a means for multi-scale analysis of the engineering design process: A protocol study of design in practice

Cited by 45 publications

References 77 publications

The role of logbooks as mediators of engineering design work

The role of logbooks as mediators of engineering design work

A Multilevel Approach to Research ‘Obscure’ Innovation Processes and Practices

Multifaceted assessment of ideation: using networks to link ideation and design activity

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