Investigating the generation of specific design knowledge: experimental validation of a qualitative modelling method

Abstract

Specific design knowledge (SDK) plays a crucial role in engineering design, as it enables designers to define a system structure that can fulfil the required functions through its behaviour. A variety of modelling methods aim at supporting the gain of this knowledge. However, they are usually evaluated concerning the designs produced rather than the knowledge generated in the process. Also, established operationalisations of SDK are missing. This results in a lack of understanding of the generation of SDK. Hence, an experimental study is conducted to investigate the impact of an exemplary modelling method on the generation of SDK. The study is set up with 35 participants, who analyse two technical systems. Intuitive approaches are compared with the application of the modelling method. On the system level, SDK is assessed through relations of structure and behaviour. On the detail level, function-critical system areas and function-relevant system states, are investigated. Results show, that the modelling method increases SDK at the system level compared to intuitive approaches. At the detail level, no statement about statistically significant differences could be derived. The presented study design can provide a baseline for investigations of similar modelling methods or other design methods supporting the generation of SDK.

KEYWORDS:

• Embodiment design
• design research
• design method validation
• experimental study

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).