A framework for the assessment of the creativity of product design teams

Abstract

A generic approach for the measurement of technological creativity is presented. This method, referred to as the REV (resources, effort, value) technique, holds promise for the assessment of the creativity of either individuals or teams cooperating in new product development, duly considering the benefits of support infrastructure. The output of the creative process is a quantity called design value, the measurement of which is permitted by the phenomenon that invention always manifests itself by means of measurable value parameters. The inputs to the creative process are the creator’s resources and the amount of effort spent on the project. Effort is represented by the cumulative labour-months and materials consumed by the development process, and resources are a measure of external support, team size, education and experience level, and development facilities used. Creativity is defined as the relative efficiency of design value generation. An application of the methodology in the field of technology transfer is given.

Keywords:

• Creativity assessment
• Rating design teams