Editorial

Engineering Design has seen considerable growth in interest, research and resulting publications. A simple search using a well known web search engine reveals that around 11,600 articles were published during the period 1980-89, 40,700 during 1990-1999 and over 117,000 during 2000-2010 with the phrase “engineering design”; almost a threefold increase between decades.

Modern information search and analysis tools provide powerful and quick mechanisms to find relevant information to particular topics. But given the volume, diversity and different phrasing used in publications, the challenge remains to ensure we build upon and make significant contributions to previous work within the field.

State of the art periodic review articles provide a consolidation of relevant work usually within particular topic areas or fields. However, there are noteworthy researchers that have provided a steady and significant contribution to the community, evolving over a period of time. A few esteemed engineering design researchers have been invited to present a consolidation of their work. It is intended to regularly publish such articles and this special issue launches the first three and presents the work of Mogens Myrup Andreasen, Herbert Birkhofer and Ernst Eder.

The authors were invited to submit a paper summarising their research over their career, the key ideas and what they would envisage are the future challenges in their area. The aim was for a consolidation of the key findings of their research and a seminal article pointing the way forward for new research. That is, a “one stop shop” for researchers in the field to know their most significant contributions and what they postulate future research in their area to be.

Articles were critically reviewed by at least three reviewers to ensure a sufficiently high standard to warrant publication in the journal. However, they were not reviewed as novel research papers reporting latest findings, but rather more akin to a review article. It was also appropriate that the authors related their work to other well known research in the field, but only to put their contribution in context and not necessarily to review such work.

In “45 years with design methodology” Andreasen presents a summation of his work under the three main areas of the theory of technical systems (TTS), engineering design and product development 1. After introducing himself and providing some background to technical systems he discusses design for X and his aspirations for a designer's workbench, a computer based system to support design. The “chromosome model” is outlined covering the four domains of process, function, organ and assembly/parts. Modularisation is then discussed to inform design, creation of modular architectures, and harvesting benefits. The section on TTS concludes with an illustration summarising the evolution of Andreasen's research in the area. A section on engineering design pays tribute to the work of Tjalve concept variations before touching on graphical modelling, product/system modelling, mechatronics and then a theory of properties. Statements of design goals and reasoning about properties and quality are presented followed by insights into design for use and usability. The Engineering Design section closes with an overview of design for the environment and conceptualisation, regarded as the core of design synthesis. The third main area of product development discusses the need for an Integrated Product Development (IPD) model before presenting research in this area by outlining main elements such as design co-ordination, integrated production systems, product life thinking, multi product development, and product service systems. Andreasen provides us with his view of the world today covering the establishment of the International Conference in Engineering Design (ICED) and the Design Society to help share research in the field, the importance of design methods, along with the nature of design research and good practice. The role and challenges of teaching design is outlined before he finishes his article by presenting challenges in understanding design, dealing with complexity, and consolidating research.

Birkhofer's “From design practice to design science – the evolution of a career in design methodology research” 2 presents the evolution of the author's professional and academic career, highlighting major steps and accolades. The work is presented from a “German perspective” and outlines the background to the prevailing design methodology, its use in design practice, and insights gained. Work in processing solutions in design catalogues and the electronic market place is discussed before outlining research on machine elements and design methodology. The evolution of the emerging area of EcoDesign methodology is described and empirical design research, its use in industry and relation to design methodology presented. The relevance of design knowledge and modelling is outlined before the paper concludes with two key future challenges being to close the gap between conceptual design research and embodiment/detailed design in practice, and to consolidate design science.

Finally, Eder's article on engineering design science and theory of technical systems pays tribute to his work with Vladimir Hubka 3. He begins by providing a background to Hubka and later provides short biographies of Hubka, Hosnedl, and himself. He compares engineering to artistic design and presents key technical aspects of Hubka's work, including relationships between theory, subject and method followed by discussion of the technical theory. A general model of a transformation systems (TS) and their properties is presented, along with TS-structures and a life cycle model. A theory of design processes built upon the theory of technical systems is outlined with seven main sub-processes of state the problem, search for solutions, evaluate/decide, communicate solution, prepare information, check/verify/reflect, and represent. Further developments are summarised such as the properties of transformation processes and their relation with transformation systems; classes of requirements for transformation systems; and relations between problem-solving, elemental design and observable properties. The paper closes with acknowledgement of contributors and argues the importance of theories such as that presented in the paper.

The articles in this special issue should remind us that while it is important to fully understand the state of the art, we should not be neglectful of our past endeavours and achievements. It is intended that the journal shall publish more of these invited articles of consolidated work and that we shall all benefit with reminders of the significant achievements and evolution of engineering design as a distinctive research discipline.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Alex Duffy

Editor