Idea generation in engineering design : application of a memory search perspective and some experimental studies
Year: 2006
Type: dissertation
Abstract: Emphasis on creativity and innovation differentiates product design from many other organizational tasks. Designers need to be creative on demand, since design projects involve several occasions where a design team faces the challenge of finding a novel solution for an identified design problem. Thus, the ability to solve design problems productively by means of divergent idea generation is a precondition for finding appropriate solutions. At the same time, procedures and methods for idea generation are often based on intuitive belief systems rather than empirically validated theory. The general aim of this thesis was to address this knowledge gap between theory and practice.\n\nA prerequisite for designing better procedures for idea generation is to achieve a basic understanding on how ideas actually come into being through conceiving the characteristics of the cognitive processes and structures that underlie this endeavor. The general approach taken here was to apply concepts and theories from psychology to the study of idea generation in the specialized discipline of engineering design. The research framework includes discussing psychological concepts, such as, creativity, memory search, and knowledge representation, along with describing an objective technique for assessing performance in terms of the number and variety of ideas produced during a session.\n\nA specific objective of the study was to demonstrate and explain how and why externally-imposed examples may affect performance in design idea generation. Example exposure is conceptually similar to idea exchange that takes place in group idea generation meetings, therefore this issue was found relevant for research and practice. Recent theory and empirical evidence propose that idea exposure may both stimulate and interfere with generative processes underlying idea generation. A series of experimental studies was performed to study the extent to which these effects influenced performance in design idea generation. Contrary to prior studies, examples were shown to have very little effect on total performance, after considering some structural and temporal patterns that emerge in design idea generation.\n\nThis study shows that idea generation is not a random process governed solely by an individual's personal trait, but a relatively structured process that can be explained in terms of memory cognition. A new model of the idea generation process is proposed here, formed from the perspective of internal memory search. The model conceptualizes idea generation as a repeated search process which includes three main phases: problem interpretation, memory search, and knowledge adaptation, as well as two decision gates.
Source: Aaltodoc (Aalto University)
Author: Matti Perttula
Institution: Aalto University
Language: English
Subfield: Mechanical Engineering
Field: Engineering
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
Funder: Tekes
OpenAlex ID: W2597389146