8 November 2012

A Descriptive Study of Designers' Tools for Sharing User Needs and Conceptual Design

"A Descriptive Study of Designers' Tools for Sharing User Needs and Conceptual Design". L. Oehlberg, C. Roschuni and A. Agogino, Proceedings of ASME DETC 2011, ASME, CD ROM DETC2011-48661; pp. 199-208

Abstract: Designers employ a range of tools to gather, create, explore, sort, and act on user needs and conceptual design information. However, designers work both individually and collaboratively. This research is a descriptive study of technologies employed by designers to individually capture and collaboratively share user needs and conceptual designs. In this paper we  examine the range and affordances of tools used by designers, and how  they  use  these  tools  to  share design information.  We do this by looking at data gathered in interviews with practicing designers and design researchers, as well as documents produced in undergraduate and graduatelevel new product development courses.  We  gather  a  wide range of tools from our informants, and analyze them based on sharing semantics and formality. We then introduce a model
of sharing as a cycle of capture, reflect and share. Finally, we provide design recommendations for future information tools that support both personal and collaborative user needs and conceptual design information.

Notes:
  1. "With the intent of creating innovative new tools for capturing, reflecting, and sharing user needs, the goal of this descriptive study is to understand current usage trends in early-stage design tools. Based on our study we propose the following design principles as well as areas for future research:
    1. Allow for translations between tangible and digital media: Future tools need to be able to translate between tangible and digital forms to accommodate for different medium preferences at various stages of the design process
    2. Allow smooth  transitions  between private,  personal and  public  design  information.
    3. Allow for varying degrees of formality. Throughout the design process, everything from informal to archival documentation is produced; it is important that future tools are able to accommodate for these shifts in formality

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