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DIMENSIONS OF KNOWLEDGE IN PROTOTYPING: A REVIEW AND CHARACTERISATION OF PROTOTYPING METHODS AND THEIR CONTRIBUTIONS TO DESIGN KNOWLEDGE

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 July 2021

Ricardo Real ,
Chris Snider ,
Mark Goudswaard  and
Ben Hicks
Ricardo Real*
Affiliation:
University of Bristol
Chris Snider
Affiliation:
University of Bristol
Mark Goudswaard
Affiliation:
University of Bristol
Ben Hicks
Affiliation:
University of Bristol
*
Real, Ricardo, University of Bristol, Faculty of Engineering, United Kingdom, ric.real@bristol.ac.uk

Abstract

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Whilst prior works have characterised the affordances of prototyping methods in terms of generating knowledge about a product or process, the types, or ‘dimensions’ of knowledge towards which they contribute are not fully understood. In this paper we adapt the concept of ‘design domains’ as a method to interpret, and better understand the contributions of different prototyping methods to design knowledge in new product development. We first synthesise a set of ten dimensions for design knowledge from a review of literature in design-related fields. A study was then conducted in which participants from engineering backgrounds completed a Likert-type questionnaire to quantify the perceived contributions to design knowledge of 90 common prototyping methods against each dimension. We statistically analyse results to identify patterns in the knowledge contribution of different methods. Results reveal that methods exhibit significantly different contribution profiles, suggesting different methods to be suited to different knowledge. Thus, this paper indicates potential for new methods, methodology and processes to leverage such characterisations for better selection and sequencing of methods in the prototyping process.

Keywords

Design cognitionDesign practiceNew product developmentDesign learning
Type
Article
Information
Proceedings of the Design Society , Volume 1: ICED21 , August 2021 , pp. 1303 - 1312
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BYCreative Common License - NCCreative Common License - ND
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is unaltered and is properly cited. The written permission of Cambridge University Press must be obtained for commercial re-use or in order to create a derivative work.
Copyright
The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press

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