Hostname: page-component-669899f699-2mbcq Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-04-26T04:43:31.092Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

INITIAL CHARACTERIZATION OF NOVICE ENGINEERING DESIGNERS' CONSIDERATION OF CONTEXTUAL FACTORS

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 July 2021

Grace Ellen Burleson ,
Sean Vincent Salazar Herrera ,
Kentaro Toyama  and
Kathleen H. Sienko
Grace Ellen Burleson*
Affiliation:
Integrative Systems and Design, University of Michigan
Sean Vincent Salazar Herrera
Affiliation:
Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Michigan
Kentaro Toyama
Affiliation:
School of Information, University of Michigan
Kathleen H. Sienko
Affiliation:
Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Michigan
*
Burleson, Grace Ellen, University of Michigan, Design Science, United States of America, gburl@umich.edu

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

Engineering designers are encouraged to consider relevant contextual factors throughout their design processes. However, specific practices for incorporating context into design processes are lacking in the existing literature, and curricula related to the use of context during design processes is limited. As a preliminary step toward characterizing novice engineering designers' use of contextual factors, we qualitatively coded 10 mechanical engineering capstone design reports for contextual factors; half of the projects had domestic sponsors with varying themes, and the other half of the projects had international sponsors with a global health theme. Our findings showed that teams considered technological and institutional factors most frequently; other factors were considered less frequently. Global health themed design teams considered more contextual factors than non-global health themed teams. There was considerable variability among the contextual factors considered, as well as the stages during which they were considered. These outcomes have the potential to inform the development of pedagogical tools to support the acquisition of skills related to formally addressing context during engineering design processes.

Keywords

Contextual factorsDesign educationDesign engineeringDesign methods
Type
Article
Information
Proceedings of the Design Society , Volume 1: ICED21 , August 2021 , pp. 1857 - 1866
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

References

Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology. (2020), “ABET Requirements”, available at: https://www.abet.org/accreditation/accreditation-criteria/criteria-for-accrediting-engineering-programs-2020-2021/.Google Scholar
Aranda-Jan, C.B., Jagtap, S. and Moultrie, J. (2016), “Towards A Framework for Holistic Contextual Design for Low-Resource Settings”, International Journal of Design, Vol. 10 No. 3, pp. 43–63.Google Scholar
Atman, C.J., Yasuhara, K., Adams, R.S., Barker, T.J., Turns, J. and Rhone, E. (2008), “Breadth in problem scoping: A comparison of freshman and senior engineering students”, International Journal of Engineering Education, Vol. 24 No. 2, pp. 234–245.Google Scholar
Bielefeldt, A.R., Polmear, M., Knight, D., Swan, C. and Canney, N. (2017), “Ethics Across the Curriculum? Integrating Ethics and Societal Impact Topics into Core Engineering Courses”, Proceedings of the ASEE American Society for Engineering Education Rocky Mountain Section Conference, No. September, pp. 1–15.Google Scholar
Bogusch, L.L., Turns, J. and Atman, C.J. (2000), “Engineering design factors: How broadly do students define problems?”, Proceedings - Frontiers in Education Conference, Vol. 2, IEEE, available at: https://doi.org/10.1109/fie.2000.896664.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Burleson, G. and Sharp, K. (2018), “Comparative Study of Maintenance Planning and Failure Modes of Drinking Water Projects: Case Studies from Eastern Uganda”, IEEE Global Humanitarian Technology Conference, available at: https://doi.org/10.1109/GHTC.2018.8601897.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chou, S.L. (2020), Exploring “Designer Context” in Engineering Design: The Relationship Between Self, Environment, and Design Methods, University of Michigan, available at: https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/handle/2027.42/163100.Google Scholar
Christensen, S.H. and Ernø-Kjølhede, E. (2012), “Socio-technical Integration in Engineering Education: A Never-Ending Story”, Engineering, Development and Philosophy, Springer, Dordrecht, pp. 197–213.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Howe, S., Rosenbauer, L., Dyke Ford, J., Alvarez, N., Paretti, M., Gewirtz, C., Kotys-Schwartz, D., et al. (2018), Preliminary Results from a Study Investigating the Transition from Capstone Design to Industry, 2018 Capstone Design Conference Proceedings.Google Scholar
Hu, W.L. and Reid, T. (2018), “The Effects of Designers Contextual Experience on the Ideation Process and Design Outcomes”, Journal of Mechanical Design, Transactions of the ASME, American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), Vol. 140 No. 10, available at: https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4040625.Google Scholar
Jagtap, S. and Larsson, T. (2019), “Resource-Limited Societies, Integrated Design Solutions, and Stakeholder Input”, She Ji, Tongji University Press, Vol. 5 No. 4, pp. 285–303.Google Scholar
Johnson, K., Leydens, J.A., Walter, J., Boll, A.M., Claussen, S. and Moskal, B.M. (2019), “Sociotechnical habits of mind: Initial survey results and their formative impact on sociotechnical teaching and learning”, ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition, Conference Proceedings, available at: https://doi.org/10.18260/1-2--33275.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kilgore, D., Atman, C.J., Yasuhara, K., Barker, T.J. and Morozov, A. (2007), “Considering Context: A Study of First-Year Engineering Students”, Journal of Engineering Education, Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd, Vol. 96 No. 4, pp. 321–334.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kyoung Ro, H., Merson, D., Lattuca, L.R. and Terenzini, P.T. (2015), “Validity of the Contextual Competence Scale for Engineering Students”, Journal of Engineering Education, Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd, Vol. 104 No. 1, pp. 35–54.Google Scholar
Leydens, J.A. and Lucena, J.C. (2018), “Humanities and Social Sciences in Engineering Education: From Irrelevance to Social Justice”, Engineering Justice: Transforming Engineering Education and Practice, IEEE, pp. 155–195.Google Scholar
Mohedas, I., Daly, S.R. and Sienko, K.H. (2014), “Design Ethnography in Capstone Design: Investigating Student Use and Perceptions”, International Journal of Engineering Education, Vol. 30 No. 4, pp. 888–900.Google Scholar
Morgan, D.L., Davis, K.B. and López, N. (2020), “Engineering political fluency: Identifying tensions in the political identity development of engineering majors”, Journal of Engineering Education, Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd, Vol. 109 No. 1, pp. 107–124.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Neumeyer, X., Chen, W. and McKenna, A.F. (2013), “Embedding Context in Teaching Engineering Design”, Advances in Engineering Education, Vol. 3 No. 4, pp. 1–19.Google Scholar
Niles, S., Contreras, S., Roudbari, S., Kaminsky, J. and Harrison, J.L. (2020), “Resisting and assisting engagement with public welfare in engineering education”, Journal of Engineering Education, Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd, Vol. 109 No. 3, pp. 491–507.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sienko, K.H., Young, M.R., Kaufmann, E.E., Obed, S., Danso, K.A., Opare-Addo, H.S., Odoi, A.T., et al. (2018), “Global health design: Clinical immersion, opportunity identification and definition, and design experiences”, International Journal of Engineering Education, Vol. 34 No. 2(B).Google Scholar
Ward, T.A. (2013), “Common elements of capstone projects in the world's top-ranked engineering universities”, European Journal of Engineering Education, Taylor & Francis, Vol. 38 No. 2, pp. 211–218.CrossRefGoogle Scholar