Engineering Design Processes: A Comparison of Students and Expert Practitioners |
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| Authors: | Cynthia J Atman Robin S Adams Monica E Cardella Jennifer Turns Susan Mosborg Jason Saleem |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Center for Engineering Learning and Teaching, Department of Industrial Engineering;2. Dr. Cynthia Atman is the founding director of the Center for Engineering Learning and Teaching (CELT) in the College of Engineering at the University of Washington and the director of the NSF funded Center for the Advancement of Engineering Education (CAEE). Dr. Atman is a professor in Industrial Engineering. Her research focuses on design learning and engineering education.;3. Department of Engineering Education Purdue University;4. Dr. Robin Adams is an assistant professor in the Department of Engineering Education at Purdue University. She also leads the Institute for Scholarship on Engineering Education (ISEE) as part of the Center for the Advancement of Engineering Education (CAEE). Dr. Adams' research is concentrated on understanding design knowing and learning (particularly iterative cycles in design), interdisciplinary thinking and working, engineering epistemologies, and building capacity in engineering education research.;5. Center for the Advancement of Scholarship in Engineering Education Stanford University;6. Dr. Monica Cardella is a CASEE (Center for the Advancement of Scholarship in Engineering Education) Postdoctoral Engineering Education Researcher. She received her Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering at the University of Washington where she was a Graduate Research Associate at the Center for Engineering Learning and Teaching (CELT). Dr. Cardella's research interests include engineering education, engineering design, mathematical thinking, sketching and K‐12 engineering education issues.;7. Department of Technical Communication University of Washington;8. Dr. Jennifer Turns is an associate professor in Technical Communication in the College of Engineering at the University of Washington. Dr. Turns' research concentrates on user‐centered design, the use of portfolios to support engineering students' conceptions of professional practice, and understanding teaching challenges in engineering education.;9. LIFE Center (Learning in Informal and Formal Environments) University of Washington;10. Dr. Susan Mosborg is a research scientist at the LIFE Center on the Learning Sciences, University of Washington. Her current work focuses on blending the strengths of learning from informal and formal environments to help people and organizations become more innovation‐ready and develop adaptive expertise.;11. VA HSR&D Center on Implementing Evidence‐based Practice Roudebush VAMC — Indianapolis;12. Dr. Jason J. Saleem is a research scientist with the VA Health Services Research & Development on Implementing Evidence‐based Practice, Roudebush VA Medical Center and Assistant Research Professor, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Indiana University‐Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI). His current research involves application of human factors engineering to enhance clinical information systems, including electronic decision support, as well as redesign of healthcare processes for improved safety. |
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| Abstract: | In this paper we report on an in‐depth study of engineering design processes. Specifically, we extend our previous research on engineering student design processes to compare the design behavior of students and expert engineers. Nineteen experts from a variety of engineering disciplines and industries each designed a playground in a lab setting, and gave verbal reports of their thoughts during the design task. Measures of their design processes and solution quality were compared to pre‐existing data from 26 freshmen and 24 seniors. The experts spent significantly more time on the task overall and in each stage of engineering design, including significantly more time problem scoping. The experts also gathered significantly more information covering more categories. Results support the argument that problem scoping and information gathering are major differences between advanced engineers and students, and important competencies for engineering students to develop. Timeline representations of the expert designers' processes illustrate characteristic distinctions we found and may help students gain insights into their own design processes. |
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| Keywords: | design expertise design process problem scoping |
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