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Developing Design Strategies to Support a Solution-First Design Process by Examining Experienced Engineers’ Approaches

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Conference

2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Location

Baltimore , Maryland

Publication Date

June 25, 2023

Start Date

June 25, 2023

End Date

June 28, 2023

Conference Session

Design in Engineering Education Division (DEED) Technical Session 4

Tagged Division

Design in Engineering Education Division (DEED)

Page Count

17

DOI

10.18260/1-2--43068

Permanent URL

https://peer.asee.org/43068

Download Count

100

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Paper Authors

biography

Jin Woo Lee California State University, Fullerton

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Dr. Jin Woo Lee received his Ph.D. and M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Michigan, and B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Binghamton University. Dr. Jin Woo Lee's research focuses on design theory and methodology, product design, and design education.

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Scott Louie

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Abstract

Engineering design processes often focus on beginning with a problem and considering multiple possible solutions, following problem-first design practices. Alternatively, design processes can start with a solution and identify potential problem applications it can solve, termed “solution mapping.” Most design tools and strategies have been developed to support problem-first design practices. Tools and strategies to support solution mapping have been underexplored. We plan to develop tools to support solution mapping by examining experienced engineers’ approaches. Experienced engineers gain expertise as they spend more time scoping problems and gathering information, and considering alternative approaches compared to novice engineers who have limited experience in these areas. We conducted think-aloud studies to analyze experienced engineers’ solution mapping behaviors. The think-aloud method asks participants to verbalize their thought processes during a task, allowing the research team to capture the details of their behaviors. Five experienced engineers were recruited and asked to generate possible problem applications for a design problem. We examined the patterns in their solution mapping practices to identify strategies used to identify problem applications. This paper describes experienced engineers’ solution mapping practices by capturing details about their thought processes. They demonstrated several key strategies such as identifying alternative uses and replacing existing solutions to problems with new technology to identify problem applications. By understanding specific strategies used in solution mapping, this study can lead to explicit instructional tools to support engineering students develop solution mapping skills.

Lee, J. W., & Louie, S. (2023, June), Developing Design Strategies to Support a Solution-First Design Process by Examining Experienced Engineers’ Approaches Paper presented at 2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Baltimore , Maryland. 10.18260/1-2--43068

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