Proceedings of the ASME 2017 International Design Engineering Technical Conferences &
Computers and Information in Engineering Conference
IDETC/CIE 2016
August 6-9, 2017, Cleveland, OH, USA
DETC2017-XXXXX
A Literature Review of Idea Generation and Dissemination Methods in Engineering
Design
Zixuan Zhao
Mechanical Engineering
The Pennsylvania State University
University Park, PA 16802
Email: [email protected]
Conrad S. Tucker
Engineering Design, Industrial Engineering
The Pennsylvania State University
University Park, PA 16802
Email: [email protected]
ABSTRACT
Based on the Information Theory proposed by Claude E. Shannon, information is transferred through a process
consisting of an information source, a transmitter, a channel, a receiver and its destination.[1] This paper focuses on
the idea generation and dissemination process in engineering design, which is one example of information theory
among design team members, with the channel in this case being the design tools (e.g., CAD, sketches, etc.). The
objective of idea generation and dissemination is to minimize information loss from designer A who has an idea to
designer B who wants to understand the idea. Unfortunately, due to enormous ways of delivering and receiving
messages, there is a lack of knowledge on what combination of generating and disseminating messages results in the
lowest information loss. This paper provides a review on the loss and the quality of the information achieved for each
combination. The authors include i) an introduction of idea generation and dissemination in engineering design ii)
an overview of the development of design tools iii) the analysis of idea generation and dissemination iv) the advantages
and disadvantages of current work v) and a proposal of future trend
1 INTRODUCTION
Idea generation is the mental process by which ideas are generated [2]. It is a crucial step in engineering design [3].
Shannon and weaver’s mathematical theory of communication [1] represents how information flows, where
information is transferred through a process consisting of an information source, a transmitter, a channel, a receiver,
a destination and the feedback from the destination to the information source. The same concept applies to a cycle of
design process, each step can be represent as an idea, a design, a design tool, sharing method, the idea received by
another person who wants to understand, idea augmentation, respectively. As indicated by Weaver, entropy, the
number of possible messages from the source can be transmitted over a channel with little error when the channel
capacity is equal to or larger than the entropy [1]. Therefore, a wise selection of channels (design tools) can help users
minimize the information loss. In our society, almost every industry uses CAD, such as engineering, entertainment,
business etc. [4] . In the past, engineering students can gain knowledge about CAD from schools. [5] Now, the wideuse of internet has offered people with many learning methods to master different software, watching tutorials online,
taking self-paced, web-based classes, searching documentations on the Internet. [6]
By analyzing the Information Theory in a design process, the idea generation and dissemination method in design
process can be visualized.
Figure 1 A parallel comparison of Information Theory in the case of a design process
Figure 2 the quality of work as a function of time
I. THE ANALYSIS OF IDEA GENERATION AND DISSEMINATION
Claude E. Shannon created Information Theory [11] in the late 1940s, stating a communication system consists of an
information source, a transmitter, a channel, a receiver, and its destination. This theory applies to design as well
because each component can be represented through a design process, as shown in figure 1: designer A with an idea,
a design, a design tool, how the message gets shared and the person who wants to understand the message. In this
section, each phase within design process will be discussed along the flow of information.
Idea Generation
Beyond the understanding of current tools, knowing the time needed to train a person to use software help designers
decide the preparation investment [12]. As Dubberly stated in Learning Curves for Design, the S-curves can represent
a designer acquiring knowledge and skills with the progression of time, as seen in Figure 2 [12]. The trend for each
individual curve starts near zero quality and slowly increase. Later, the speed of learning increases drastically over
time until the curves reach the plateau. This finding shows the time needed for product design is shorter than interactive
design, which defines as the design of the interaction between users and products, such as apps or websites [13]. From
the definition of interactive design, it includes the time getting familiar with the web contents, as well as mastering
different features. {definition of interactive design} For example, designing an air craft engine requires the application
of CAD software due to the complexity, which involves interactive design. Therefore a longer learning curve is needed
than just pure 2D sketch. Additionally, it is found that complexity can be used to analyze the difficulty of production,
use or maintenance [15]. The more complex the task is, the harder the production process will be. Besides the need
for CAD tools design when facing complicated design problem, Robertson et al. mentioned, 2D sketch and verbal
discussions are suitable for immature designs, which tend to have lower use of CAD tools [14]. Therefore, the process
of idea generation involves in complexity of the task, which associates with the phase of the design.
Idea Dissemination
http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/stamp/stamp.jsp?arnumber=942062
2D Multiview drawings, being the most commonly used in the industries, are easy to construct and are the
most accurate and descriptive type of engineering graphics. {} However, to be able to communicate through
2D illustrations, individuals need to be equipped with many years of training {}
In addition to observing, Augmented Reality improved users’ perception and interaction with the real world [7].
Currently, virtual reality does not only exist in the 90s movies. People can purchase VR googles like Oculus Rift [8]
and Vive[9] from stores [10].
1) {Effects
of four modes of group communication on the
outcomes of software requirements determination
}sefulness offace-to-face communication in the initial phase of group work, followed by asynchronous
communication during the execution phase of group work, followed by face-to-face communication
during the final stages of group work. Combined groups significantly outscored groups using all other
communication modes on measures of both creativity and quality. Overall, groups in the combined
condition produced superior require-ments definitions than groups that met only asynchronously and
groups that met only synchronously, either face-to-face (with no computer conferencing available) or via
computer conferencing (with no talking permitted). These results strongly suggest that combining faceto-face and asynchronous communication in different phases of group work is more effective than
restricting groups to only synchronous meetings or asynchronous computer conferencing.
Idea Augmentation
As indicated in Shannon’s’ information theory, there is a feedback element in each cycle of communication [11]. This
is where the idea augmentation comes into play. Sharing information is not the last step of communication. Designers
need to make sure the expected results are met through the feedback from their clients.
II. LITERATURE REVIEW (NEED TO WORK ON)
This section provides a review of current methods of idea generation and dissemination, including the advantages
disadvantages.
Authors
Harfoushi, Osama, et
al [16]
Advantages
-Numerical control machining and
graphic user interface (GUI)
-Time saving
Disadvantages
Not widely used
Not suitable for
Robertson, B. F., and D.Immature:
F.
Robertson, B. F., and D. F. Radcliffe
-Free
hand
sketching
conceptual design
Radcliffe [14]
Campell, Kelly [17]
-Verbal discussion
-Draw boards
Mature:
-Good for detailed design
-Acceptable mode of viewing design for
an individual
-3D drawing digitally
-Introduction of AutoCad by Autodesk
during 1983
Other Literature Review
There are a wide range of CAD techniques available
that enable individuals to interact with and augment a
design artifact such SolidWorks, Blender, OpenSCAD,
Meshlab, etc. [18] However, for individuals with little
to no technical in CAD tools, such systems have a
steep learning curve and can be too complex to operate.
There is already an easier way of designing currently.
Chen introduced a simple and interactive methodology
to create basic 3D shapes using profile of objects from
photographs. However, the biggest shortcoming of
this technique is that it does not allow users to generate
new ideas Instead, it focuses more on recreating and
relocating the existing objects. [19]
III. CONCLUSION
During previous discussion, the work reviewed have
their provided individuals benefits and drawbacks of
using certain method of communicating in engineering
design process, leading us to identify the most useful
and effective way of generating and disseminating
information under a given circumstance. A
Not best mode of
communication to
groups of people
Costly
combination of the highlights of each product will
bring us a new effective channel of idea generation and
dissemination method in engineering design.
IV. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT (NEED TO WORK ON)
V. REFERENCE
[1] C. E. Shannon and W. Weaver, “The
mathematical theory of communication,” 2002.
[2] E. Atila and C. Jones Jesse, The engineering
design process. New York, NY: John Wiley &
Sons, Inc, 1996.
[3] M. Perttula and P. Sipilä, “The idea exposure
paradigm in design idea generation,” J. Eng.
Des., vol. 18, no. 1, pp. 93–102, 2007.
[4] “CAD Design Software | Computer-Aided
Design | Autodesk.” [Online]. Available:
http://www.autodesk.com/solutions/caddesign. [Accessed: 10-Aug-2016].
[5] A. Pipes, Computer-Aided Architectural
Design Futures. Butterworth-Heinemann,
2014.
[6] “Can You Take on New CAD Software
Without Tanking Productivity? | PTC.”
[Online]. Available: http://www.ptc.com/cad-
software-blog/can-you-take-on-new-cadsoftware-without-tanking-productivity.
[Accessed: 10-Aug-2016].
[7] R. T. Azuma, “A survey of augmented reality,”
Presence Teleoperators Virtual Environ., vol.
6, no. 4, pp. 355–385, 1997.
[8] “Oculus.” [Online]. Available:
https://www.oculus.com/. [Accessed: 06-Jan2017].
[9] “VIVETM | Discover Virtual Reality Beyond
Imagination.” [Online]. Available:
https://www.vive.com/us/. [Accessed: 06-Jan2017].
[10] “How Virtual Reality Will Change Storytelling
and Marketing in the Next Decade.” [Online].
Available:
https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/287018.
[Accessed: 06-Jan-2017].
[11] C. E. Shannon, “A mathematical theory of
communication,” ACM SIGMOBILE Mob.
Comput. Commun. Rev., vol. 5, no. 1, pp. 3–55,
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[12] H. Dubberly, “ON MODELING Learning
curves for design,” interactions, vol. 15, no. 4,
pp. 13–16, 2008.
[13] “What is Interaction Design?,” The Interaction
Design Foundation. [Online]. Available:
https://www.interactiondesign.org/literature/article/what-is-interactiondesign. [Accessed: 16-Jan-2017].
[14] B. F. Robertson and D. F. Radcliffe, “Impact of
CAD tools on creative problem solving in
engineering design,” Comput.-Aided Des., vol.
41, no. 3, pp. 136–146, 2009.
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132, no. 2, p. 021004, 2010.
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B. Al-Shboul, “Impact of computer graphics on
the engineering product design: Conceptual
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1553–1561, 2013.
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145, 2001.
[18] X. Ye, W. Peng, Z. Chen, and Y.-Y. Cai,
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1460, 2004.
[19] T. Chen, Z. Zhu, A. Shamir, S.-M. Hu, and D.
Cohen-Or, “3-Sweep: extracting editable
objects from a single photo,” ACM Trans.
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