If we think of design as a learning process, we orient our thinking toward curiosity, discovery, and development of mastery.
Design is a learning process. You begin by becoming aware of an unfulfilled need, or "a problem". Regardless of how complex that need is, or whether you are familiar with the topic or technology, your first step is to learn about the client's needs. The client is the person(s) (or more generally "market") who will use and presumably benefit from the design.
As you progress through the design process you learn more about both the client's need and the suitability of potential ideas that meet the need. Ideas are translated into prototypes that enable you to test how well your ideas meet the needs. Each round of prototype development and testing involves more learning.
The act of delivering your finished designed object to the client is an opportunity to learn how well your design met the client's needs. It's also desirable that the client learns about your design, from the early feedback stages to the final delivery.
The results of the learning process are evident in retrospect. When an engineer (or any person) completes a design process it is common for that person to say (or think), "that would have been easier if I knew then what I know now".
Perfection is not possible. It is an asymptotic goal and maintaining a belief that design is about learning will help you approach that goal, while always being aware of the potential for new ideas and new ways of solving the problem.
In-class exercise:
Before discussing with others, take 5 minutes to quietly write down your answers to the following questions. Don't write down perfect sentences. Make notes. Capture your thoughts quickly and without interruption so that you can be as creative as possible. (This is brain writing practice.)
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If design is a learning process, what does that tell us about becoming good at design?
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What techniques or skills do designers-as-learners practice?
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What attitudes or behaviors would you expect good designers to demonstrate?
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Up to this point in your education, what activities or experiences have helped you become a designer-as-learner?
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What should we be doing in this class to help you become a designer-as-learner? What do you want to do?
Discuss the following questions in small groups. Report your answers to the whole class
Implications for the Practice of Engineering Design
So if you buy the argument that the design process is a learning process, then the following ideas seem like natural conclusions:
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One does not "learn" design once and go out to practice design. Each design requires more learning. At the very least one needs to learn about the specific requirements of the problem at hand in order to choose an appropriate solution.
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Being an effective (good) designer requires one to be a effective (good) learner. Or, learning about design is learning about learning.
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"Hard problems", those for which the solution is not obvious require more learning than "easy" problems for which the solution is obvious. Some design problems may seem impossible because, even after considerable design effort, no solution is apparent. An impossible problem requires even more learning or research just to understand the problem fully.
Thinking of design as a learning process does not mean that there are no established techniques or procedures for doing design. The goal of this course is to teach you how to "do" engineering design. We have a book! And there are many books and guides that attempt to explain the process. As we study the design process it is important to remember that design requires continous learning, not merely execution of a recipe of steps.
The design-as-learning model is central to th Rapid Learning Cycles model for the design process. We will revisit this idea as we work through the textbook by Mattson and Sorenson.
Thinking about design-as-learning is metacognitive, i.e., it is thinking about thinking. Throughout this course, and indeed throughout your career, you can enhance your learning by becoming aware of your attitudes and activities that help you learn. In other words, developing your metacognitive awareness will help you become a better learner, and a better designer.