The overall aim of engineering design research is to develop knowledge which can improve the chances of producing a successful product. This aim raises a number of important questions: (1) What do we mean by a successful product? (2) How is a successful product produced? (3) How do we improve the chances of being successful?
The first question leads to issues such as what criteria should be used to judge success; the second to issues such as what are the influences on success, how do these influences interact and how can they be measured; and the third to issues relating to the development and validation of design methods and tools.
To address each of these issues, design research must be carried out. This leads to a further question: What research methodology should be used? The talk will present a general design research methodology that aims at a rigorous approach to engineering design research by piecing together the various existing design research areas and by encouraging collaboration with other disciplines. We will discuss the challenges involved in doing design research, such as the large number of factors that influence design and highlight the importance of empirical studies. We will also discuss the key research issues that need addressing: the formulation of criteria for success, the use of the results from empirical studies in the development of design methods and tools, and the validation of these methods and tools.
