Problem Definition in Engineering Design: Using the Universe of Problems Approach to Aid Novice Performance
Abstract
This thesis describes the importance of the problem definition phase of the engineering design process. The key finding of this study is that when novices are provided with schemes (or design prototypes), their ability to diagnose problems well is dramatically increased. Chapter 2 reviews the literature which explores the culture of engineering and how this culture relates to the practice of problem definition. Chapter 3 surveys the current state of engineering design textbooks regarding problem definition and evaluates several potential tools that can be used in the defining process from the field of Requirements Engineering. Chapter 4 looks again at problem definition, but with a focus on the nature of a problem itself, not just the process required to define a problem. Chapter 5 describes an undergraduate course which was created as a result of this research: a course which sought to provide schemes for second-year students to help them understand the key problems in their field and to identify when such problems appeared in realistic case-study scenarios. Finally, Chapter 6 describes the study which was conducted to determine the effect of providing second-year students with these design prototypes. This study found that novices can bring their performance much closer to the level of more experienced students in a problem-definition task as a result of being provided with a Universe of Problems. In fact, according to the sample data, when novices were not presented with a scheme (in terms of a mathematical model) their performance decreased by approximately 9.6%.
Subject
Collections
Related items
Showing items related by title, author, creator and subject.
-
PRIMARY CARE TYPES AND ACCESS PROBLEMS: ARE ACCESS PROBLEMS LESS PREVALENT IN TEAM-BASED PRIMARY CARE THAN NON-TEAMBASED PRIMARY CARE?
Zygmunt, Austin (2012-08-29)The objectives of this thesis were to examine (1) associations between primary care type (team-based versus non-team based) and access problems (difficulty in access and self-reported unmet need), and (2) if socioeconomic ... -
Is Uneployment or Unemployment Insurance the Problem in Atlantic Canada?
Osberg, Lars (C.D. Howe Institute, 1995) -
What's Fair? The Problem of Equity in Taxation
Osberg, Lars (University of Toronto Press, 1993)