Abstract
Ideation is core to the innovation process, and has been the subject of study across a range of fields,
from psychology to engineering. However, despite substantial progress in outcome-based descriptions of
idea generation, research has often resulted in more questions than answers. For example, open questions
remain with respect to the differences in behaviour related to ideation between novices and experts,
the change in rates of ideation over time in different design teams, and the changing role of ideation
from conceptual to detailed design. In each of these cases, robust explanation has proved elusive due to
difficulties in characterising the ideation process itself. This paper discusses a major new approach for
elucidating ideation and its related design processes through direct observation. A novel network visualisation
approach is demonstrated in practice for the first time. This uses network analysis to link ideas
dynamically to both the engineering context and the wider design process. This linking analysis gives a
substantial new insight into what drives ideation and how previously inscrutable results can potentially be
explained by linking ideation into other design processes.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 391-415 |
Journal | Journal of Engineering Design |
Volume | 26 |
Issue number | 10-12 |
Early online date | 7 Aug 2015 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2 Dec 2015 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- creativity and innovation
- human creativity
- psychology of creativity
- descriptive models of the design process
- empirical study