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Creativity and innovation in engineering
Published in Z.T. Bieniawski, Design Methodology in Rock Engineering, 2020
Brainstorming. Probably the most popular creativity technique, brainstorming involves a session where members of a group (or individuals working alone) are encouraged to create freely as many solutions to a problem as they can. Although participants are encouraged to suggest how their own ideas and those of others can be joined together to form a solution, no criticism or evaluation of their own or other ideas is allowed. The assumption under brainstorming is that the greater the number of ideas produced, the greater the probability of achieving an effective solution to a problem. Without criticism or evaluation, participants can concentrate more on determining and shaping solutions than defending their ideas. Furthermore, because brainstorming excludes factors which tend to induce emotion, it not only breeds self-confidence but stimulates creative thinking as well Brainstorming works because it helps solve problems, encourages participation, promotes teamwork, and evokes a sense of purpose. Most of all, however, brainstorming makes creativity contagious. A single word can fire up the whole group or a single phrase can release a flood of associated thoughts and concepts. Examples of brainstorming sessions are given in Chapter 7 .
Project Quality Planning
Published in Davies A. Igberaese, Introduction to Project Management, 2023
In the process of developing the Quality Management Plan for the project, the project team should hold planning meetings with the project sponsor and other relevant stakeholders, particularly those with responsibilities for project quality activities. Brainstorming sessions and other group creativity techniques are useful for defining the quality requirements, standards, and procedures for the project.
Conceptual Design
Published in Keith L. Richards, The Engineering Design Primer, 2020
One of the biggest problem faced by a designer is that of ‘Mindset’, where a preconceived idea predominates his/her thinking and is unable to get round to it. Creativity techniques help designers to change their thinking and generate new ideas.
Let the computer evaluate your idea: evaluation apprehension in human-computer collaboration
Published in Behaviour & Information Technology, 2023
Ambitious customer needs, newly emerging technologies, and an ever more connected society are putting companies in a constant position to produce and establish innovations, for which teamwork and effective collaboration has proven to be beneficial (Cui and Wu 2016; Pisano 2015; Yan, Leidner, and Benbya 2018). The ability to come up with, appraise and further refine new and innovative ideas, involves a range of creative activities that, when deployed in a team, can unfold its full potential (Amabile and Pratt 2016; Somech and Drach-Zahavy 2013). In this context, the use of creativity techniques and effective collaboration are essential for the development of products and services, which, with the help of information and communication technology, can take place anywhere and at any time (Hoever et al. 2012; Wang, Schneider, and Valacich 2015).
Structured ergonomic guidance in early design phases by analysing the user-product interaction
Published in Ergonomics, 2021
Tina Schröppel, Felix Endress, Ina Köpken, Jörg Miehling, Sandro Wartzack
In order to develop an ergonomic and pleasurable user-product interaction and thus a positive user experience, the designer needs to know about the requirements, i.e. the properties of a product, perceived important by the user. As it is beneficial to consider ergonomics aspects early in the design process (cf. Burns and Vicente 2000; Skepper, Straker, and Pollock 2000; Stanton et al. 2013), knowledge about these properties should be available as soon as possible. For this purpose, the developer can use classic creativity techniques like brainstorming or change of perspective as well as field observation, surveys, workshops, use cases, etcetera (Rupp 2014). Applying those methods often require direct user interaction which usually ties up large personnel, money and time resources (cf. Baxter, Courage, and Caine 2005). Furthermore, reproducible and high-quality data cannot be ensured due to the risk of user-bias (Schröppel, Miehling, and Wartzack 2020). A good alternative are proactive approaches like standards and guidelines that provide information without requiring direct user integration. National databases that include specific physiological data, e.g. DIN 33411-1 (DIN 1987) for physical strength or DIN 33402-2 (DIN 2020) for body dimensions, can be used effectively for data-driven ergonomic methods like the use of digital human models (e.g. Wolf, Miehling, and Wartzack 2020a). However, these databases do not provide general product requirements that are important to consider during the development process (e.g. accessibility of interaction points like handles, control units etc.). In this respect, even some standards that focus on general explanations of ergonomics principles fall short of expectations and remain vague in their statements. ISO 9241-210 (ISO 2019), for instance, merely states the importance of deriving context-specific user requirements without giving sufficient support to actually fulfil this task. In these cases, many references to other standards are given that deal with single aspects of product use (e.g. ISO 20282-1 (ISO 2006) concerning the ease of operation of everyday products) or the design of specific product elements (e.g. ISO 9241-410 (ISO 2008) providing design criteria for physical input devices). Having general as well as specific standards to identify important requirements is not a problem as such. The large amount of standards and provided cross-references within increases the complexity of information gathering. Handling such a multitude of unstructured knowledge is especially challenging for inexperienced developers. Product development would, therefore, benefit from a structured ergonomic guidance in the early stages of the design process.