Prototyping Design

Abstract: Prototypes are complex and dynamic artifacts that shape social situations during product development. A ten-month applied ethnographic study of a footwear company recounts prototypes’ evolving role in communication between three

Abstract: Design has been called one of the defining characteristics of engineering, and it has been long-argued that design is equally social and technical in practice. The field of Science and Technology Studies (STS) has a research tradition

Abstract: Prototyping is an essential part of product development in companies, and yet it is one of the least explored areas of design practice. There are limited ethnographic studies conducted within companies, specifically around the topic

Abstract:  This paper explores the nature of prototypes from three diverse companies in the fields of consumer electronics, footwear, and medical devices. It is part of a larger qualitative research study developing a prototyping framework

Abstract: Just as design is a fundamental part of engineering work, prototyping is an essential part of the design process. For many engineering design courses, students must develop a final prototype as part of the course requirements. And in

Abstract: This paper works toward two goals. The first is to build on our previous work on “becoming an engineer”, in which we have attempted to understand engineering learning within a broader framework that focuses not only on the development of

Abstract: “Design is what engineers do, and the intelligent and thoughtful decision of the engineering curriculum should be the community’s first allegiance.” Yet, we find that engineering design only underpins a small selection of undergraduate

Abstract: Design is widely considered to be the central or distinguishing activity of engineering and yet it remains an insufficiently researched and understood topic. From the perspective of engineering education, where a “disconnect

Abstract: This is an empirical ethnographic study of how engineers in both undergraduate design courses and the professional workplace engage in engineering design. Our findings suggest that the organizational contexts constitute processes of design

Abstract: This exploratory, ethnographic study compares engineering design in different organizational settings, as a way of examining the nature of claimed disconnects between professional engineering design practices and those taking place in