Product dissection has been highlighted as an effective means of interacting with example products in order to produce creative outcomes. While product dissection is often conducted as a team in engineering design education, the research on the effectiveness of product dissection activities has been primarily limited to individuals. Thus, the purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of the type(s) of product dissected in a team environment on encouraging creative design outcomes (variety, novelty, and quantity) and the underlying influence of educational level and dissection modality on these effects. This was accomplished through a computational simulation of 14,000 teams of noninteracting brainstorming individuals generated by a statistical bootstrapping technique using a design repository of 931 ideas generated by first-year and senior engineering students. The results of the study highlight the importance of educational level, dissection modality, and the number of products dissected on team design outcomes. Specifically, virtual dissection encouraged the exploration of more novel solutions across both educational levels. However, physical dissection encouraged the exploration of a larger variety and quantity of ideas for senior teams while virtual dissection encouraged the same in first-year teams. Finally, dissecting different types of products allowed teams to explore a larger solution space. The findings presented in this study can lead to a better understanding of how to deploy product dissection modules in engineering design education in order to drive creative design outcomes.
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March 2019
Research-Article
Expanding the Solution Space in Engineering Design Education: A Simulation-Based Investigation of Product Dissection
Mohammad Alsager Alzayed,
Mohammad Alsager Alzayed
Mem. ASME
Department of Industrial and
Manufacturing Engineering,
The Pennsylvania State University,
343 Leonhard Building,
University Park, PA 16802-1401
e-mail: mqa5244@psu.edu
Department of Industrial and
Manufacturing Engineering,
The Pennsylvania State University,
343 Leonhard Building,
University Park, PA 16802-1401
e-mail: mqa5244@psu.edu
Search for other works by this author on:
Christopher McComb,
Christopher McComb
Mem. ASME
School of Engineering Design, Technology and
Professional Programs,
The Pennsylvania State University,
213 Hammond Building,
University Park, PA 16802-1401
e-mail: uum209@psu.edu
School of Engineering Design, Technology and
Professional Programs,
The Pennsylvania State University,
213 Hammond Building,
University Park, PA 16802-1401
e-mail: uum209@psu.edu
Search for other works by this author on:
Samuel T. Hunter,
Samuel T. Hunter
Industrial and Organizational Psychology,
The Pennsylvania State University,
141 Moore Building,
University Park, PA 16802-1401
e-mail: sth11@psu.edu
The Pennsylvania State University,
141 Moore Building,
University Park, PA 16802-1401
e-mail: sth11@psu.edu
Search for other works by this author on:
Scarlett R. Miller
Scarlett R. Miller
Mem. ASME
School of Engineering Design, Technology and
Professional Programs,
The Pennsylvania State University,
213-P Hammond Building,
University Park, PA 16802-1401
e-mail: scarlettmiller@psu.edu
School of Engineering Design, Technology and
Professional Programs,
The Pennsylvania State University,
213-P Hammond Building,
University Park, PA 16802-1401
e-mail: scarlettmiller@psu.edu
Search for other works by this author on:
Mohammad Alsager Alzayed
Mem. ASME
Department of Industrial and
Manufacturing Engineering,
The Pennsylvania State University,
343 Leonhard Building,
University Park, PA 16802-1401
e-mail: mqa5244@psu.edu
Department of Industrial and
Manufacturing Engineering,
The Pennsylvania State University,
343 Leonhard Building,
University Park, PA 16802-1401
e-mail: mqa5244@psu.edu
Christopher McComb
Mem. ASME
School of Engineering Design, Technology and
Professional Programs,
The Pennsylvania State University,
213 Hammond Building,
University Park, PA 16802-1401
e-mail: uum209@psu.edu
School of Engineering Design, Technology and
Professional Programs,
The Pennsylvania State University,
213 Hammond Building,
University Park, PA 16802-1401
e-mail: uum209@psu.edu
Samuel T. Hunter
Industrial and Organizational Psychology,
The Pennsylvania State University,
141 Moore Building,
University Park, PA 16802-1401
e-mail: sth11@psu.edu
The Pennsylvania State University,
141 Moore Building,
University Park, PA 16802-1401
e-mail: sth11@psu.edu
Scarlett R. Miller
Mem. ASME
School of Engineering Design, Technology and
Professional Programs,
The Pennsylvania State University,
213-P Hammond Building,
University Park, PA 16802-1401
e-mail: scarlettmiller@psu.edu
School of Engineering Design, Technology and
Professional Programs,
The Pennsylvania State University,
213-P Hammond Building,
University Park, PA 16802-1401
e-mail: scarlettmiller@psu.edu
1Corresponding author.
Contributed by the Design Education Committee of ASME for publication in the JOURNAL OF MECHANICAL DESIGN. Manuscript received June 30, 2018; final manuscript received December 19, 2018; published online January 31, 2019. Assoc. Editor: Gul E. Okudan Kremer.
J. Mech. Des. Mar 2019, 141(3): 032001 (11 pages)
Published Online: January 31, 2019
Article history
Received:
June 30, 2018
Revised:
December 19, 2018
Citation
Alsager Alzayed, M., McComb, C., Hunter, S. T., and Miller, S. R. (January 31, 2019). "Expanding the Solution Space in Engineering Design Education: A Simulation-Based Investigation of Product Dissection." ASME. J. Mech. Des. March 2019; 141(3): 032001. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4042426
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