THE ENGINEERING DESIGN PROCESS - DIAGNOSING THE PROBLEM: “TAKE TIME TO DEFINE” WITH CONTEXTUAL INQUIRY

Abstract

In previous work [1] it was argued that turning attention from the act of problem solving to the act of problem defining has several benefits for engineering students and practitioners alike. Such benefits include developing and refining student’s empathy and critical thinking skills inside the engineering discipline. The practical question then becomes how to teach and practice the process of defining the problem well. The following paper is a literature review of the current state of problem definition within engineering design research and how problem diagnosis can be taught and practiced by engineers. Two significant insights emerge from this review: (1) traditional engineering design literature does not suggest processes for defining problems; and (2) the authors consider "Contextual Inquiry" the most promising tool for problem diagnosis from an Industrial Engineering perspective.