Introducing value driven design in engineering education: teaching the use of value models in preliminary design

Abstract

Methods and approaches for teaching engineering disciplines are evolving to adapt to the needs of companies and society. Engineering Design is one of the areas most influenced by such changes and constantly striving to develop more effective and efficient strategies to prepare the soon-to-be engineers to face the challenges of a real working environment. This paper presents an approach used to teach the use of value models for concept trade-off in the preliminary design phase, in line with the industrial challenges highlighted by the literature on Value Driven Design. The approach is based on realistic design sessions assigning to master students a value assessment challenge. The paper describes the rationale of the approach, its set-up, and a validation activity run to compare the performances of the students with those of industrial practitioners. The results of the study show that the students taking part in the design sessions can produce results that do not statistically differ from those of industrial practitioners. Moreover, the students’ self-reflection on the achievement of the intended learning outcomes show a high satisfaction toward the achievement of the educational objectives.