An application of protocol analysis to the engineering design process

Abstract

The objective of this paper is to demonstrate verbal protocol analysis as a method to document and analyze how students approach open-ended engineering design problems. As part of a larger effort to study how engineering students solve design problems, freshmen and senior engineering students were asked to design a playground for a fictional neighborhood. This paper will demonstrate the use of the verbal protocol method as shown by an in-depth analysis of one of the subjects from this study. The type of data that can be obtained and the various questions that can be answered using verbal protocol analysis will be discussed. This research methodology can be a very valuable tool to assess how engineering students approach open-ended design problems. This information is vital to engineering faculty who must teach the design process to freshmen.