Other Disciplines
From Science of Design
We can learn about the engineering approach and how it relies on underlying science by examining other engineering disciplines, including building architecture. With reflection, we can find guidance for software systems.
Books
These books reflect on design disciplines such as engineering, architecture, and product design.
Civil Engineering
Henry Petroski. Design Paradigms: Case Histories of Error and Judgment in Engineering. Cambridge University Press, 1994. Order it from Amazon.com
- Petroski is a civil engineer. He believes that one of the best ways to learn about good engineering design is to examine failure cases to find the source of failure. I liked To Engineer is Human; I like Design Paradigms even better, because it includes not only case studies but also generalizations and some design guidance. Although the subject matter of these cases is large engineering structures, the design lessons apply to software as well.
Henry Petroski. Invention by Design.
Aeronautical Engineering
Walter Vincenti. What Engineers Know and How They Know It. Johns Hopkins University Press, 1990. Order it from Amazon.com
- Explores the difference between engineering knowledge and scientific knowledge, including the way that the interplay of conflicting requirements shapes design.
Complex Systems
John Gall. Systemantics: How Systems Work and Especially How They Fail. Quadrangle, New York 1975, Wildwood House, London, 1978
Mark Maier and Eberhardt Rechtin. The Art of Systems Architecting, 2nd ed. CRC Press, 2000 (2nd edition). Order it from Amazon.com
- Some systems are too complex to be designed by analytic techniques alone. Rechtin elicited from his students a collection of heuristics -- specific insights -- about the design of complex systems.
Charles Perrow. Normal Accidents. Princeton University Press, 1999 (updated edition). Order it from Amazon.com
- Complex systems fail in ways that seem surprising, but the failures could often be anticipated by analyzing the possible interactions of seemingly separate parts, and especially the ways that failures can cascade. An important cause of such "normal" failure modes is tight coupling in the system.
Von Bertalanffy. General Systems Theory.
Gerald M. Weinberg. An Introduction to General Systems Thinking. Dorset House, 2001. Order it from Amazon.com
- Weinberg uses clear writing and basic algebraic principles to explore new approaches to projects, products, organizations, and virtually any kind of system.
Weinberg. Rethinking Systems Analysis and Design.
Design (generally)
L. Bucciarelli. Designing Engineers. MIT Press, 1994.
N. Cross, (ed). Developments in Design Methodology. Wiley, Chichester, 1984.
N. Cross, H. Christiaans, and K. Dorst (eds). Analysing Design Activity. John Wiley & Sons, Chichester, 1996.
Eugene S Ferguson. Engineering and the Mind's Eye. MIT Press, 1992.
B. Lawson. How Designers think: The design process demystified. Architectural Press, Oxford,UK, 1997.
D. Schön. The Reflective Practitioner - How professionals think in action. Avebury, Aldershot,UK, 1991.
Product Design
Donald Norman. The Design of Everyday Things. Currency/Doubleday, 1990. Order it from Amazon.com
- Originally called "The Psychology of Everyday Things," this book shows how design should be driven by deep understanding of how human beings interact with objects and information.
Suh. The Principles of Design.
Architecture
This is the architecture of buildings, not of software or computers
Omer Akin. The Psychology of Architectural Design. Pion, 1987. ISBN 0850861209 , but out of print, alas.
- The Psychology of Architectural Design presents theoretical aspects of formalizing the design process. The book brings together view points from cognitive psychology, computer science and architecture and discusses theories for codifying how we design, i.e. may think and create. The exercises at the end of each section are especially thought intriguing in getting the reader think about his own design process.
Alexander. Notes on the Synthesis of Form
Christopher Alexander. Pattern Languages.
Brand. How Buildings Learn.
Matthys Levy, Mario Salvadori. Why Buildings Fall Down: How Structures Fail. W W Norton & Co Inc. Order it from Amazon.com
- Structural engineers Levy and Salvadori have written a well-paced, highly informative, nontechnical work describing failures in a variety of structures such as buildings, bridges, and dams. The subject, somewhat grisly in nature, is presented here with respect for the tragedies involved, and yet with a lighthearted pursuit of the truth as to the cause of the failure. Analysis of he failure is discussed and recommendations for improvement are offered, but without the usual condescension hindsight allows. [Library Journal]
Government Acquistion of Technology
Arthur Squires. The Tender Ship: Governmental Management of Technological Change. Birkhauser 1986. ISBN 081763312X, but out of print, alas.
- Although the book is two decades old, the message is still fresh: Success of an engineered artifact depends critically on faithfulness to the integrity of the engineered artifact. Squires analyzes a number of successful and unsuccessful government technology procurements. He finds that the failures were usually associated with bureaucratic or political interference in the acquisition.
Adaptive Systems
John Holland. Adaptation in Natural and Artificial Systems. MIT Press (reprint) 1992. Order it from Amazon.com
Ashby. Design for a Brain.
Economics
Schumacher. Small is Beautiful.
Journals
AI EDAM
AIEDAM: Artificial Intelligence for Engineering Design, Analysis and Manufacturing is a journal intended to reach two audiences: engineers and designers who see AI technologies as powerful means for solving difficult engineering problems; and researchers in AI and Computer Science who are interested in applications of AI and in the theoretical issues that arise from such applications. The journal publishes original articles about significant theory and applications based on the most up-to-date research in all branches and phases of engineering. Suitable topics include: analysis and evaluation; selection; configuration and design; manufacturing and assembly; and concurrent engineering. Specifically, the journal is interested in the use of AI in planning, design, analysis, simulation, qualitative reasoning, spatial reasoning and graphics, manufacturing, assembly, process planning, scheduling, numerical analysis, optimization, distributed systems and multi-agent applications.
Areas of special interest include:
• knowledge-based (expert) systems for engineering, including knowledge acquisition, knowledge representation, and system architectures;
• theoretical work on the modeling of engineering problem-solving and design processes;
• the integration of AI-based techniques with numerical analysis tools, graphics and solid modeling packages, and engineering databases;
• distributed design, theory and application.
AIEDAM is also interested in original and major applications of state-of-the-art knowledge-based techniques to important engineering problems (termed `practicum papers'). In addition to the rapid publication and dissemination of unsolicited research papers, AIEDAM is committed to producing special issues on topics that are viewed as both important and timely. AIEDAM is indexed in Compendex Plus, SciSearch, Research Alert, and CompuMath Citation Index.
http://www.cs.wpi.edu/~aiedam/
Computer Aided Design
Computer-Aided Design is an established international journal that provides engineers, designers and computer scientists in academia and industry with key papers on research and developments in the application of computers to the design process.
Computer-Aided Design invites papers reporting new research and novel or particularly significant applications within a wide range of topics, including:
• CAD in conceptual design
• Design automation and optimization
• AI in design
• Geometric methods and applied computational geometry
• Surface and solid modelling
• Parametric, constraint-based, and feature modelling
• CAD interfaces to testing and analysis, including finite-element methods
• Design and planning for manufacturing, including numerical control, rapid prototyping and robotics
• Design and planning for assembly, maintainability, recycling etc
• Engineering data management and exchange, including design databases, component selection, product models, and life-cycle modelling
• Space and facilities planning and layout
• CAD user interfaces, including computer graphics, virtual and augmented reality
• Significant benchmarks, APIs, formats and standards in CAD
• Contributions are acceptable across a wide range of disciplines, including:
• Mechanical and production engineering
• Civil engineering, architecture and building
• Industrial and aesthetic design
Papers in areas such as electrical and chemical engineering are also welcome provided they have a significant geometric component, and present developments likely to be of interest across other areas of CAD; Computer-Aided Design does not cover topics such as logic and process design.
Types of Papers: Ideal research papers will report significant developments, describe the relevant theoretical background, present a workable algorithm and give examples taken from real applications, stressing the practicality of the approach being presented. Application papers will present the results of using a CAD technique in practice, present ground-breaking results and/or analyse the application in a way that is likely to stimulate and influence research. Review papers are encouraged. They should give genuine insight into specific areas of CAD research and development Letters to the Editor are invited on topics that arise from material published in the journal. Books for review should be sent to the Book Review Editor.
Audience: Mechanical, Electrical/Electronic, Civil Structural, Marine, Computer and Chemical Engineers; Architects; all industrial users of CAD systems; CAD vendors; academics.
http://authors.elsevier.com/JournalDetail.html?PubID=30402&Precis=DESC
Design Studies
Design Studies is published in co-operation with the Design Research Society. Design Studies is the only journal to approach the understanding of design from comparisons across all domains of application, including engineering and product design, architectural design and planning, computer artefacts and systems design. It therefore provides a unique forum for the development and discussion of fundamental aspects of design activity and experience, from cognition and methodology to values and philosophy.The journal reports new research and scholarship in principles, procedures and techniques relevant to the practice, management and pedagogy of design.
As the concept of design becomes increasingly important, it is vital for researchers, educators and practising designers to stay abreast of the latest research and new ideas in this rapidly growing field; with its truly interdisciplinary coverage, Design Studies meets these needs with maximum effect. The journal reports on new developments, techniques, knowledge and applications in the practice of design, as well as design education: how design techniques may be taught, the approach to ill-defined problems and the impact of new technologies. Coverage includes design management, design methods, participation in planning and design, design education, AI and computer aids in design, design in engineering, theoretical aspects of design, design in architecture, design and manufacturing, innovation in industry and design and society.
http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/30409/description
environment and planning b: planning and design
Environment and Planning B: Planning and Design has one of the fastest growing readerships of any journal in the field of urban planning and design. Its goal is the publication of high quality articles which report leading edge research in the application of formal methods, methods models, and theories to spatial problems which involve the built environment and the spatial structure of cities and regions. The journal also specialises in new approaches to planning and design methods which explore ways of generating and evaluating optimal plans and policies.
With recent dramatic developments in computing and networkng, the journal has become a forum for major research in the application of computers to planning and design, in particular the use of shape grammars, artificial intelligence, and morphological methods to buildings and towns, the use of multimedia and GIS in urban and regional planning, and the development of ideas concerning the virtual city. These are areas of research that the journal is especially interested in promoting at present but within the general frame work of promoting any new approaches to planning and design which reflect formal methods of inquiry and analysis.
The journal also publishes longer length reviews pertaining to topical issues in planning and design, as well as book reviews, comments and letters on articles, together with state of the art reviews of the field.
http://www.envplan.com/epb/epbinfo.html
International Journal of Design Computing
The International Journal of Design Computing is a refereed journal that is published on the World Wide Web and will be archived by the University of Sydney Library. The objective of the journal is to promote research and technology transfer in design computing through the publication of interactive, multimedia journal articles within the general topic of design computing.
The journal articles are peer reviewed and have a forum for discussion for a period of six months after the article is published. Articles will be available immediately after acceptance, eliminating the large lead time for publication. The journal, including original articles plus discussions, will be archived on an annual basis. The annual volume will be available as a CD.
The IJDC is a participant of the National Library of Australia's PANDORA (Preserving and Accessing Networked Documentary Resources of Australia) project. PANDORA's aim is to implement procedures for managing the archiving and provision of long term access to online publications. http://www.arch.usyd.edu.au/kcdc/journal/
International Journal of Engineering Design & Automation
International Journal of Engineering Design & Automation: The introduction of microprocessors and computercontrolled production tools into industry has given a new perspective to manufacturing processes both in the United States and abroad. Computer aided design (CAD), computer aided manufacturing (CAM), flexible manufacturing systems (FMS), group technology (GT), and computer integrated manufacturing (CIM) have been considered by many as viable tools for reducing direct and indirect manufacturing costs and improving product quality and production flexibility. However, most of these developed tools and techniques highly concentrate on specific manufacturing tasks such as graphical design, process planning, part family formation, and computer simulation, and they do not often provide a totally integrated environment for the designer to create a high-quality, cost-effective, optimal product.
The purpose of Engineeving Design and Automation is to publish breakthrough thinking and pioneerlng research on analytical techniques used to analyze and evaluate product and process designs. The scope of this quarterly, refereed journal is to publish the highest quality theoretical articles and to report the lastest developments in current applications, case studies, and education in engineering design and automation. All submissions will be reviewed by a highly regarded international panel of reviewers at a faster-than-normal turnaround time.
http://www.myits.com/journal/eda/eda.html
Internatlonal Journal of Engineering Education
The Internatlonal Journal of Engineering Education serves as an international interdisciplinary forum of reference for engineering education. A balance between papers on developments in educational methods technology, case studies, laboratory applications, new theoretical approaches, educational policy and survey papers is aimed for.
• Comprehensive coverage of new education schemes and techniques makes the journal a unique source of ideas for engineering educators who are keen to keep abreast of latest developments in educational applications in all fields of engineering.
• Some of the areas covered more extensively in recent issues are: CAD, CAE, computer applications in teaching thermodynamics, material science, electrical engineering, new courses and curricula, engineering management, control engineering, mechanical engineering, engineering design, student evaluation and institutional accreditation
Journal of Design Research
Journal of Design Research is an interdisciplinary journal, emphasising human aspects as a central issue of design through integrative studies of social sciences and design disciplines. Originally published as an electronic journal publishing articles including multimedia applications and hence allowing visual knowledge transfer, it is now also available in print.
Objectives
• To bring together theories, models and actual products from related design areas, including engineering, architecture, industrial design and planning
• To emphasise human aspects as a central issue of design through integrative studies of social sciences and design disciplines
• To offer a platform for high-quality research, theory making, analysis, education, and practice
• To support the dialogue between practitioners and academics, avoiding a purely academic discussion on design science
• To highlight new developments in artifact design
Design is an interdisciplinary and integrative process constituting an intellectual field of thinking and research and a professional field of practice and applied research. Therefore, design research will play one of two roles: (1) the scientific study of the process and the content of design, and (2) the development of methods and tools to enhance the quality of design practice based on the body of knowledge developed by the scientific study. JDR provides knowledge in both areas and helps academics, researchers and professional designers working in the field of design and design engineering to disseminate information and to learn from each other’s work.
JDR welcomes papers covering theories, models and actual products from related design areas, including engineering, architecture, industrial design and planning. Recent topics covered by JDR include:
• Expertise in design
• Design learning strategies and design pedagogy
• Design as a social process
• Gaming and simulation in design
• Designing user interfaces
• The role of visual techniques in the design process
• Design tools
• Sustainability
http://www.inderscience.com/browse/index.php?journalCODE=jdr
Journal of Engineering Design
Journal of Engineering Design provides an essential forum for dialogue between practitioners and academics in the field of engineering design. In addition to presenting the best current research into both the improvement of design processes and practices in industry and the creation of advanced engineering products, the journal also publishes authoritative academic studies on design principles, practice and methodologies. Fully supported by an international editorial board, the journal publishes only the highest-quality original contributions from industrial and engineering design researchers worldwide, working in all the major disciplines of engineering.
Topics covered include:
• industrial design and total design
• product design and form design
• evolutionary design activity (product improvement & refinement)
• marketing, finance, sales and production
• ergonomics and the design process
• product introduction process
• quality and reliability
• design management and best practice in design
• design information sources & component selection
• design for manufacturability
• maintainability, safety and standards
• use of existing, improved and new materials
• design methodologies (including CAD/CAM)
The current impact factor is 0.229. http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/titles/09544828.asp
Journal of Engineering Design Innovation
The Journal of Engineering Design and Innovation (JEDI) is a refereed Journal that seeks to portray a broad, multidisciplinary and practical view of engineering design. Contributions are sought in the areas of design education and methodology, but most particularly the hope is to gather accounts of innovative design activities and applications across all disciplines of engineering.
The process of design is central to all engineering activity and of critical importance to our social and economic welfare. For many, if not most, of the engineering community design is the major intellectual activity. The process covers all disciplines and a wide variety of issues in the consideration of new products, processes, facilities or systems. The engineering designer needs a broad and rigorous base in engineering science since this forms the grammar of the language of design. It is also important to have been exposed to sound design processes since these help direct the designer in the composition of new solutions. All of this however is of little utility unless the designer has a wide vocabulary that encompasses the best of practice and technology in their field and indeed parallel design fields. There are many Journals that concentrate on engineering science and several that are concerned with design methodology, JEDI seeks to showcase the best examples of engineering design from all disciplines.
The Canadian Design Engineering Network (CDEN)/ Réseau Canadien de la Conception en Ingénierie (RCCI) is the parent of JEDI and both the initial Editorial Board and papers reflect that pedigree. Many of the initial papers will be invited from those that are presented at the annual CDEN/RCCI Conference and hence will be largely from academics with a strong interest in engineering design. The intent of the Journal is to broaden the editorial base by adding designers from a wide range of industry sectors and to add colleagues from other countries. JEDI will particularly seek out examples of outstanding design achievement and encourage leading designers to contribute case studies or state of the art surveys in areas of general interest.
In summary then JEDI is a very different vehicle that seeks to provide a high quality and realistic picture of the world of engineering design. Many of us within the University system have complained bitterly about the lack of such a vehicle and the shortcomings of the traditional academic journals. JEDI provides an opportunity for the design community to show the importance of the discipline and provide examples of high quality innovative design that can be used to demonstrate a wide spectrum of design activity.
Journal of Mechanical Design
The Journal of Mechanical Design publishes technical papers concerned with the conception, development and design of machines and mechanical systems. Specific areas of concern include: robotic system design; computer coordinated mechanism; expert systems in design; computer-aided engineering; design optimization; mechanism design; kinematics and dynamics of mechanisms; cam design; gear design; continuously variable transmission; power transmission design; design of machine elements; design theory and methodology; design technology; stress in design;and reliability in design.
http://scitation.aip.org/ASMEJournals/MechanicalDesign/?jsessionid=2619371088057994668
Journal of Triz in Engineering Design
Journal of Triz in Engineering Design: The Theory of Inventive Problem Solving has been widely recognized as a powerful systematic innovation technique that can be applied to a wide array of disciplines. The aim of the Journal of TRIZ in Engineering Design is to provide an avenue for scholarly exchange on the application of TRIZ to engineering design. Topic areas include research advances in TRIZ methodology, TRIZ-based research covering all aspects of engineering design, and strategies for the effective teaching of TRIZ, especially at the university level. The journal is published quarterly (March, June, September and December) by Togo Press LLC (Pittsburgh, PA).
The journal employs a double-blind peer review process for manuscripts in that both the reviewers and the authors remain anonymous to each other. This policy will reduce the influence of personal and other non-technical factors in the review process.
We hope that the availability of an English language peer-reviewed journal will encourage more researchers to use and further develop TRIZ by providing an avenue for them to publish their work. http://www.togopressllc.com/trizined/ojs
Research in Engineering Design
Research in Engineering Design is an international journal that publishes research papers on design theory and methodology in all fields of engineering, focussing on mechanical, civil, architectural, and manufacturing engineering. The journal is designed for professionals in academia, industry and government interested in research issues relevant to design practice. Papers emphasize underlying principles of engineering design and discipline-oriented research where results are of interest or extendible to other engineering domains. General areas of interest include theories of design, foundations of design environments, representations and languages, models of design processes, and integration of design and manufacturing. Representative topics include functional representation, feature-based design, shape grammars, process design, redesign, product data base models, and empirical studies. The journal also publishes state-of-the-art review articles.
Design Societies
ASME DTM
The American Society of Mechanical Engineers Design Theory and Methodology Committee The purpose of the Design Theory and Methodology Committee is to promote research and dissemination of knowledge in such topics as scientific theories of design, foundations for design environments, models of design processes, design education methods, design management, design for quality and other areas extending the understanding of and application of the design process. In 2007, DTM will sponsor the 19th International Conference on Design Theory and Methodology http://function.basiceng.umr.edu/dtm2007/
http://function.basiceng.umr.edu/asmeDTM/index.html
Design Research Society
The Design Research Society is the multi-disciplinary international learned society for the design research community. DRS was founded in 1967, and since then has established a record of significant achievements in contributing to design knowledge. DRS has facilitated an international design research network in 40 countries comprising members who maintain contact through the publications and activities of the Society. Members are drawn from diverse backgrounds, not only from the traditional areas of design, ranging from fine art to engineering, but also from subjects like psychology and computer science.
http://designresearchsociety.org/
Design Society
The goals of the Design Society are to:
• To contribute to a broad and established understanding of development and design, and to promote the use of results and knowledge for the good of humanity.
• Promotion of cooperation between researchers, professionals and instructors
• Organisation of international and national conferences and workshops
• Establishment and support of branches (regional activities) and special interest groups or SIGs (international, thematically defined activities)
• Active support of research, practice, management, and continued education in development and design
• Advocating of publications and promotion of their distribution
• Compilation of a knowledge database
• Cooperation with other similar organisations
Background: The Design Society is built on the foundations laid by the WDK (Workshop Design-Konstruktion) Society. WDK was an informally constituted international society based on a common interest in engineering design. WDK was founded in the early nineteen eighties on the inspiration of Professor Vladimir Hubka and with two other founding members, Professor Mogens Myrup Andreasen and Professor Umberto Pighini. Under Professor Hubka's overall guidance and with the support of the founding members and Professor Ernst Eder WDK grew to become a truly international society that has made major contributions to Design Science. WDK was responsible for establishing the International Conferences on Engineering Design (ICED series) and has supported an extensive range of publications. It was Professor Umberto Pighini who took the bold initiative to establish the first conference in the ICED series in Rome in 1981 (ICED 81). Subsequently many dedicated individuals have contributed to the development of WDK and the ICED series of conferences. The Design Society is fortunate to be able to build on WDK's foundation of 15 ICED conferences, 26 major publications and more than 60 workshops on a wide range of topics. All previous activities and responsibilities of WDK are taken over by the Design Society, including the right to continue the ICED conferences.
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