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A fix for fixation? Rerepresenting and abstracting as creative processes in the design of information systems

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 April 2010

Doris Zahner ,
Jeffrey V. Nickerson ,
Barbara Tversky ,
James E. Corter  and
Jing Ma
Doris Zahner
Affiliation:
Stevens Institute of Technology, Castle Point on Hudson, Hoboken, New Jersey, USA
Jeffrey V. Nickerson
Affiliation:
Stevens Institute of Technology, Castle Point on Hudson, Hoboken, New Jersey, USA
Barbara Tversky
Affiliation:
Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, New York, USA
James E. Corter
Affiliation:
Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, New York, USA
Jing Ma
Affiliation:
Stevens Institute of Technology, Castle Point on Hudson, Hoboken, New Jersey, USA
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Abstract

Fixation prevents the associations that are bridges to new designs. The inability to see alternative solutions, or even to see how to map known solutions onto current problems, is a particularly acute problem in the design of software-intensive systems. Here, we explored two related ways of liberating fixated thinking: abstracting and rerepresenting. Although both techniques helped designers generate original ideas, not all the added ideas fit the problem constraints. We discuss ways the results might be used to generate reflective design aids that help designers to first generate original ideas and later prune them.

Keywords

AbstractionDesign of Information SystemsFluency: OriginalityRerepresentation
Type
Special Issue Articles
Information
AI EDAM , Volume 24 , Issue 2: Creativity: Simulation, Stimulation, and Studies , May 2010 , pp. 231 - 244
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2010

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