Conventional failure analysis ignores a growing challenge in the responsible implementation of novel technologies into engineered systems - unintended consequences, which impact the engineered system itself and other systems including social and environmental systems. In this paper, a theory for unintended consequences is developed. The paper proposes a new definition of unintended consequences as behaviors that are not intentionally designed-into an engineered system yet occur even when a system is operating nominally, that is, not in a failure state as conventionally understood. It is argued that the primary cause for this difference is the bounded rationality of human designers. The formation of unintended consequences is modeled with system dynamics, using a specific real-world example, and bifurcation analysis. The paper develops propositions to guide research in the development of new design methods that could mitigate or control the occurrence and impact of unintended consequences. The end goal of the research is to create a new class of failure analysis tools to manage unintended consequences responsibly to facilitate engineering design for a more sustainable future.

At the end of its life the packaging may become a residue if it is not correctly discarded, becoming a visible component of the waste produced on the planet, with a defined shape and communicating with the world. In the same way, large-scale agricultural production generates organic residues that, although representing fiber-rich materials, are discarded, such as rice husk, coconut husk, wood fibers, among others. To contribute with solutions to minimize the environmental impact of packaging and organic residues, the present study aims at performing preliminary tests of molded pulp packaging manufacturing from organic residues, in a circular economy context. Action research was used as the method to guide the collective construction (project team and partner companies), and the direction of the preliminary tests of packaging to be manufactured. The tests performed on coconut fibers in transfer molding and thermoforming were promising, but they required the addition of binder substances like byproducts from starch, especially in the transfer molding method. Besides using fibers from alternative sources to cellulose, the proposed packaging is potentially compostable and may replace non-renewable material like oil-based polymers.

Individual traits strongly impact team composition and the biases arising from them can also impact design activities. One such bias highlighted in the study is the familiarity bias (i.e., a bias that might be present between the two individuals due to their prior acquaintance). In order to detect the familiarity bias, participants from 4 universities who evaluated their peers and rated them for (1) their perceived degree of influence, (2) trust, (3) the amount of agreement they had with the other team member and (4) the amount of agreement the other individual in the team had with them. It was found that familiarity bias exists in collaborative teams. Its impact on the four variables, especially on influence, was discovered. In the end, the study briefly highlighted the importance of studying the factors (like the one revealed in this study) that affect influence in design teams as it eventually impacts design outcome. It was found that the individuals who explore most idea clusters, are less likely to be perceived influential and teams having the most influence produced a smaller number of idea clusters. Overall, the study contributes to understanding the factors affecting human cognition and behaviour in the design teams.

The design of topologically optimized structures is straightforward, although the main problem is really to derive the correct structure in each instance. During the development of structures for additive manufacturing in particular, saving weight is crucial because weight is proportional to cost.

In this contribution firstly, different approaches to topological optimization are presented and discussed. While computer-assisted tools provide high accuracy and demand defined conditions, approaches utilizing a pen and paper can be conducted relatively quickly, although these only provide little guidance.

Secondly, a new approach is presented which is advantageous with regard to effort and affordability, yet which maintains an accuracy of results. To support the designer, an artificial neural network is trained to adapt suitable Michell structures within a given design area. These structures depict optimal paths to conduct the loads through a component and provide guidance in designing an appropriate topology.

Evaluation has demonstrated that this new approach is capable of supporting designers in achieving lightweight structures.

This paper presents a framework to develop the automated design of fixtures using the combination of design automation (DA), multidisciplinary optimization and robotic simulation. MDO necessitates the use of concurrent and parametric designs which are created by DA and knowledge-based engineering tools. This approach is designed to decrease the time and cost of the fixture design process by increasing the degree of automation. AutoFix provides methods and tools for automatically optimizing resource-intensive fixture design utilizing digital tools from different disciplines.

Design is widely understood as a domain-independent notion, comprising any activity concerned with creating artefacts. This paper shows that models can be viewed as artefacts, and that the design of models resembles the design of artefacts in other domains. The function-behaviour-structure (FBS) ontology of design is applied to models, mapping generic characteristics of models derived from literature on modelling onto basic, design-ontological categories. An example of model design, namely the CRISP-DM model for designing data mining models, is analysed and compared with models of designing in other domains (systems engineering, mechanical engineering, software engineering, and service design). The results show that there are fundamental commonalities but also differences, revealing the need for further research in developing a theory of model design.

Established companies turn to new ventures for bolstering exploration activities, but we know relatively little of the product development processes of startups and new ventures and how different stakeholders are utilized in these. The current study investigated the product development activities and experiments of eight Finnish food and beverage ventures in a multiple case study based on 22 interviews. How the developed products fit into the existing portfolio and experience of the ventures seemed to define their enacted development process. Internal experimentation was a constant feature, although the type of experiments varied between different phases of the development process. External-facing experiments were less frequent and more for validation than concept generation. On the other hand, they also carried important market creation functionalities. The results suggest that more nuanced terminology around experimentation would be useful to determine what type of experiments serve different goals in the development process.

In Design-Driven Innovation (D-DI) the meaning of a product or service is radically innovated to introduce a new paradigm that ideally can benefit people, companies, and society as a whole. However, due to the associated risks, most companies are hesitant to engage with and adopt D-DI. Human Centered Design (HCD) is preferred while innovation is limited to incremental change. This dichotomy is also reflected in design literature where D-DI is pitted against HCD. We propose the symbiosis of the two approaches as a strategy to create space for and the adoption of D-DI within companies. An instrumental design case study explores a design-driven service innovation and its adoption in a renowned airline. Results show an adopted D-DI where HCD evidence mitigates for the market and organization uncertainty while D-DI enabled a paradigm shift in the company’s current service operation. Advantages and limitations of this mitigation strategy are discussed. With this design precedent, we aim to encourage designers and companies to further explore the benefits of a symbiotic use of D-DI and HCD.

Although well researched and praised in academic publications, function modelling (FM) does not have gained much traction in industrial application. To investigate into possible reasons for this, this publication researches literature of nine different projects where enhanced function-means modelling has been applied. The projects are analysed for their purpose of FM-use, applied benefits and discovered challenges of the FM approach. From this, the main challenges for FM application are the abstraction level of the modelling language as well as the lack of an interface to CAD modelling.

The objective of this paper is to explore challenges identified for implementation of scrum for hardware development intersect with agile principles found in the literature. A series of comparative analyses are done at the textual level, through logical intersections, and through thematic analysis. It is shown that there are five underlying themes found across two sets of scrum challenges (constraints of physicality and the 13 principles). These five themes include: flexiblity, chunkability, scalability, endurability, and teamability. These five themes further are found related to the defining principles of the agile manifesto. Using this understanding, future efforts will include empirical case study work to determine the impact that these have on application of scrum methods and tools. Additionally, guidelines should be developed to help hardware product engineers in applying scrum.

The breadth of media and approaches used when prototyping are vast, with each holding inherent properties that vary their suitability for a given prototyping activity.

While several have established classifications of types and purposes of prototypes, there is little by way of guidance for designers on how select and strategise prototyping given their activity needs, or how the prototype chosen may influence their process, success or efficiency.

This paper presents nine affordances of prototypes derived from literature, together characterising the properties of prototyping media or approaches that affect their suitability across prototyping activities.

The affordances are illustrated through application to physical and digital classes of prototypes and four real prototype cases, showing descriptive capability, inherent differences between the media, and enabling direct and consistent comparison.

By mapping affordances across many media and approaches, this work enables better method selection to align with activity needs, better description and comparison of media and approaches, and the ability the broadly interrogate and direct future development of prototyping technologies.

Sketching ideas and building physical prototypes are common in early stage product development. They are used for learning, testing ideas, proving concepts and sharing knowledge. Laser cutting is a popular tool for making physical prototypes due to its accuracy, robustness and speed. Computer aided design and vector graphics software are the main tools used for designing parts for laser cutting. Several sketch- based interfaces have been developed to support the process, using tools such as stylus pens with intuitive sketch-like commands.

A proof-of-concept prototype for capturing a hand drawn sketch and converting it to a laser cuttable file has been developed. In this pilot study we attempt to discover when drawing design by hand on paper can be better or more efficient than conventional methods, for developing physical prototypes with laser cutting in the context of early stage product development. This includes testing the accuracy of the tool, a pilot experiment comparing drawing speed and accuracy, example use cases utilizing pencil and paper, and a simple design challenge experiment.

Extended product warranties, leasing, and pay-per-use schemes are few examples of how manufacturing companies are shifting their focus from selling products to offering “solutions”, combining products and services to maximise customer value. The idea of optimising a system towards the best ‘value’ is both “intuitive and sensible”, and processes such as Value Driven Design (VDD), have been proposed to supplement traditional engineering design methodologies. Yet, value-driven initiatives struggle to communicate their benefits and to demonstrate how value models can solve actual problems. The aim of this paper is to shed light on the evolution of the VDD toolbox, mapping research clusters, applications and case studies from the perspective of how much (and how well) recent contributions have answered the five top-level questions of the VDD research agenda published in 2012. The results of the systematic literature review reveal the emergence of innovative modelling constructs, methods, and tools that help VDD in taking a leap forward in supporting organizations and teams in achieving the long-sought objective of designing for 'value'.

This study delves into Industry 5.0's Human Centric Manufacturing and Systems (HCM and HCS), emphasizing worker welfare and sustainability. Industry 5.0 advocates a human-centric approach, built upon three foundational pillars safety, inclusivity, and empowerment. The paper highlights the successful integration of Design and Systems Thinking in HCM and proposes a workshop at MADE COMPETENCE CENTRE proving the effectiveness in raising awareness and promoting Human-Centric principles throughout the system life cycle and in achieving Human-Centric Systems (HCS).

Nowadays, companies operate in increasingly competitive and dynamic markets with fast-changing customer needs. Simultaneously, major advances are being made in information and communication technologies, and the digitization of products is progressing. Based on these economic and technological trends, smart product-service systems (PSS) are emerging as a new form of business model. Recent studies show that the transition to developing smart PSS is a major challenge for companies and that they require methodological support, as their internal structures are undergoing significant changes.

In order to provide a sound basis for support, we have undertaken a comprehensive study to identify requirements for a smart PSS development framework. 24 interviews and 5 workshops with companies that have recently focused on the development of smart PSS provide a rich set of empirical data to explore the challenges faced by companies today. We systematically analyzed the data and evaluated the results with our respondents. To increase the robustness and generalizability of our findings, we performed a contextual literature review and analyzed additional cases. This led us to a set of 17 requirements for a smart PSS development framework.

Various aspects of the design process often lead to stress. This study used pre- and post-task surveys to gather information regarding the designer's cognitive experience, physiological response, and perceived sources of stress during concept generation, concept selection, and prototyping. Results confirmed that design is highly cognitive, and that mental stress is present. Variability in the results also suggests that a physiological stress component might be present. Additionally, perceived sources of stress were examined, and recommendations were offered for instructors of design courses.

Behavioural design has emerged as an important domain of design practice and research due to its ability to deliver the desired outcomes beyond technical designs. Research on behavioural design is not successful in discerning it from other design domains, which is important for theory building. This paper discerns the unique characters of behavioural design by tracing the emergence of behaviour in design. Twelve interviews from six behaviour design cases belonging to four firms has been used to further discern the unique characteristics resulting into the conceptual model of behavioural design

The success of complex product development projects strongly depends on the clear definition of target factors that allow a reliable statement about the fulfilment of the product requirements. In the context of tolerancing and robust design, Key Characteristics (KCs) have been established for this purpose and form the basis for all downstream activities. In order to integrate the activities related to the KC definition into product development as early as possible, the often vaguely formulated requirements must be translated into quantifiable KCs. However, this is primarily a manual process, so the results strongly depend on the experience of the design engineer.

In order to overcome this problem, a novel computer-aided approach is presented, which automatically derives associated functions and KCs already during the definition of product requirements. The approach uses natural language processing and formalized design knowledge to extract and provide implicit information from the requirements. This leads to a clear definition of the requirements and KCs and thus creates a founded basis for robustness evaluation at the beginning of the concept design stage. The approach is exemplarily applied to a window lifter.

Additive manufacturing enables new possibilities for the design of end products. These are rooted in the potentials of the manufacturing technology, such as flexible, tool-free production. These potentials can be used for the economic and flexible production of customized products. To support the use of the potentials, a development method was created which identifies optimization areas within a product. Therefore, the complexity is reduced by using of product functions. Characteristic functions and structural configurations are used to identify optimization areas. This contribution describes the application of the new development method to an existing mechanical transtibial prosthesis. In doing so optimization areas are identified which may make use of the potentials provided by additive manufacturing. One area is the interface between the prosthesis and the ground. By analyzing walking environments and the gait cycle the need for walking assistance on deformable surfaces was identified. Significant improvements were achieved through a functional integrated, additive manufactured foot sleeve.

Aircraft cabin monuments must be optimized in terms of lightweight design, cost structure and variance. Model-based approaches support the aircraft data and help to modify them consistently during further development. In this paper, a holistic methodological approach for product families of aircraft cabin development is shown, which integrates lightweight and cost-efficient aspects, in addition to the variance focus. For this purpose, the development of cost-efficient and ligthweight optimized cabin modules is supported in a model-based way.