Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Design Perspectives, Theories, and Processes for Engineering Systems Design

  • Living reference work entry
  • Latest version View entry history
  • First Online:
Handbook of Engineering Systems Design

  • 111 Accesses

Abstract

Engineering systems are socio-technical systems that provide solutions to fundamental economic and societal challenges. Such systems are complex in both technical and human terms. Engineering systems evolve over time, and uncertainty over time plays a decisive role. Perspectives on design, design theories, and design processes can be used to guide and support designers of engineering systems. This chapter provides an introduction to several well-established perspectives on design, such as design as participatory activity, design as unique mode of thinking, and more. In the same way design theories are introduced, exemplified by C-K theory, axiomatic design, domain theory, and others; and an introduction to well-known processes, including stage-based, agile, and set-based models and many more, is provided. It is explained how each of the discussed approaches offers valuable insights that help to address different aspects of complex systems design. The evolution of the approaches reflects the evolving recognition of users and context when designing engineering systems.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Acare (2020) ACARE flightpath 2050 – Europe’s vision for aviation. Council for Aviation Research and Innovation in Europe, Advisory

    Google Scholar 

  • Al-Ashaab A, Golob M, Attia UM, Khan M, Parsons J, Andino A, Perez A, Guzman P, Onecha A, Kesavamoorthy S, Martinez G, Shehab E, Berkes A, Haque B, Soril M, Sopelana A (2013) The transformation of product development process into lean environment using set-based concurrent engineering: a case study from an aerospace industry. Concurr Eng 21(4):268–285

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Alexander C (1977) A pattern language: towns, buildings, construction. Oxford university press

    Google Scholar 

  • Andreasen MM (1980) Machine design methods based on a systemic approach. PhD Thesis, Lund University (in Danish)

    Google Scholar 

  • Andreasen MM, Hein L (2000) Integrated product development. IPU, Institute for Product Development, Technical University of Denmark, Lyngby/Copenhagen

    Google Scholar 

  • Andreasen MM, Howard TJ, Bruun HPL (2014) Domain theory, its models and concepts. In: Chakrabarti A, Blessing LTM (eds) An anthology of theories and models of design: philosophy, approaches and empirical explorations. Springer, pp 173–195. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-6338-1_9

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Archer LB (1965) Systematic method for designers. Council of Industrial Design, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Aristotle (2014) Physics, translated in the complete works of Aristotle, vol 1. The Revised Oxford Translation 2014, edited by Jonathan Barnes

    MATH  Google Scholar 

  • Baines TS, Lightfoot HW, Evans S, Neely A, Greenough R, Peppard J et al (2007) State-of-the-art in product-service systems. Proc Inst Mech Eng B J Eng Manuf 221(10):1543–1552

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Beck K, Beedle M, Van Bennekum A, Cockburn A, Cunningham W, Fowler M, Grenning J, Highsmith J, Hunt A, Jeffries R, Kern J (2001) Manifesto for agile software development

    Google Scholar 

  • Brown T (2008) Design thinking. Harv Bus Rev 86(6):84

    Google Scholar 

  • Brynjolfsson E, McAfee A (2011) Race against the machine: how the digital revolution is accelerating innovation, driving productivity, and irreversibly transforming employment and the economy. Brynjolfsson and McAfee

    Google Scholar 

  • Buchanan R (1992) Wicked problems in design thinking. Des Issues 8(2):5–21

    Article  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  • Buchanan R (2019) Systems thinking and design thinking: the search for principles in the world we are making. She Ji: J Design Econ Innov 5(2):85–104

    Google Scholar 

  • Bunge M (1966) Technology as applied science. Technol Cult 7(3):329–347. https://doi.org/10.2307/3101

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Burioni M (ed) (2012) Giorgio Vasari. Einführung in die Künste der Architektur, Bildhauerei und Malerei. Die künstlerischen Techniken der Renaissance als Medien des disegno. Verlag Klaus Wagenbach, Berlin o. J, p 7

    Google Scholar 

  • Cardin MA, Zhang S, Nuttall WJ (2017) Strategic real option and flexibility analysis for nuclear power plants considering uncertainty in electricity demand and public acceptance. Energy Econ 64:226–237

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Caves RE (2000) Creative industries: contracts between art and commerce. Harvard Univ. Press

    Google Scholar 

  • Chakrabarti A, Blessing LT (2014) Theories and models of design: a summary of findings. In: An anthology of theories and models of design. Springer, London, pp 1–45

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Chen W, Hoyle C, Wassenaar HJ (2012) Decision-based design: integrating consumer preferences into engineering design. Springer Science & Business Media

    MATH  Google Scholar 

  • Cooper RG (1990) Stage-gate systems: a new tool for managing new products. Bus Horiz 33(3):44–54

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Crilly N (2010) The roles that artefacts play: technical, social and aesthetic functions. Des Stud 31(4):311–344

    Article  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  • Cross N (1982) Designerly ways of knowing. Des Stud 3(4):221–227

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cross N (2006) Designerly ways of knowing. Springer, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Cross N (2021) Engineering design methods: strategies for product design. Wiley

    Google Scholar 

  • Cusumano MA, Selby R (1997) How Microsoft builds software. Commun ACM 40(6):53–61

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Daly SR (2008) Design across disciplines (Doctoral dissertation), Purdue University

    Google Scholar 

  • DCMS (2001) Creative industries mapping document 2001. Department for Culture Media and Sport, London

    Google Scholar 

  • De Weck OL, Roos D, Magee CL (2011) Engineering systems: meeting human needs in a complex technological world. Mit Press

    Google Scholar 

  • Design Council (2007) Eleven lessons: managing design in eleven global companies, 5 November 2007, (Online)

    Google Scholar 

  • Design Council (2018) The Design Economy 2018 – The state of design in the UK, (Online)

    Google Scholar 

  • Design Council (2021) Beyond net zero: a systematic design approach, Design Council, April 2021 (Online)

    Google Scholar 

  • Dorst K (2011) The core of ‘design thinking’ and its application. Des Stud 32(6):521–532

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eckert C, Hillerbrand R (2018) Models in engineering design: generative and epistemic function of product models. In: Advancements in the philosophy of design. Springer, Cham, pp 219–242

    Google Scholar 

  • Eder WE, Weber Ch (2006) Comparisons of design theories. In Proc. AEDS-SIG 2006 Workshop, 27–28 October 2006, Pilsen, Czech Republic, on CD-ROM

    Google Scholar 

  • Eppinger SD, Whitney DE, Smith RP, Gebala DA (1994) A model-based method for organizing tasks in product development. Res Engineer Des 6(1):1–13

    Google Scholar 

  • Evans JH (1959) Basic design concepts. J Am Soc Nav Eng 71(4):671–678

    Google Scholar 

  • Evbuomwan N, Sivaloganathan S, Jebb A (1996) A survey of design philosophies, models, methods and systems. Proc Inst Mech Eng Part B J Eng Manuf 210(4):301–320

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Federal Aviation Administration (2020) Part 25 – airworthiness standards: transport category airplanes. https://www.faa.gov/aircraft/air_cert/airworthiness_certification/std_awcert/std_awcert_regs/regs/. Accessed 9 July 2020

  • Ferguson ES (1977) The mind’s eye: nonverbal thought in technology. Science 197(4306):827–836

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ferguson ES (1992) Engineering and the Mind’s eye. MIT Press

    Google Scholar 

  • Fiedler J, Wendler A (2016) Berlin Brandenburg airport. In large infrastructure projects in Germany. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham, pp 87–145

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Forsberg K, Mooz H, Cotterman H (2005) Visualizing project management: models and frameworks for mastering complex systems, 3rd edn. Wiley, Hoboken

    Google Scholar 

  • French MJ (1999) Conceptual design for engineers, 3rd edn. Springer, London

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Gamma E, Helm R, Johnson R, Vlissides J (1994) Design patterns: elements of reusable object-oriented software, 1st edn. Addison-Wesley Professional

    MATH  Google Scholar 

  • Gausemeier J, Moehringer S (2002) VDI 2206-a new guideline for the design of mechatronic systems. IFAC Proc 35(2):785–790

    Google Scholar 

  • Gericke K, Blessing L (2011) Comparisons of design methodologies and process models across disciplines: a literature review. In: Culley SJ, Hicks BJ, McAloone TC, Howard TJ, Clarkson PJ (eds) Proceedings of the 18th international conference on engineering design (ICED 11), Lyngby/Copenhagen, Denmark, Aug 15–19, design society, vol 1, pp 393–404

    Google Scholar 

  • Gero JS (1990) Design prototypes: a knowledge representation schema for design. AI Mag 11(4):26–36

    Google Scholar 

  • Gero JS, Kannengiesser U (2004) The situated function–behaviour–structure framework. Des Stud 25(4):373–391

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gero JS, Kannengiesser U (2007) A function–behavior–structure ontology of processes. Ai Edam 21(4):379–391

    Google Scholar 

  • Gordon A, Rohrbeck R, Schwarz JO (2019) Escaping the “faster horses” trap: bridging strategic foresight and design-based innovation. Technol Innov Manag Rev 9(8):30–42. https://doi.org/10.22215/timereview/1259

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hartson R, Pyla RS (2012) The UX book. Morgan Kaufmann, Waltham

    Google Scholar 

  • Hatchuel A, Weil B (2003) A new approach of innovative design: an introduction to CK theory. In: DS 31: proceedings of ICED 03, the 14th international conference on engineering design, Stockholm

    Google Scholar 

  • Hatchuel A, Weil B (2009) CK design theory: an advanced formulation. Res Eng Des 19(4):181

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hauser JR, Clausing D (1988) The house of quality. Harvard Bus Rev May–June 1988

    Google Scholar 

  • Hazelrigg (1998) A framework for decision-based engineering design. J Mech Des 653–658

    Google Scholar 

  • Heylighen F (1999) Advantages and limitations of formal expression. Found Sci 4(1):25–56

    Article  MathSciNet  MATH  Google Scholar 

  • Hubka V, Eder WE (1988) Theory of technical systems. A total concept theory for engineering design. Springer, Berlin

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Hubka V, Eder WE (2012) Design science: introduction to the needs, scope and organisation of engineering design knowledge. Springer Science & Business Media

    Google Scholar 

  • Isaksson O, Larsson TC, Rönnbäck AÖ (2009) Development of product-service systems: challenges and opportunities for the manufacturing firm. J Eng Des 20(4):329–348

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jones JC (1963) A method of systematic design. In: Jones J, Thornley D (eds) Conference on design methods: papers presented at the conference on systematic and intuitive methods in engineering, industrial design, architecture and communications, London, England, Sep 1962. Pergamon, Oxford, pp 53–73

    Google Scholar 

  • Keim D, Andrienko G, Fekete JD, Görg C, Kohlhammer J, Melançon G (2008) Visual analytics: definition, process, and challenges. In: Information visualization. Springer, Berlin/Heidelberg, pp 154–175

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Kennedy M (2008) Ready, set, dominate: implement Toyota’s setbased learning for developing products and nobody can catch you. Oaklea Press, Richmond

    Google Scholar 

  • Kennedy BM, Sobek DK, Kennedy MN (2014) Reducing rework by applying set-based practices early in the systems engineering process. Syst Eng 17(3):278–296

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kensing F, Blomberg J (1998) Participatory design: issues and concerns. Comput Supported Coop Work 7(3–4):167–185

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kim HM, Michelena NF, Papalambros PY, Jiang T (2003) Target cascading in optimal system design. ASME J Mech Des 125(3):474–480. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.1582501

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Konda S, Monarch I, Sargent P, Subrahmanian E (1992) Shared memory in design: a unifying theme for research and practice. Res Eng Des 4(1):23–42

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Larman C, Basili VR (2003) Iterative and incremental development: a brief history. Computer 36(6):47–56

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lasdun (1965) quoted in Cross N (1999) Natural intelligence in design, Design Studies, no 20, p 25

    Google Scholar 

  • Le Masson P, Dorst K, Subrahmanian E (2013) Design theory: history, state of the art and advancements. Res Eng Design 24:97–103. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00163-013-0154-4

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lewin K (1951) Problems of research in social psychology. In: Cartwright D (ed) Field theory in social science: selected theoretical papers. Harper Row, New York, pp 155–169. (p 169)

    Google Scholar 

  • Liedtka J (2018) Why design thinking works. Harv Bus Rev 96(5):72–79

    Google Scholar 

  • Liker J, Morgan J (2006) The Toyota way in services: the case of lean product development. Acad Manag Perspect 20(2):5–20

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • MacCormac R (1976) quoted in Cross N (2001) The nature and nurture of design ability. In: Owen-Jackson G (ed) Teaching design and technology in secondary schools. Routledge

    Google Scholar 

  • Maier MW (1998) Architecting principles for systems-of-systems. Syst Eng 1(4):267–284

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Malmqvist J (1997) Improved function-means trees by inclusion of design history information. J Eng Des 8(2):107–117

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mankins JC (1995) Technology readiness levels – a white paper. Advanced Concepts Office, Office of Space Access and Technology, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Washington. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/John_Mankins/publication/247705707_Technology_Readiness_Level_-_A_White_Paper/links/59ea3cd7aca272cddddb7ad5/Technology-Readiness-Level-A-White-Paper.pdf. Accessed 12 July 2020

    Google Scholar 

  • Marples DL (1961) The decisions of engineering design. IRE Trans Eng Manag 2:55–71

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mistree F, Smith W, Bras B (1993) A decision-based approach to concurrent design. In: Concurrent engineering. Springer, Boston, pp 127–158

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Mont OK (2002) Clarifying the concept of product–service system. J Cleaner Prod 10(3):237–245

    Google Scholar 

  • Mortensen NH (1999) Design modelling in a designer’s workbench. PhD Thesis, Technical University of Denmark

    Google Scholar 

  • Norman DA, Draper SW (eds) (1986) User Centred system design: new perspectives on human-computer interaction. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Hillsdale

    Google Scholar 

  • Open University (2020) A history of design. Accessed 9 July 2020. http://www9.open.ac.uk/mct-ei/research/design/history-design

  • Oppenheim B (2004) Lean product development flow. Syst Eng 7(4):352–376

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ottosson S (2004) Dynamic product development – DPD. Technovation 24(3):207–217

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pahl G, Beitz W, Feldhusen J, Grote K-H (2007) Engineering design: a systematic approach, 3rd edn. Springer, London

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Papanek V, Fuller RB (1972) Design for the real world. Thames and Hudson, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Plattner H, Meinel C, Weinberg U (2009) Design-thinking. Landsberg am Lech, Mi-Fachverlag

    Google Scholar 

  • Prasad B (1996) Concurrent engineering fundamentals, vol 1. Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs

    Google Scholar 

  • Pugh S (1991) Total design: integrated methods for successful product engineering. Addison-Wesley, Boston

    Google Scholar 

  • Redtenbacher F (1848) Resultate für den Maschinenbau. Friedrich Bassermann, Mannheim

    Google Scholar 

  • Reich Y, Subrahmanian E (2020) The PSI framework and theory of design. IEEE Trans Eng Manag

    Google Scholar 

  • Reymen IMMJ, Hammer DK, Kroes PA, van Aken JE, Dorst CH, Bax MFT, Basten T (2006) A domain-independent descriptive design model and its application to structured reflection on design processes. Res Eng Des 16(4):147–173

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rittel HW, Webber MM (1973) Dilemmas in a general theory of planning. Policy Sci 4(2):155–169

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ross AM, Rhodes DH, Hastings DE (2008) Defining changeability: reconciling flexibility, adaptability, scalability, modifiability, and robustness for maintaining system lifecycle value. Syst Eng 11(3):246–262

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sanders EBN, Stappers PJ (2008) Co-creation and the new landscapes of design. CoDesign 4(1):5–18

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sanders EBN, Brandt E, Binder T (2010) A framework for organizing the tools and techniques of participatory design. In: Proceedings of the 11th biennial participatory design conference, pp 195–198

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Sanoff H (2010) Democratic design. Verlag, Berlin

    Google Scholar 

  • Schön D (1983) The reflective practitioner: how professionals think in action. Temple Smith, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Schön DA, Wiggins G (1992) Kinds of seeing and their functions in designing. Des Stud 13(2):135–156

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sharp H, Preece J, Rogers Y (2019) Interaction design, 5th edn. Wiley, Chichester

    Google Scholar 

  • Simon H (1957) A behavioral model of rational choice, in models of man, social and rational: mathematical essays on rational human behavior in a social setting. Wiley, New York

    MATH  Google Scholar 

  • Simon H (1969) The sciences of the artificial. MIT Press, Cambridge, MA/London

    Google Scholar 

  • Simon H (1996) The sciences of the artificial, 3rd edn. MIT Press, Cambridge, MA

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith RP (1997) The historical roots of concurrent engineering fundamentals. IEEE Trans Eng Manag 44(1):67–78

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sobek DK, Ward A, Liker J (1999) Toyota’s principles of set-based concurrent engineering. Sloan Manag Rev 40(2):67–83

    Google Scholar 

  • Stacey M, Eckert C (2010) Reshaping the box: creative designing as constraint management. Int J Prod Dev 11(3/4):241–255

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stacey M, Eckert C, Hillerbrand R (2020) Process models: plans, predictions, proclamations or prophecies? Res Eng Des 31(1):83–102

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Subrahmanian E, Reich Y, Krishnan S (2020) We are not users: dialogues, diversity, and design. MIT Press

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Suh N (1990) The principles of design. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-504345-6

    Google Scholar 

  • Suh NP (2001) Axiomatic design: advances and applications. Oxford University Press, USA

    Google Scholar 

  • Tukker A, Tischner U (eds) (2017) New business for old Europe: product-service development, competitiveness and sustainability. Routledge

    Google Scholar 

  • Turner R (2007) Toward agile systems engineering processes. Crosstalk J Defense Softw Eng 2007:11–15

    Google Scholar 

  • UK Government (2005) Cox review of creativity in business: building on the UK’s strengths. http:/www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/d/Cox_review-foreword-definition-terms-exec-summary.pdf. Accessed 9 July 2020

  • Ullman DG (1992) The mechanical design process, 2 vol. McGraw-Hill, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Ulrich KT, Eppinger SD (2015) Product design and development, 6th edn. McGraw-Hill Education, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Vajna S, Burchardt C (1998) Dynamic development structures of integrated product development. J Eng Des 9(1):3–15

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vargo SL, Lusch RF (2008) Service-dominant logic: continuing the evolution. J Acad Mark Sci 36(1):1–10

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • VDI2221 (1987) Systematic approach to the design of technical systems and products (VDI2221). Verein Deutscher Ingenieure

    Google Scholar 

  • Vermaas PE (2013) The co-existence of engineering meanings of function: four responses and their methodological implications, Artificial Intelligence for Engineering Design, Analysis and Manufacturing 27:191–202

    Google Scholar 

  • Vincenti WG (1990) What engineers know and how they know it: analytical studies from aeronautical history (Johns Hopkins studies in the history of technology). The Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore

    Google Scholar 

  • Weber C (2014) Modelling products and product development based on characteristics and properties. In: Chakrabarti A, Blessing LTM (eds) An anthology of theories and models of design: philosophy, approaches and empirical explorations. Springer, London, pp 327–352

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Whitney DE (2004) Mechanical assemblies: their design, manufacture, and role in product development. Oxford University Press Inc, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Wynn DC, Clarkson P.J. (2005) Models of designing. In: Clarkson PJ, Eckert CM (eds) Design process improvement: a review of current practice. Springer, London, pp. 34–59

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Wynn DC, Clarkson PJ (2018) Process models in design and development. Res Eng Des 29(2):161–202

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Industrial and Materials Science, Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden

    Ola Isaksson

  2. Department of Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand

    David C. Wynn

  3. School of Engineering and Innovation, The Open University, Milton Keynes, UK

    Claudia Eckert

Authors
  1. Ola Isaksson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. David C. Wynn
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Claudia Eckert
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ola Isaksson .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Technology, Management, and Economics, DTU- Technical University of Denmark, Kongens Lyngby, Denmark

    Anja Maier

  2. Department of Technology, Management, and Economics, DTU- Technical University of Denmark, Kongens Lyngby, Denmark

    Josef Oehmen

  3. Philosophy Department, Delft University of Technology, Delft, Zuid-Holland, The Netherlands

    Pieter E. Vermaas

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2023 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this entry

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this entry

Isaksson, O., Wynn, D.C., Eckert, C. (2023). Design Perspectives, Theories, and Processes for Engineering Systems Design. In: Maier, A., Oehmen, J., Vermaas, P.E. (eds) Handbook of Engineering Systems Design. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-46054-9_3-2

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-46054-9_3-2

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-46054-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-46054-9

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference EngineeringReference Module Computer Science and Engineering

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Chapter history

  1. Latest

    Design Perspectives, Theories, and Processes for Engineering Systems Design
    Published:
    06 January 2023

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-46054-9_3-2

  2. Original

    Design Perspectives, Theories, and Processes for Engineering Systems Design
    Published:
    01 April 2022

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-46054-9_3-1

Search

Navigation