Hidden in plain sight: Affordances of shared models in team-based design

Current scholarship in cognitive science [3, 8, 18, 19] and Science Technology Studies [21], has reconsidered the role media plays in knowledge gathering and acquisition. While the use of low-resolution physical prototypes has been very successful in innovative practices in engineering design [2, 6, 14], to the authors best knowledge, there is no documented systematic study of this practice within the domain of engineering design itself. Design thinking and communication occur in the presence of representation. It is through representation that group members can literally see what they say, and reflect on what they see. The quality of team engagement is predicated on the quality of the model. A representation or model can be in the form of a narrative, a sketch, a rough physical prototype, an enactment, a conceptual framework, a photograph, a CAD drawing, or an equation, to name a few. We propose that the media which design engineers enlist are cognitive tools which extend and modify their ability to perceive, think and communicate [3, 8, 18, 19]. Furthermore, we propose that the characteristics of the series of media used during the course of a design project are a significant factor in successful project outcome.