Hello Kari-Hans,

What you seem to be looking for is plain ethnographical observations of
engineers at work.

There has been some studies of this, either trying to trace down how
innovation takes place, or how knowledge is constructed.

I do not have any reference at hand, but I am sure that you will easily find
good papers. I remember that there is an American journal (on technology and
culture, something like that), that has published some excellent studies.
They are very much focussed, but that is also their value, at least to me.

I know that quite a few -french- studies have been conducted in the areas of
engineering and architecture, mostly in connection with the development of
expert systems. You could for instance ask Khaldoun Zreik, who I believe is
also on this list, who will probably be able to give you lots of hints.

My 2 cents,

Jean

-----Message d'origine-----
De : PhD-Design - This list is for discussion of PhDs in Design
[mailto:[log in to unmask]]De la part de Kari-Hans Kommonen
Envoye : mercredi 12 fevrier 2003 22:51
A : [log in to unmask]
Objet : How engineers should think - as articulated by engineers?


Thank you all for the very interesting responses! I will look into them!


But let me still clarify a little though what I am looking for, and
maybe inspire some of you to tell about your experiences:


I have found many books, and this list has provided many
contributions, that describe in various ways what 'design' is and
'how designers think' and what are 'designerly ways' and so on.

One way to explain that is to compare it to something different.
Sometimes people explain 'design' as being something different than
'engineering' or 'science'. Or that usually new products (especially
computer-related ones) are developed in a 'technology driven' process
and that 'designers can bring in the human aspect' etc.

Many of these things I believe myself as well (to some extent, in
some circumstances, and related to certain types of design
approaches, supported by special competences and sensitivities), but
I am not sure whether those who are not designers, who do not share
with us a designer identity, feel so strongly about some alleged
special capabilities/characteristics of the designers.

Designers might in their own propaganda say that 'surely we are more
human centric/creative/sensitive/...(insert your own characterization
here) than for example engineers' or whatever. But engineers might
respond and say 'on what grounds?' Designers might then give a list
of 'characteristics' of engineers, but engineers could easily shoot
down or render irrelevant or ridiculous those arguments one by one.
If designers try to support some argument they are making about
themselves by contrasting that to their own description of what
engineers are, they are likely to only shoot themselves in the foot.


So, in order to better be able to describe what design is to
non-designers, and for certain reasons especially to engineers or
people who typically work mostly with engineers, I am trying to
understand what the engineers say about their own
identity/nature/work/competences. Not in order to compete/argue with
the engineers, but to illustrate the complementary nature of the two
approaches and their likely contributions. Like Lubomir says, it is
part of the search for common language.

So instead of the 'designer view of engineering', or 'engineering
idea of design', or 'design in engineering', I am especially
interested in the idea of an 'engineer identity' and the concrete
manifestations of this in the engineering practice and its education.
What kinds of decisions, judgements, choices, plans of action, are
engineers *typically* - even stereotypically but not in irony -
encouraged to do by their teachers, experienced colleagues, etc. that
try to teach or relay the 'essence' of specifically being an engineer?


As a fact, at least the education of designers in our art and design
university and the education of the engineers in the nearby technical
university are very different. Why was the engineering one designed
that way? What kinds of differences do these two systems induce in
the minds, ways of thinking, practices of those people that go
through the process?


So - I am looking for an articulation of the 'engineer identity' or
the 'engineer's way' *by* engineers...


cheers, kh