Dear Ken, Thomas, Ranjan et al
Research by large firms as well as by academics rarely reaches small
practitioners or competitors for that matter. General Motors, for example,
does a lot of design research that they treat as proprietary, John Deere
(the tractor maker) has done some wonderful research on the interactive
ergonomics of tractor driving and Black and Decker to name one company has
integrated design and manufacturing software in ways that should be taught
in design schools.
In my view, what is needed, is a multidisciplinary "best practices"
consortium such as is emerging in basic education that uncovers and
publishes effective research interpreted for application and sharing. DRS
needs to become more like ACM or even DMI which provide educational
resources as well as conferences to improve the field.
Best regards,
Chuck
On 1/4/07 2:27 AM, "Ken Friedman" <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Dear Colleagues,
>
> A quick thought comes to me as a post-script to my last note. This is the
> question of how we can shape (or reshape) design practice to generate a
> culture in which professional practitioners are interested in adapting and
> applying current research results -- and how we can create an approach to
> result results that makes our findings accessible and useful to
> professional practitioners.
>
> It is clear that designers and design firms are not often interested in
> following research developments in an environment where cash flow or
> immediate business opportunity is the main reason for design companies to
> adopt or adapt practices.
>
> It is equally clear that most research is inaccessible even to those who
> might want to use it. What appears in most conference proceedings is never
> used or quoted -- not even by us! Even journal articles tend to find little
> use among researchers. Why would professional practitioners want to take
> the time to follow, study, or use research material that researchers
> themselves do not use?
>
> There are many challenges here.
>
> Best regards,
>
> Ken
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