Dear Ken,
I will be happy to respond when I am back from break but as it is it is 5:00
the day before I am leaving for a week and a half. Let me just say that the
collaboration of designers and engineers doesn't mean they use the same methods
and what may result in what an engineer considers a engineering-design
innovation and what a designer considers a design innovation may differ not
only in degrees but in substance, and methodology or approach has a significant
impact on what is possible.
Jan
Jan Coker
C3-10 Underdale Campus
University of South Australia
+61 8 8302 6919
"There is no way to peace, peace is the way"
Gandhi
-----Original Message-----
From: Ken Friedman [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Wednesday, 25 September 2002 1:09 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Design Methods [Question to Jan Coker].
Dear Jan,
As you will understand from reading my note to Charlotte, I quoted
Conall O Cathain on value analysis as a design method. While Conall
is expert on this issue and I am not, he was quite clear. He wrote,
"Value Analysis (called Value Engineering in USA) is an open-ended
creative design method. BMW have trained 2000 of their employees to
use it. (Is that their secret? every employee is a designer???)
"TRIZ, developed in the Soviet Union, far exceeds Value Analysis in
its capacity to make creative leaps, and in its philosophical basis.
It even facilitates technological forecasting.
"Both of these methods were developed for engineering design
applications, but have been - and continue to be - extended to other
softer areas" (2002: unpaged).
Product innovation in a large-scale industrial firm involves a rich
and extensive range of issues. To designers who have never worked in
large-scale industry or in engineering, a genuine innovation may look
like a simple product modification. While I am also out of my depth
on BMW, I know the engineers and automotive experts I know praise
this firm for innovative design and technology (which is also
designed) at every level.
I do know enough about industry in general to recognize that there
are many kinds of innovation. One innovation is the re-engineering of
a part to reshape the supply line. Another is the apparently minor
change - an adjustment to the uninformed eye - that is in reality a
marvel of structural adaptation. A third, particularly important kind
innovation brings no change at all to the product itself, while
reworking a process to reduce waste or improve the other parts of the
product. Then there is the car itself. Experts have convinced me that
BMW products offer significant innovative features along with the
modifications and adjustments that are natural to any complex product.
While Conall states that TRIZ goes further than value analysis for
creative leaps, he also states that both methods have been applied
successfully to fields outside engineering.
With TRIZ, we saw people evaluating the method without explaining the
issues that lead to their opinions. This is what Jan Verwijnen
occasionally criticizes as "position without discourse," and it makes
methods discussion uninformative.
You seem to know something about value analysis that I do not, I
would appreciate knowing why you "question whether value analysis
will result in design innovation" (Coker 2002:upaged).
I would be grateful if you would explain your position on value analysis.
Best regards,
Ken
Jan Coker wrote:
I would question whether value analysis will result in design
innovation. Perhaps product modification. Also questions of goals are
really important when referring to value analysis. Is the goal
cheaper, better, more effective, what?
References
Coker, Jan. 2002. "Subject: Re: Design Methods [Response to Charlotte
Magnusson]." PhD-Design List. Date: Wed, 25 Sep 2002 12:19:30 +0930
Friedman, Ken. 2002. "Subject: Design Methods [Response to Charlotte
Magnusson]." PhD-Design List. Date: Fri, 20 Sep 2002 16:40:01 +0200.
O Cathain, Conall. 2002. "Subject: anniversary of the conference on
design methods, 1962." DRS List. Date: Fri, 20 Sep 2002 11:08:21
+0100.
--
Ken Friedman, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Leadership and Strategic Design
Department of Leadership and Organization
Norwegian School of Management
Visiting Professor
Advanced Research Institute
School of Art and Design
Staffordshire University
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