MProvE - Validation of Methods in Product Development through Experiments – Development of a Procedural Model
Motivation
Validation of design methods is still a challenge in design research. Based on literature analysis and current discussions in the design community, it can be concluded that there is a need for an approach for validating design methods in product development. The goal of this project is to develop such an approach for design method validation.
The validation of methods in product development is still a challenge in method research for the design community. Current validation approaches are on an abstract level and of a strategic nature. There is still no concrete support in academic mid-level staff, with references for effective method validation. This need can be derived from the analysis of dissertations in which either no validation is recognizable or the validation is based on non-transparent documentation and thus the validation is neither objective nor reproducible. This shows the potential of support for method developers in practical method research, such as in dissertation projects.
Objective
The aim of the MProvE project is to develop an objective and reproducible process model for the validation of product development methods for the method developer. In particular, method developers should be given the opportunity to validate their methods in an academic context within a short period of time. The available resources should be used and the framework conditions of the method developer should be taken into account. The high effort and the uncertainties in connection with industrial studies should be taken into account and the process model should enable validation with less effort and fewer uncertainties in the academic environment. It is about newly developed methods but also about existing ones.
Solution Approach
The mentioned challenge can be solved by a process model that enables objective and reproducible validation. The process model is to be developed on the basis of two parallel research activities at the PKT and the cooperation partner, so that the research partners' different expertise, such as different data acquisition techniques, are taken into account.
Project Organisation
Principal Investigator: Prof. Dr.-Ing. Dieter Krause
Co-Investigator: Selin Üreten, M.Sc., M.A.
Relevant project publications can be found on the co-investigators website, see above.
Funding & Partners
This project started in 2020 and was granted three years funding by the German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft). The project is carried out in cooperation with Professor Dr.-Ing. Sven Matthiesen at the IPEK of the KIT. The project period runs from July 2020 to June 2023.
