Communication and design process planning: Initial insights from literature and industry interviews

Mark P. De Lessio*, David C. Wynn, P. John Clarkson

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Chapter in Book/Conference proceedings/Edited volumeConference contributionScientificpeer-review

Abstract

There is a complementary and bi-directional relationship between communication among design process participants and the planning activity in design. However, while often implied, this relationship is rarely discussed directly in the literature. This paper reports on the first year of a PhD research project to explore this relationship through an empirical study of engineering industry. We discuss the relationship between design planning and communication as revealed in the literature. This is supported by seven interviews with designers and managers in a range of companies and market sectors, between 1 and 3 hours in duration. The paper highlights the reciprocal relationship between how communication enhances the planning activity and how the planning activity enables communication. We discuss further work to explore this area through a survey to investigate how planning practice is conducted in industry. By better understanding the relationship between planning and communication in design, we hope to identify new directions for research into tools and methodologies to improve planning practice in industry.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationDS 58-1
Subtitle of host publicationProceedings of ICED 09, the 17th International Conference on Engineering Design
Pages583-594
Number of pages12
Publication statusPublished - 2009
Externally publishedYes
Event17th International Conference on Engineering Design, ICED 09 - San Francisco, CA, United States
Duration: 24 Aug 200927 Aug 2009

Publication series

NameDS 58-1: Proceedings of ICED 09, the 17th International Conference on Engineering Design
Volume1

Conference

Conference17th International Conference on Engineering Design, ICED 09
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CitySan Francisco, CA
Period24/08/0927/08/09

Keywords

  • Communication
  • Design Process Planning

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