Design processes sometimes begin with solutions rather than problems, particularly when new technologies spur searches for new problems to solve. Previous research on business entrepreneurship describes solution–first processes as a form of “opportunity recognition,” and proposes some strategies for finding technology “match” opportunities. However, few studies have addressed the design process of how to begin with novel technological solutions and identify problem applications. In this study, we investigated this process of solution mapping through an empirical study of engineering designers who had experience in successfully searching for a problem to fit their novel technological solutions. Through the analysis of qualitative interviews with 19 professional engineering designers, we identified stages and cognitive strategies in solution mapping.

设计过程有时始于解决方案，而不是问题，特别是在新技术刺激下寻求解决新问题时。先前有关企业企业家精神的研究将解决方案优先流程描述为“机会识别”的一种形式，并提出了一些寻找技术“匹配”机会的策略。但是，很少有研究涉及如何从新颖的技术解决方案开始并确定问题应用程序的设计过程。在这项研究中，我们调查了解决方案映射的过程通过对有经验的工程设计师的经验研究，他们成功地找到了适合其新颖技术解决方案的问题。通过对19位专业工程设计师进行的定性访谈分析，我们确定了解决方案映射中的阶段和认知策略。