ABSTRACT Two kinds of design ideation process may be distinguished in terms of the problems addressed: (i) solution-focused, i.e. generating solutions to address a fixed problem specifying a desired output; and (ii) exploratory, i.e. considering different interpretations of an open-ended problem and generating associated solutions. Existing systematic analysis approaches focus on the former; the literature is lacking such an approach for the latter. In this paper, we provide a means to systematically analyse exploratory ideation for the first time through a new approach: Analysis of Exploratory Design Ideation (AEDI). AEDI involves: (1) open-ended ideation tasks; (2) coding of explored problems and solutions from sketches; and (3) evaluating ideation performance based on coding. We applied AEDI to 812 concept sketches from 19 open-ended tasks completed during a neuroimaging study of 30 professional product design engineers. Results demonstrate that the approach provides: (i) consistent tasks that stimulate problem exploration; (ii) a reliable means of coding explored problems and solutions; and (iii) an appropriate way to rank/compare designers’ performance. AEDI enables the benefits of systematic analysis (e.g. greater comparability, replicability, and efficiency) to be realised in exploratory ideation research, and studies using open-ended problems more generally. Future improvements include increasing coding validity and reliability.

中文翻译：

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一种用于分析探索性设计构思的新系统方法

摘要 根据所解决的问题，可以区分两种设计构思过程：(i) 以解决方案为中心，即生成解决方案以解决指定所需输出的固定问题；(ii) 探索性的，即考虑对开放式问题的不同解释并生成相关解决方案。现有的系统分析方法侧重于前者；对于后者，文献缺乏这样的方法。在本文中，我们首次提供了一种通过新方法系统分析探索性构思的方法：探索性设计构思分析 (AEDI)。AEDI 涉及：（1）开放式构思任务；(2)从草图中探索的问题和解决方案的编码；(3)基于编码评估构思性能。我们将 AEDI 应用于 30 位专业产品设计工程师在神经影像学研究中完成的 19 项开放式任务的 812 幅概念草图。结果表明，该方法提供：（i）刺激问题探索的一致任务；(ii) 一种可靠的编码方式探索问题和解决方案；(iii) 对设计师的表现进行排名/比较的适当方法。AEDI 使系统分析的好处（例如更大的可比性、可复制性和效率）能够在探索性构思研究和更普遍地使用开放式问题的研究中实现。未来的改进包括提高编码的有效性和可靠性。(ii) 一种可靠的编码方式探索问题和解决方案；(iii) 对设计师的表现进行排名/比较的适当方法。AEDI 使系统分析的好处（例如更大的可比性、可复制性和效率）能够在探索性构思研究和更普遍地使用开放式问题的研究中实现。未来的改进包括提高编码的有效性和可靠性。(ii) 一种可靠的编码方式探索问题和解决方案；(iii) 对设计师的表现进行排名/比较的适当方法。AEDI 使系统分析的好处（例如更大的可比性、可复制性和效率）能够在探索性构思研究和更普遍地使用开放式问题的研究中实现。未来的改进包括提高编码的有效性和可靠性。