Design Methods, Techniques, and Organizational Models
One method is a set of successive operations or recommendations that seek to obtain a result. A method for designing involves several stages leading to the understanding of the nature of the problem, generating possible proposals to solve it, conceptual work, and implementation.
Why Use a Method?
- Economic reasons: To provide tangible results, meet deadlines, and optimize resources.
- Human reasons: To improve human performance. Knowing the meaning of work and specific tasks in the process creates a positive correlation in effort and time.
- Historical reasons: Design requires a return on invested capital. Professionals are asked to provide answers supported by logical arguments, not just design ingenuity. Success depends not only on design but also on planning, delivery, and monitoring.
Activities of Design
Design activities include:
- Acquisition of customers and orders
- Research of needs and market demands
- Product design specifications
- Generation of ideas
- Screening of ideas
- Definition of alternatives
- Evaluation and selection of the solution
- Conceptual definition of the solution
- Detailed engineering design
- Prototyping
Design Techniques and Tools
Tools are resources that support physical design ideas, while procedural techniques are designed to improve the performance of the designer in the execution of a design activity and the quality of results of such activity. The usual tools of design are writing, drawing, calculation, files, printers, plotters, scanners, and CDs.
Classification of Techniques
The techniques are classified according to the nature of the problem on which they operate, thus obtaining the following main groups:
- Technical problem analysis: Interviews and questionnaires, visual and functional inconsistencies, seeking documentation.
- Solution techniques: Mental unlock, brainstorming, Synectics, functional analysis, morphological pictures.
- Evaluation techniques
- Reliability techniques
The Actors and Their Functions
- Address: Maximum liability in the project, establishing the method of work and managing the human, technical, and economic project partners. Has the authority to resolve issues that may arise in the development work.
- Planning and Control: Time schedule and economic activities that make up the design project, the enforcement of such activities.
- Creative Design: Function, design specifications, evaluation functions, and selection of alternatives (brings appropriate solutions to needs arising, from previously established requirements, both conceptual and detail).
- Technical Calculations: Responsible for solving technical and technological problems of projected quantified solutions.
- Budgets and Economic Studies: Develops economic reports for the project.
- Graphic Delineation and Modeling: Responsible for the preparation of the outlook, production drawings, computer graphics, and animations required for the project.
- Information: Entrusted with the task of documentation.
- Computer Systems: Head of the conception, implementation, standardization, security, and maintenance of computer systems used in the development of professional design activity.
- Administration: Provides administrative support to the project: internal and external communications, text, binding, cataloging, acquisitions, legal, accounting, tax and labor management, payments, charging, etc.
- Prototyping: Officer building physical prototypes used in the project.
Organizational Models
- Hierarchical Model: The roles, responsibilities, and chain of command of the various jobs are clearly defined, are stable according to the size and scope of the organization, and do not depend on a specific project to be developed at a given time.
- Adhocracy Model: The organization is made up “ad hoc”, i.e., about a goal or project. This involves: Management by objectives, the formation of teams for each end, the appointment of a project-manager-project leader to undertake the tasks of internal organization of the team.
- Divisional Organization: Features similar in concept to the hierarchical model but specialized by area of activity with a common purpose or business units.