Abstract: The evolution of manufacturing systems toward Industry 4.0 and 5.0 paradigms has pushed the diffusion of Machine Learning (ML) in this field. As the number of articles using ML to support manufacturing functions is expanding tremendously, the main objective of this review article is to provide a comprehensive and updated overview of these applications. 114 journal articles have been collected, analysed, and classified in terms of supervision approaches, function, ML algorithm, data inputs and outputs, and application domain. The findings show the fragmentation of the field and that most of the ML-based systems address limited objectives. Some inputs and outputs of the analysed support tools are shared across the reviewed contributions, and their possible combinations have been outlined. The advantages, limitations, and research opportunities of ML support in manufacturing are discussed. The paper outlines that the excessive specialization of the reviewed applications could be overcome by increasing the diffusion of transfer learning in the manufacturing domain.

Keywords: artificial intelligence | Machine learning | manufacturing functions | process selection | quality control | state-of-the-art

Abstract: The controlled provision of stimuli during idea generation is considered effective to boost creativity in early design phases. As the interest for sustainable product development and circular design is growing, this paper represents a first attempt to explore the use of inspiration sources in sustainable design. The provision of stimuli ascribable to sustainability and the introduction of environmental objectives in design briefs were supposed to increase novelty and compliance with Circular Economy principles in generated ideas. A design experiment involving 34 junior designers was set up to the scope; the participants’ individual creativity was assessed too. The outcomes reveal that the sustainability clues present in stimuli and design briefs failed to increase the circularity and novelty of the generated ideas; the same applies to the combination of novelty and creativity. A role is seemingly played by individual creativity, although no significant effects could be demonstrated statistically. A possible reason for these results could be the spontaneous orientation of the youth toward sustainable principles, which makes the inclusion of environment-related hints unnecessary. While creative and sustainable design have not found a shared strategy despite the expected benefits, the use of stimuli was unsuccessful in this research to find a common ground.

Keywords: circularity | junior designers | Novelty | stimuli | sustainable development

Abstract: The Axiomatic Design (AD) instruments provide a valuable insight for qualitative design evaluation. After having defined the inputs and outputs for the designed system, one can quickly check if it is convenient for the user to address the outputs by the inputs. Thus, AD helps to evaluate the usability of the design or the user interface, although the user interface can be given much wider sense, evaluating the interactions of the design during manufacturing, installation and maintenance. At the same time Axiomatic Design has its restrictions of applicability, which we focus on here. First, AD only shows what design is good, but it provides less guidance on how to make a good/independent design from the existing structure. Second, AD covers the only case where the number of Design parameters is equal to the number of Function Requirements. Finally, AD assumes that the mapping from Design parameters (DPs) to Function Requirements (FRs) is static, whereas very often the influence of DPs on FRs is time-dependent and it also neglects possible valuable resource – the time. In the research these drawbacks have been addressed from Control/System Theory prospective. First of all, we reveal a formal procedure how to construct the independent design for a linear system when the number of DPs is equal to FRs; the idea is based on eigen-decomposition of a matrix. Then, we generalize AD with the time domain, thus making it possible to address dynamic systems and use all the operators of Control Theory. We show that a controller can be added for the system design to make it independent. Finally, we extend the definition of independence to the case where the number of FRs is not equal to the number of DPs.

Keywords: Axiomatic Design | Control Theory | Dynamic Axiomatic Design | Dynamic Systems

Abstract: This paper presents an image clustering algorithm that classifies parts to be fabricated using traditional and additive manufacturing (AM) technologies. The proposed algorithm is a MATLAB-based software tool that clusters 3D CAD models of parts considering their geometry only. The algorithm can classify image datasets, CAD datasets, and combined datasets that contain both images and CAD models. The software tool reduces the time and effort spent during process selection by offering a preselected set of parts that are more suitable for AM. The software tool is aimed at supporting decision-making for traditional manufacturing companies that consider expanding their production capability by introducing AM processes in their production facilities. The HICA software tool expands the scope of scientific applications in manufacturing process selection by providing an unsupervised approach that does not require data labelling. The tool is made available as a MATLAB function through a permanent link.

Keywords: Additive manufacturing | CAD | Hierarchical clustering | Image processing | MATLAB | Process selection | SolidWorks

Abstract: Sustainability evaluations are increasingly relevant in the design of products. Within sustainability-related frameworks, circular economy (CE) has gained attention in the last few years, and this has vastly affected design, leading, for example, to design for circularity. This article deals with the wide range of product-level CE assessment tools, out of which some are applied to a case study from the building sector, namely a tiny house made with hemp bricks. Attention was specifically paid to those methods through which a single circularity indicator could be extrapolated. Overall, the objective of this work is to study the convergence of existing CE assessment methods in providing consistent circularity performances. The results show similarities in the overall circularity scores despite differences in the variables used to achieve that final score. Thus, despite the lack of standard methods, the results suggest that many of these tools are sufficiently interchangeable, also in consideration of consistent indications to improve the circularity of the tiny house. This means that consistent inputs are provided to anyone willing to redesign the tiny house with the objective of making it more circular irrespective of the assessment tool used.

Keywords: Circular economy | Eco-design | Impact assessment | Indicator | Product design | Product lifetime

Abstract: This work investigated the impact and piercing load resistance (energy absorption capabilities) of 3D-printed composites plates manufactured by means of the Fused-Filament-Fabrication (FFF) technique. Two sets of reinforced composite plates were produced. The first set of plates was printed with short-carbon-fiber-reinforced polyamide-12, while the second set was reinforced with continuous fibers. The plates were tested with quasi-static indentation tests at various Span-to-Punch ratios and with three different indenter nose shapes (blunt, hemispherical, and conical). The quasi-static measurements were subsequently elaborated to estimate the energy absorption capability of the plates during a ballistic impact. The addition of continuous fibers increased the quasi-static energy absorption capability by 20–185% with respect to the short-fiber-reinforced plates. The quasi-static results showed that by including the continuous reinforcement in the plates, the normalized energy absorbed increased by an order of magnitude. Finally, a comparison with data from the literature concerning continuous-reinforced composite plates manufactured by means of traditional techniques was carried out. The comparison revealed that FFF-printed composite plates can compete with traditional composite ones in terms of both ballistic and quasi-static penetrating load conditions, even if limited by the lower fiber volume fraction. Thus, these findings confirm that this novel Additive Manufacturing technique is promising and worth investigating further.

Keywords: Additive Manufacturing | composite plate | continuous fibers | Fused-Filament-Fabrication | impact | quasi-static indentation test | short fibers

Abstract: Radical technological innovations are emerging in response to environmental, economic and geopolitical pressures. This affects how we design and manufacture new solutions. Additive manufacturing, one of the enabling technologies of the digital transition, can support more-sustainable manufacturing processes if developed through a system-level approach. In this Perspective, we adopt such an approach: we propose to use established sustainable design methods to innovate additive manufacturing systems and to consider how to make additive manufacturing an enabler of sustainable design in combination with conventional manufacturing. We then discuss how to implement our vision to enable additive manufacturing for sustainability

Abstract: This study explores the interplay between internal factors (e.g. personal values) and external factors (e.g. product framing and representation form) in shaping user perceptions, attitudes and behaviours towards products. A between-participants experiment (N = 52) was designed using deliberately an iconic product (Haribo gummy bears) to be presented either as image or a tangible item, as well as framed either positively or negatively. The aim is to examine the impact of these manipulated internal and external factors on users’ evaluations and their subsequent behaviour. The effects of framing, and markedly negative framing, were considerably larger than those of forms of representations, whose role was limited for the studied product. However, the effect of framing on evaluations is amplified after interacting with the real product. Despite its significance, negative product framing cannot change behaviour as much as user personal values. These insights suggest designers pay attention to how products are portrayed to potential users. Particular attention should be paid to aligning products with the personal values of the target users since this turned as the main determinant for product appreciation. Hence, this research urges designers to pay attention to the fact that products have to resonate with users so to enhance their acceptance.

Keywords: negative framing | positive framing | Product evaluation | representation form | user behaviour

Abstract: Machine vision systems for automatic defect detection commonly adopt 2D image-based systems or 3D laser triangulation systems. 2D and 3D systems present opposite advantages and disadvantages depending on the typology and position of defects to be detected. When the variety of defects is large, none of them performs defect detection accurately. To overcome this limitation, this paper illustrates a hybrid Deep Learning-supported system where the 2D- and 3D-generated data are juxtaposed and analyzed contextually. Anomaly scores are subsequently determined to distinguish suitable and uncompliant parts. The implementation of the hybrid system allowed the identification of defective parts in an aluminium die-cast component with an accuracy concerning true positives of over 95% by comparing the system outputs with human defect detection. The inspection time was reduced by approximately 20% if compared, once again, with the same activities performed by humans.

Keywords: deep learning | high-pressure die-casting | hybrid 2D and 3D system | machine vision systems | Surface defects analysis

Abstract: The role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in design is clearly growing. One of the tenets of the paper is that stimulation could be among the design processes mostly benefitting from the introduction of AI. Available contributions have been reviewed to understand the current support AI can give in design inspiration and ideation. We also reflected on what AI should and ahould not do in the future: a framework is proposed. Based on the reviewed contributions, in no case, AI is seen as a substitute of designers. Most contributions originate from the IT domain and have a demonstrative purpose.

Keywords: artificial intelligence (AI) | design process | human behaviour | inspiration | review

Abstract: n the design literature, creativity of products is recognized as a combination of novelty and usefulness. However, this mainly applies to the engineering field and within a community of experts. This study investigates how ordinary people understand creativity embodied in products. In an experiment with 70+ participants, 8 products and 5 metrics were dealt with. Novelty resulted as the main predictor of creativity. Usefulness turned to play a minor effect on perceived creativity. It emerged that usefulness has to make ordinary people like a specific product in order to link it to creativity.

Keywords: creativity assessment | design creativity | novelty | ordinary people | product design

Abstract: Nowadays, relevant design challenges include the need to use sustainable materials that allow designing products with a lower environmental impact. The construction sector is currently undergoing a slow but continuous change towards the use of sustainable materials. One of the most generalized methods for assessing sustainability is the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), which aims to analyze and compare product alternatives to minimize the environmental impact of a product or a process. In this work, the LCA method has been applied to a mobile tiny house prototype built with sustainable materials, such as hemp bricks or wood. The ISO 14040 and the EN 15804 standards were followed. The life stages calculated are hemp cultivation and processing, production of the hemp brick, construction of the tiny house and transportation. The results show that the most significant impact comes from the production of titanium sheet metal, wood, bricks, and the transport of raw materials. The results suggest that hemp bricks are a sustainable alternative, but they need to be combined with the right manufacturing and transportation processes. This research offers insights into how to introduce sustainability in the building sector through early design decisions, such as the selection of materials

Keywords: Biomaterials | Life Cycle Assessment | Sustainable design | Tiny house

Abstract: The building design sector can benefit from the new opportunities offered by studies investigating people’s perception of urban and architectural spaces. It emerges from the literature that certain elements of environment settings and buildings such as edges, landmarks and materials can affect perception. However, their impact on people’s visual perception is still unclear, also because of the difficulty to report consciously what has been experienced. Technologies and tools such as mobile eye tracking (ET) give a chance to get insights into visual behaviors in real environments. In this work, the authors had the chance to conduct an experiment, where ET was used in a physical space of a tiny house prototype, which was the result of a research-industry cooperation project about real-world laboratories. An experimental activity involved 26 volunteers, who were asked to visit and freely observe the interior of the tiny house wearing ET glasses and fill in an evaluation questionnaire at the end of the visit. The first-view experience recordings of each visit of the tiny house were thereafter processed to acquire data to be put in relation with questionnaires’ outcomes. Preliminary statistical analysis showed potential relationships between areas of interest (AOIs), namely distinguishable elements of the tiny house, data, and evaluations. The time spent on some AOIs positively or negatively affected the evaluation reported by the questionnaire. It is also worth noting that, surprisingly, some AOIs deemed to be secondary affected the questionnaire ratings more significantly than the core qualities of the tiny house

Keywords: Buildings | Design | Eye tracking | Sustainability | User perception

Abstract: In marketing, the need to make products’ packages as much attractive as possible is generally acknowledged as one of the leading assets. However, art designers also aim to surprise people and often break previous assumptions. In 2020, Kunel Gaur has produced a series of “dystopian” images of globally famous brands, by following the principles of minimal design. Although the images clearly contrasted biological principles, they obtained positive to enthusiastic comments from other designers. The present work is aimed at evaluating whether designers’ judgement is congruent to other people’s perception. Participants were recruited among students in three university faculties to represent these perspectives: designers, marketers and common customers. They compared 50 images produced by the artist. The results showed that designers were more likely to prefer the innovative design and the traditional packaging, while the other two groups appreciated the traditional packaging. Education in a certain domain emerged as significant effect for design skills only, indicating that this skill depends on learning, while both people’s preference and field of study may be influenced by common personal factors, not dependent on learning. Although these findings may not be generalized, they show that the perception of innovative product packaging in designers is different from other perspectives.

Keywords: Customers | Design | Graphic packaging | Marketing | Perception

Abstract: User experience (UX) application in the practice of engineering and product design is still limited. The present paper provides insights into research on UX design and recommendations for design practitioners by pointing out common criticalities. These outcomes are achieved through a literature review on how UX relates to design. First, issues in benefitting from UX understanding in design are identified with a specific focus on theoretical contributions. Second, experimental papers investigating UX and design are analysed in relation to previously identified issues. Although issues are present to some extent in all the contributions, the empirical studies dealing with UX in design are overall valid. The results highlight UX's support in revealing design requirements, but its capability of steering design processes is arguable, as concrete guidelines for practitioners are not well described. Based on identified issues, the authors propose a checklist to make UX studies in design more reliable and their outcomes more comparable.

Keywords: best practices | design process | user experience | UX applications | UX issues

Abstract: Manufacturing process (MP) selection systems require a large amount of labelled data, typically not provided as design outputs. This issue is made more severe with the continuous development of Additive Manufacturing systems, which can be increasingly used to substitute traditional manufacturing technologies. The objective of this paper is to investigate the application of image processing for classifying MPs in an unsupervised approach. To this scope, k-means and hierarchical clustering algorithms are applied to an unlabelled image dataset. The input dataset is constructed from freely accessible web databases and consists of twenty randomly selected CAD models and corresponding images of machine elements: 35% additively manufactured parts and 65% manufactured with traditional manufacturing technologies. The input images are pre-processed to have the same colour and size. The k-means and hierarchical clustering algorithms reported 65% and 60% accuracy, respectively. The algorithms show comparable performance, however, the k-means algorithm failed to predict the correct subdivisions. The research shows promising potential for MP classification and image processing applications.

Keywords: Additive Manufacturing | Computer Aided Design (CAD) | Image Processing | Machine learning | Unsupervised Learning

Abstract: Product development stages are typically characterized by different forms of representations and degrees of specification, which potentially affect user's perception and evaluation. These effects are worth investigating more closely also because of the growing relevance of new technologies such as Virtual Reality (VR) in the design field. The objective of this paper is to elucidate the mutual relations between forms of representation, visual behaviour, and people's evaluations. The focus is on differences between virtual and physical prototypes. In the illustrated experiment, participants visited a tiny house in an immersive VR (360° images acquisition). The results were compared with a past experiment where the physical prototype of the same product was similarly evaluated. The dwell times on Areas of Interest (AOIs) pertaining to the tiny house were compared and correlated to variables concerning subjective evaluations. The results show just a few similarities of visual exploration in terms of gazed AOIs. Substantial differences in terms of how the duration of gazing affects evaluations have been found too. The larger number of significant correlations between observations and evaluations in the virtual exploration emerged.

Keywords: Case study | Evaluation | Prototype | Representation form | Virtual reality

Abstract: Since its inception, research on design methods has encompassed a number of objectives and fields. In this fragmentary and evolving landscape, a reflection was apparently needed on the chance to provide a general framework and understand the progress (if any) towards a unified and domain-independent design theory and methodology. The issue was discussed by the authors, among the others, during a workshop organized by the Society of Design and Process Science. The paper reports the most important points that emerged in the debate, which was kicked off by panellists' talks providing different perspectives on domain-independent design and the adoption of design methods by industry and practitioners. The discussion highlighted the relevance of design education, individual factors, as well as the role of designers in nowadays' changing world. A major take-away from the workshop is the forecast that, in the foreseeable future, a shared design knowledge will be developed, but this will be juxtaposed by peculiar and bespoke design practices.

Keywords: design domains | design education | design methods | industry | Universal design

Abstract: The rapid development of production methods and the introduction of additive manufacturing (AM) technologies have increased the design freedom and availability of unlabeled data. Typically, manufacturing process selection requires a large amount of labeled data which is expensive and difficult to reach. This is more critical with the continuous improvement of AM systems, which can be increasingly used to substitute traditional manufacturing technologies. Implementing unsupervised learning into manufacturing process selection and classification is beneficial since unsupervised learning uses unlabeled data. Hence, this paper aims to differentiate parts to be fabricated favorably by means of additive or traditional manufacturing technologies using image processing and unsupervised learning. The input image dataset is constructed from freely accessible web databases in which forty CAD (computer-aided design) models are available. The corresponding images of CAD models are extracted using the SOLIDWORKS 2022 software, where 42.50% are AM-ed, and the remaining are chosen from traditionally manufactured parts. The hierarchical clustering algorithm reported 87.50% accuracy, showing promising potential for manufacturing process classification and image processing applications.

Keywords: hierarchical clustering | image processing | machine learning | manufacturing process selection | unsupervised learning

Abstract: This study examines the perception of cognitive fluency of products in accordance with the Fluency Amplification Model. An experiment was conducted to compare the differences in product evaluations between two types of product representations, a tangible product and an image thereof, each assigned to a different group of participants. The results showed that although there were no significant differences between the image and real product groups, the “image” group exhibited a higher mean value for a greater number of variables, with the “real object” group having fewer variables with a higher discrepancy in mean values. The results suggest that individuals tend to have a stronger perception of the product after physically interacting with it rather than simply observing its image. The image appeared to increase fluency in affective aspects, while the real product appears to increase fluency in cognitive aspects. These findings provide a promising direction for future research to further investigate the comparison of designs’ representation forms on perception fluency.

Keywords: Cognitive experience | Fluency perception | Product evaluation | Representation forms

Abstract: Digital technologies play a critical role in enhancing the safety operations, quality, and time management of projects. The building industry has been slower than other sectors to implement digital technologies. On the other hand, life cycle thinking, and sustainable awareness have become increasingly significant concepts. This literature-based research investigates the diffusion of digital technologies in the building sector in the context of their relationship with life cycle assessment (LCA) and other environmental assessment methods. The study examines an extensive database of 800 scientific documents. The findings reveal that Building Information Modelling (BIM) and 3D printing are the most diffused technologies used in conjunction with supporting the environmental assessment or evaluating the impact of the technologies in sustainability-related terms. Despite their expectedly large utilization in the building sector, the application and evaluation of some digital technologies are rarely reported. The study reveals that the end-of-life stage of buildings is associated with the smallest amount of evaluation examples in the examined papers. The integration of the life cycle thinking into approaches foreseeing the use of these technologies can provide significant advantages in terms of separation, recycling and disposal roots for the construction and demolition waste.

Keywords: Building industry | Digital technologies | Sustainability assessment

Abstract: Experience and evaluation research on sustainable products’ design is increasingly sup-ported by eye-tracking tools. In particular, many studies have investigated the effect of gazing at or fixating on Areas of Interest on products’ evaluations, and in a number of cases, they have inferred the critical graphical elements leading to the preference of sustainable products. This paper is motivated by the lack of generalizability of the results of these studies, which have predominantly targeted specific products and Areas of Interest. In addition, it has also been overlooked that the observation of some Areas of Interest, despite not specifically targeting sustainable aspects, can lead consumers to prefer or appreciate sustainable products in any case. Furthermore, it has to be noted that sustainable products can be recognized based on their design (shape, material, lack of waste generated) and/or, more diffusedly, information clearly delivered on packaging and in advertising. With reference to the latter, this paper collected and classified Areas of Interest dealt with in past studies, markedly in eco-design and green consumption, and characterized by their potential generalizability. Specifically, the identified classes of Areas of Interest are not peculiar to specific products or economic sectors. These classes were further distinguished into “Content”, i.e., the quality aspect they intend to high-light, and “Form”, i.e., the graphical element used as a form of communication. This framework of Areas of Interest is the major contribution of the paper. Such a framework is needed to study regularities across multiple product categories in terms of how the observation of Areas of Interest leads to product appreciation and value perception. In addition, the potential significant differences between sustainable and commonplace products can be better investigated.

Keywords: areas of interest | brand | eco-design | eco-labels | eye tracking | green consumption | product description | sustainable products | value perception

Abstract: Sustainability-related information affects people’s choices and evaluation. The literature has made significant efforts to understand the best ways of delivering this kind of information to shape consumer behavior. However, while most studies have focused on packaged products and direct information provided through eco-labels, preferences could be formed differently in other design domains. The paper investigates the effect of the perceived amount of indirect information on the evaluation of an architectural artefact. A sample of 172 participants visited a locally produced mobile tiny house, made with a considerable amount of sustainable materials. The same participants answered a questionnaire about their perceived knowledge, quality, appropriateness and sustainability of the tiny house. The general level of knowledge of the tiny house was used as a proxy of the amount of indirect information received. Although the knowledge of the tiny house was generally low, ratings regarding the other dimensions were overall extremely positive. In particular, no evident relation was found between knowledge of the tiny house and sustainability, while the latter is significantly linked to quality aspects. These outcomes deviate from the evidence from other studies; this might be due to indirect vs. direct information and the peculiarity of the study carried out in the field of buildings. The gathered demographic and background data of the participants make it possible to highlight the role played by gender and age in affecting the evaluations, but the absence of a significant impact of experience in the field, education and origin. The results are compared with findings related to the evaluation of sustainable products and green buildings in particular.

Keywords: awareness | background | buildings | consumer behavior | eco-design | indirect information | sustainability

Abstract: This exploratory work aims to understand which elements of a building mostly attract visitors' attention. An experiment was conducted to allow participants to visit a prototype tiny house while wearing eye-tracking glasses. Identified gazed elements of the prototype were selected and the corresponding dwell times used as variables. The limited dwell times on structural elements show that they can be easily overshadowed by other features present in the building. This leads to a design problem when the novelty and the quality of a new product, markedly a building, reside in the materials used.

Keywords: architectural design | eye tracking | human-centred design | interaction design

Abstract: Additive Manufacturing (AM) has become an established discipline in both research and education. However, to achieve its full potential AM requires a step-change in design thinking, which makes Design for AM (DfAM) education and training crucial. This paper reports results from the first attempt to investigate the uptake of DfAM in higher education. This research required the development and administration of an articulated online survey, in which educators worldwide who teach AM and DfAM have participated. The results show that DfAM is taught in a considerable number of courses. However, the survey revealed that DfAM is seldom recognised as a distinct course or topic and the relevance attributed and proportion of teaching dedicated to DfAM within wider AM is typically marginal. DfAM is being mostly taught in North America and Europe and is also typically taught in institutions that are research active in AM or specifically DfAM, suggesting the subject has not yet reached maturity or diffusion into mainstream design and engineering curricula. It was interesting to find that currently, the contents of courses do not differ significantly between engineering and design programmes.

Keywords: 3D printing | design education | Design for Additive Manufacturing | survey

Abstract: Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to analyze theory of inventive problem-solving (TRIZ) in terms of knowledge, skill, workload and affect to understand its effectiveness in enabling designers to achieve their optimized mental performance. Design/methodology/approach: TASKS framework, which aims to capture the causal relations among Task workload, affect, skills, knowledge and mental stress, is adopted as our methodology. The framework supports the analysis of how a methodology influence designer’s affect, skills, knowledge and workload. TRIZ-related publications are assessed using the TASKS framework to identify the barriers and enablers in TRIZ-supported design. Findings: TRIZ has limitations on its logic and tools. Nevertheless, it could create a beneficial impact on mental performance of designers. Originality/value: This paper provides a theory-driven TRIZ usability analysis based on the materials in the literature following the TASKS framework. The impact of TRIZ, as an enabler or a barrier, has been analyzed in accomplishing a design task.

Keywords: Mental effort | Mental stress | TASKS framework | TRIZ | Usability

Abstract: The diffusion of Fab Labs and the continuous development of Additive Manufacturing technologies are undoubtedly two relevant phenomena nowadays. The former fuels the latter and vice versa, but their mutual relationship has not been systematically explored so far. This paper presents an exploratory study based on a survey, in which various aspects of the use of 3D printers in Fab Labs are investigated. The results show how different scales of Fab Labs are present in terms of investments made in 3D printing, as well as work purposes are not negligible for many attendees. In addition, the outcomes of the survey show that 3D printers are considered easy to use, as well as manufactured parts are deemed satisfactory. Despite this, there are still some barriers to boosting the market of domestic 3D printers for Fab Lab visitors.

Keywords: 3D printers | CAD | Design for Additive Manufacturing | Fab Labs | Skills

Abstract: User Experience (UX) is a concept based on the human-product interaction. An increase of UX studies in the Human-Computer interaction (HCI) field was observed in the last decade. Empirical studies based their experimental activity on HCI products, which are characterized by two components: Software and intangible (digital interfaces and web apps) and Hardware and physical (devices). Trough an explorative study, the authors propose a research direction to compares UX studies targeting software and hardware components of HCI products. A preliminary sample of papers was considered. The authors collected contributions where UX in HCI design is investigated through case studies involving devices with software and hardware components. Objectives, methods, and tools of each case study were compared. It emerged that complex systems require both quantitative and qualitative analysis approaches, as the wide variety of tools for data acquisition and processing show. Since Hardware components are more closely related to products such as consumer goods and engineering products, it is possible that methods and tools used to study hardware components could also be applicable to other physical and tangible products, i.e., the main reference for product, engineering, and mechanical design.

Keywords: Hardware | HCI design | Intangible | Software | Tangible | User experience

Abstract: Advancement in the production industry moves towards automation due to an increase in demand. Artificial intelligence (AI) has been introduced in industrial applications to this scope. With the help of AI, industrial applications become more efficient, accurate, and adaptive. Machine learning (ML) is a branch of AI and a popular tool for the improvement of the industrial operations. Many believe that it is a suitable tool for the evolution of traditional manufacturing systems into Industry 4.0. Top manufacturing companies started to use ML to enhance their applications in production. The main objective of this research is to present a classification framework for the use of ML in design and manufacturing. The proposed framework includes four steps: design, material selection, testing, and decision-making steps. The classification framework methodology is validated with examples from the available literature. The framework highlights the areas most supported by ML in manufacturing and presents their potential integration as an open issue.

Keywords: AI | Classification framework | Design | Machine learning | Manufacturing

Abstract: Qualitative and quantitative analysis of surface defects on aluminum die-cast parts is important for both quality assurance and process monitoring. In addition to the functionality and durability of the parts, the appearance of a die-cast component can be of crucial importance during the inspection of incoming goods by customers in order to ensure their functionality. Nowadays, many of the detection operations of surface defects are performed by specialized operators, but this approach is far from being sustainable for high production rates. In this context, research has focused on machine vision systems for automatic defect detection based on artificial intelligence (AI) and artificial neural networks. However, several obstacles have so far hindered a full-scale application of these intelligent systems. Images of the aluminum surface can contain a large amount of noise due to surface reflectivity and, in addition, vibrations, improper/variable ambient lighting can make automatic analysis of surface defects, which usually have an irregular shape, very difficult. This led to combining the potential of 3D scanning and measuring systems with 2D machine vision as an acquisition technology to detect surface defects. Nevertheless, the two acquisition processes present strengths and weaknesses, which mostly depend on geometrical aspects of the parts to be detected. The present paper illustrates a first attempt to combine the mentioned 2D and 3D systems into an industrial production environment. The paper presents the developed system to allow multiple acquisitions and explains how these sources of information are fed to an AI system.

Keywords: Artificial intelligence | Deep learning | High-pressure die-casting | Machine vision systems | Quality control | Surface defects analysis

Abstract: Despite the large diffusion of additive manufacturing, and markedly fused filament fabrication, some quality aspects of the 3D printed parts have not been dealt with sufficiently. This applies particularly to geometric accuracy and the influence process parameters have on it. The paper describes an experiment in which 27 copies of a part were manufactured by means of a desktop fused filament fabrication device while manipulating layer thickness, printing speed, and number of contours. The effect of such process parameters on five typologies of geometric deviations and the duration of the printing process was assessed. While all the process parameters showed effects on both the printing time and some geometric deviations, the number of contours resulted as the most critical factor. The paper includes a proposal to optimize geometric accuracy and the rapidity of the process, which foresees the maximization of the number of contours, the minimization of the layer thickness, and the use of an intermediate value for printing speed.

Keywords: Coordinate measuring machine | Engineering design | Fused deposition modelling | Geometric tolerances | Process parameters | Rapid prototyping

Abstract: Editorial for the Special Issue “Requirements in Design Processes: Open Issues, Relevance and Implications”

Abstract: Eco-designed products can contribute to sustainable development if consumers choose them rather than the less environmentally friendly alternatives and if they are used properly. How-ever, eco-design methods have so far failed to address the issue of unsustainable behaviors, whose sources have not been recognized. In light of this deficiency, the authors have analyzed a large number of eco-designed products with the aim to capture the possible unsustainable behaviors arising from their use and consumption. The subsequent characterization of unsustainable behaviors has led to the creation of a framework of unsustainable behaviors, which has been subjected to the evaluation of a pool of experts in the field. In its final version, the framework includes nine classes of unsustainable behaviors, which are categorized into the corresponding product lifecycle phases (purchase, use, end of life), and different kinds of undesired effects (harmful, insufficient, excessive) based on the TRIZ-oriented functional analysis. The classes, whose significance has been checked in the literature, include frequent causes of unsustainable behaviors and corresponding examples. Through the framework, designers can take into due account the possible circumstances that would prevent their developed products from being prone to unsustainable behaviors. In a future step, the classes of unsustainable behaviors are to be linked with indications arising from Design for Sustainable Behavior.

Keywords: Design for sustainable behavior | Design requirements | Design strategies | Eco-design | Product development | Product lifecycle | TRIZ | Unsustainable behaviors

Abstract: The term User Experience (UX) was introduced to define the dynamics of the human-product interaction, and it was thought that design would have been a main recipient of UX research. However, it can be claimed that the outcomes of UX studies were not seamlessly transferred into design research and practice. Among the possible reasons, this paper addresses the fragmentary knowledge ascribable to the field of UX. The authors reviewed the literature analyzing the conceptual contributions that interpret UX, proposing definitions and/or a theoretical framework. This allowed the authors to provide an overview of recurring elements of UX, highlighting their relationships and affecting factors. This research aims to clarify the overall understanding of UX, along with its key components (the user, interaction, the system, and context) and dimensions (ergonomic, affective, and the cognitive experiences). The authors built a semantic construction inspired by the structure of a grammatical sentence to highlight the relationship between those components. Therefore, UX is defined by a subject/user who performs an action-interaction towards an object-system. A complement-context better defines the condition(s) where the action-interaction takes place. This work is expected to lay the foundations for the understanding of approaches and methods employed in UX studies, especially in design.

Keywords: Semantic framework | User experience | UX | UX definitions | UX dimensions | UX fundamental elements | UX influence factors | UX studies

Abstract: Shortcomings in manufacturing companies’ capabilities to execute circular economy business modelling have delayed a broader dissemination of circular business models beyond the stage of pilot projects in niche markets. Circular economy poses additional uncertainties for innovation that are not common for manufacturing companies’ traditional activities and business as usual. To cope with such challenges, they lack systematised practices and proactive advice, which are scant in available literature and approaches. The paper presents the development of the tool Circular Economy Business Modelling Expert System within manufacturing companies, intended to address these limitations. Based on systematised business modelling practices for circular economy and proactive advice on potential circular business model configurations, the expert system enhances strategic thinking for circular economy, supporting companies to come up with varied alternative business models with reasonable and viable value propositions to deploy circular benefits accordingly. The expert system was streamlined based on literature review, development, testing and evaluation with 12 practitioners from 10 companies. The paper discusses the main functionalities of the expert system and the results of its application into varied manufacturing companies. The application of the expert system has demonstrated to benefit companies with: inspiration for best practices on circular business modelling, a structured framework for confirming assumptions and a logic structure that prompts decision-making and reduces uncertainties.

Keywords: business model | circular economy | innovation | sustainability | tool

Abstract: Although the circular economy (CE) concept is gaining traction and methods to assess companies’ CE-related aspects exist, there is no established CE assessment tool. In many cases, it is not clear how metrics or indicators included in extant CE assessment methods have been selected. To fill this gap, this paper presents a new instrument named Circularity and Maturity Firm-Level Assessment tool (CM-FLAT). The CM-FLAT has been developed starting from a transparent scientific basis, i.e., a recent systematic literature review and comprehensive collection of CE metrics. In addition, it targets the separate assessment of CE maturity, i.e., the presence of documented activities and practices laying the foundations for CE introduction, and circularity, i.e., attained CE-related performances. The development of the CM-FLAT has foreseen its formal evaluation by experts in the field of CE and sustainability, and its testing by a pilot group of companies from South Tyrol, Italy. The multiple verification activities have confirmed its usefulness and usability. Therefore, companies can now benefit from a tool capable of providing a comprehensive framework of factors and organizational areas affecting the introduction of the CE. This will be fostered by a computersupported tool implementing the CM-FLAT, which represents the authors’ future work.

Keywords: Circular economy assessment | Circular economy metrics | Circular value chain | Circularity | CM-FLAT | Maturity | Micro-level assessment

Abstract: With reference to assessing Circular Economy (CE) at the firm level, available literature reviews do not clarify what and how has to be actually assessed, while many assessment methods do not take into account the latest developments in the field. Furthermore, CE indicators are not explicitly linked to the firm's organizational functions involved in CE assessment. In order to address these issues and to favor practice-oriented CE assessments at the firm level, the present paper collects and analyses CE assessment indicators at their finest level of granularity, i.e. the CE metrics. By means of a systematic literature review, the work gathers insights from 130 documents belonging to scientific and practitioners’ literature, reviews existing CE metrics, and organizes them according to a new circular Value Chain framework. More in details, 365 different firm-level metrics have been identified and classified through said circular Value Chain framework, articulated into 23 categories. The vast majority of CE metrics are sufficiently general and applicable in assessment procedures irrespective of the firm size, the geographic location, the industrial domain and the selling strategy of the company. This aspect facilitates the fine-tuning of comprehensive CE assessment methods, which, as a result, can largely neglect contingency factors of the investigated firms. The framework and its categories help match CE metrics and organizational functions, thus facilitating the individuation of firms’ players involved in CE assessment. As the review highlights a remarkable fragmentation of current CE assessment models and diverging interpretations of CE's scopes, further implications on research and practice are discussed.

Keywords: Assessment | Circular Economy | Ecodesign | Metrics | Value Chain

Abstract: The concept of User Experience (UX) dates back to the 1990s, but a shared definition of UX is not available. As design integrates UX, different interpretations thereof can complicate the possibility to build upon previous literature and develop the field autonomously. Indeed, by analysing the literature, UX emerges as a cauldron of related and closely linked concepts. However, it is possible to find recurring attributes that emerge from those definitions, which are ascribable to two foci: the fundamental elements of the interaction (user, system, context) and typologies of experience (ergonomic, cognitive, and emotional). Those are used to build a framework. We have preliminarily investigated how UX is dealt with in design by mapping a sample of UX-related experimental articles published in design journals. We classified UX case studies based on the framework to individuate the UXs that emerge most frequently and the most studied ones in the design field. The two-focus framework allows the mapping of experiments involving UX in design, without highlighting specific favorable combinations. However, comprehensive studies dealing with all elements and UX typologies have not been found.

Keywords: Emotional design | Experience design | Framework | User centred design | User experience

Abstract: The concept of Design for Additive Manufacturing (DfAM) is gaining popularity along with AM, despite its scopes are not well established. In particular, in the last few years, DfAM methods have been intuitively subdivided into opportunistic and restrictive. This distinction is gaining traction despite a lack of formalization. In this context, the paper investigates experts' understanding of DfAM. In particular, the authors have targeted educators, as the perception of DfAM scopes in the future will likely depend on teachers' view. A bespoke survey has been launched, which has been answer by 100 worldwide-distributed respondents. The gathered data has undergone several analyses, markedly answers to open questions asking for individual definitions of DfAM, and evaluations of the pertinence of meanings and acceptations from the literature. The results show that the main DfAM aspects focused on by first standardization attempts have been targeted, especially products, processes, opportunities and constraints. Beyond opportunistic and restrictive nuances, DfAM different understandings are characterized by different extents of cognitive endeavor, convergence vs. divergence in the design process, theoretical vs. hands on approaches.

Keywords: Design for Additive Manufacturing (DfAM) | Design methods | Early design phases | Opportunistic DfAM | Restrictive DfAM

Abstract: The paper investigates to what extent the knowledge accumulated in the field of Bio-Inspired Design might benefit the process of biologicalisation in manufacturing. According to visions making inroads in the manufacturing field, the latter will not be limited to the consideration and the analysis of biological principles as a source of inspiration for solving technical and organizational problems. In fact, the process of biologicalisation in manufacturing foresees the development of bio-integrated and bio-intelligent systems. In light of these expected developments, Bio-Inspired Design’s might fail to support the whole transition to take place in the manufacturing field. Methodological limitations still to overcome represent an important barrier in this perspective too. While a transfer of knowledge from the design to the manufacturing domain seems unlikely, the authors individuate aspects that encourage cross-fertilization between Bio-Inspired Design and biologicalisation in manufacturing. These include the need to include biologists in engineering teams, the objective of sustainable development, and a shared attention to the evolution of (Design for) Additive Manufacturing.

Keywords: Bio-inspired design | Biomimetics, Industry 4.0, Additive Manufacturing, biologicalisation, Multi- | Cross- | Trans-disciplinary processes

Abstract: The terms that constitute Ideality in TRIZ are extremely appropriate to characterize the conflicting prerogatives of value/functionality, and environmental sustainability and human wellbeing. In a system perspective, the latter are mostly ascribable to harmful functions and consumption of resources. The paper introduces a classification of sustainable design initiatives based on the variations of the factors that contribute to Ideality. The classification urges designers to think of possible win-win solutions in which functionalities are not jeopardized by the search for more environmental-friendly solutions. Combining ideality and sustainability is a trigger towards making sustainable solutions more accepted, and, consequently, more effective in preserving the environment. In particular, the individuation of classes of sustainable design endeavors lay bare that the potential reduction of harmful effects is not a sufficient precondition to create sustainable products. Overall, TRIZ, along with its underlying theory and constructs, has proven to provide an effective key of reading for approaching the eco-design field in terms of the extent to which new products and solutions are promising.

Keywords: Eco-design | Ideality | Super-sustainability | TRIZ | Value

Abstract: Although TRIZ is widely acknowledged as a powerful aid to improve efficacy and efficiency of the creative design process, practitioners diffusedly experience difficulties in the selection of the most suitable tool. Such an issue represents a severe limitation in consideration of the large number of tools TRIZ offers. Here, Inventive Principles (IPs) are acknowledged as the most popular TRIZ technique, and their conjointly use with the Contradiction Matrix makes the selection of the appropriate IP a sufficiently supported task. However, the reliability of the Contradiction Matrix is often questioned and an agreement on a solid and reliable procedure for the selection of IPs is far from being reached. In such a context, the paper investigates the recurrence of IPs to solve contradictions, with reference to a classification framework that takes into consideration the nature of the problem to be solved and the technical-scientific domain it belongs to. The outcomes of the analysis reveal that leveraged IPs are considerably related with the technical-scientific domain and the nature of the problem to be solved. The found relationships are worth delving into and translating into selection guidelines.

Keywords: Creativity | Design process | Inventive principles | Problem-solving | TRIZ

Abstract: To support the transition to sustainable development, eco-design must lead to the development of products that provide additional value when compared to traditional products, ultimately resulting in market success. In this study, creativity principles are explored as leverage points for eco-design implementation, enhancing customer acceptance and market success. The authors have inferred ten eco-design guidelines, which aim to enhance success chances in the development of new products. The proposed guidelines were verified through eco-ideation session and experts’ evaluation. Results support the congruence of objectives between creativity, sustainability, success, and value creation in design. The guidelines represent a promising design tool to be further developed to pursue the objective of making eco-designed products more valuable and successful.

Keywords: design creativity | eco-design | Ideation | success | value perception

Abstract: On the one hand, many mechanical components manufactured through additive technologies are optimized in terms of stiffness/weight or strength/weight thanks to lattice structures. On the other hand, the high complexity of these components often impedes further finishing operations and, therefore, the fatigue strength can be compromised. The high surface to volume ratio together with the high roughness, typical of additive manufactured components, promote the crack nucleation. In this paper, the High-Cycle-Fatigue (HCF) behavior of the 17-4 PH stainless steel (SS) was characterized. Cylindrical samples, manufactured via Selective Laser Melting (SLM) with an EOS M280, were tested in the as-build condition through a STEPLab UD04 fatigue-testing machine. In particular, a preliminary quasi-static traction test was performed on a sample to obtain the yield strength (σY = 570 MPa) and the ultimate tensile strength (UTS = 1027 MPa). Fatigue tests were performed on samples at different stress levels in order to characterize the whole Stress-Number of cycles (S-N) curve (Wöhler diagram). More specifically, the stair-case method combined with the Dixon approach were exploited to calculate the fatigue limit (σF = 271 MPa). The obtained results were compared with those present in literature for the same material and they are coherent with previous researches.

Keywords: 17-4 PH | Additive manufacturing | HCF | SLM

Abstract: In this paper, the static and low-cycle-fatigue (LCF) behavior of wrought samples of 17-4 PH stainless steel (SS) manufactured via Selective Laser Melting (SLM) are presented. On the one hand, several scholars have studied SLM materials and literature reports a huge amount of data as for the high-cycle-fatigue (HCF) behavior. On the other hand, few are the data available on the LCF behavior of those materials. The aim of the present research is to provide reliable data for an as-build 17-4 PH steel manufactured via SLM techniques. Only with quantitative data, indeed, it is possible to exploit all the advantages that this technology can offer. In this regard, both quasi-static (QS) and low-cycle-fatigue tests were performed on Additive Manufacturing (AM) cylindrical samples. Through QS tests, the constitutive low has been defined. Strain-controlled fatigue tests on an electromechanical machine were performed on 12 samples designed according to the ASTM standard. Tests were continued also after the stabilization was reached (needed for the cyclic curve described with the Ramberg-Osgood equation) to obtain also the fatigue (ε-N) curve. Results show that the material has a softening behavior. The Basquin-Coffin-Manson (BCM) parameters were tuned on the basis of the ε-N combinations after rupture.

Keywords: 17-4 PH | Additive manufacturing | LCF | SLM

Abstract: The relationships between the creation of value for both the environment and consumers have been insightfully investigated by the authors in previous studies. The results achieved in these studies have allowed the authors to deduce some design recommendations and represent the basis for further analyses of the perception of eco-designed products through quantitative data. In this paper, a sample of indications intended to support designers in developing sustainable and successful products was fine-tuned. These indications, embodied in eco-design guidelines, have been partially deducted from the evidence that emerged in previous works and partially inferred through a specific elaboration of data regarding the value perception of eco-design strategies. The guidelines have been evaluated by (eco-)design practitioners, whose evaluation shows the high perceived relevance of the guidelines.

Keywords: Eco-design guidelines | Success | Value perception

Abstract: Idea generation is acknowledged to benefit from intentionally administered stimuli or designers’ processes that include the search for external sources of inspiration. Text-based and graphic forms of stimuli are the most leveraged in design literature, but it has not been yet demonstrated which form is most effective for boosting creativity. This is due to the fact that previous studies have employed many varying conditions which do not allow for comparisons to be made. The present paper presents an experiment in which three groups of 27 participants were asked to generate new ideas for new-borns’ outfits. To perform the task, the participants first considered five stimuli presented to them in one of the forms depending on which group the participants had been assigned to, i.e. textual, pictorial or combined (juxtaposition of the two). The stimuli were intended to share the semantic content, thus limiting potential bias due to different meanings. The outcomes of the experiment were evaluated in terms of creativity and non-obviousness. The presence of a pictorial dimension resulted in a significant increase in terms of rarity and non-obviousness of ideas, but did not affect quality, originality or quantity. The limited overlap among ideas emerging from the three forms suggests the potential value of developing design tools for idea generation that mix multiple forms of stimuli.

Keywords: analogical reasoning | creativity evaluation | Idea generation | inspiration

Abstract: The research on the use of virtual reality (VR) in the design domain has been conducted in a fragmentary way so far, and some misalignments have emerged among scholars. In particular, the actual support of VR in early design phases and the diffusion of practices involving VR in creative design stages are argued. In the present paper, we reviewed VR applications in design and categorized each of the collected 86 sources into multiple classes. These range from supported design functions to employed VR technologies and the use of systems complementing VR. The identified design functions include not only design activities traditionally supported by VR, such as 3D modelling, virtual prototyping, and product evaluation, but also co-design and design education beyond the early design phases. The possibility to support early design phases by means of VR is mirrored by the attention on products that involve an emotional dimension beyond functional aspects, which are particularly focused on in virtual assemblies and prototypes. Relevant matches between VR technologies and specific design functions have been individuated, although a clear separation between VR devices and supported design tasks cannot be claimed.

Keywords: 3D modelling | Co-design | Early design phases | Engineering design | Industrial design | Product design | Product evaluation | Technological development | Virtual prototyping | Virtual reality

Abstract: The study of surprising product features is crucial for designing products that potentially trigger attention and curiosity. Through a tailored questionnaire, this study gathered reactions from 100 respondents to solutions which were considered to be surprising. The data about surprise emergence and its modalities were processed using a situated FBS-based cognitive framework, shifted to the perspective of the user/observer. Data analysis shows that FBS variables and the related cognitive processes are suitable for describing similarities and differences in the reasoning path of users when surprise emerges. This confirms that individually pre-conceived expectations are crucial to surprise emergence and that these expectations relate to functional, behavioural or structural variables with similar mechanisms that depend on thinking processes triggered by product features.

Keywords: creativity | design cognition | design research | evaluation | user behaviour

Abstract: The market for agricultural machinery is characterized by products with a high degree of maturity in the product life cycle. Consequently, current improvements in new machinery are predominantly incremental and new projects basically use solutions that are already consolidated. This makes this domain appropriate for benchmarking existing systems and envisioning new value propositions. The present paper deals primarily with the former and uses the value curves as a means to structure the comparison among different families of technical systems; in particular, harvesting machines for shell fruits from the ground surface, e.g., chestnuts, walnuts, and hazelnuts, were investigated here. The process of building value curves requires the identification of currently fulfilled requirements. Despite the attention paid by engineering design research to requirements, a structured process is lacking to extract relevant information and create value curves or other representations useful for benchmarking. The present paper approaches this problem and presents how the authors have individuated relevant knowledge for characterizing different categories of harvesting machines. Namely, after an extensive search of the scientific literature and patents, a critical review of existing machines, aimed at individuating their functioning principles, architecture, and attitude in fulfilling specific design requirements, was performed. Then, existing machines were classified in 8 main categories, and their strengths and weaknesses were identified with reference to 11 competing factors. The consequent construction of value curves enabled the identification of possible points of intervention by hypothesizing possible future evolutions of such machinery, both in a structural and in a value-based perspective. Limitations about the repeatability of the followed approach and possible repercussions on design research are discussed.

Keywords: Agricultural equipment | Competing factors | Engineering design | Patent search | Requirements elicitation | Shell fruits-harvesting machines | Value curve

Abstract: The definition of a comprehensive initial set of engineering requirements is crucial to an effective and successful design process. To support engineering designers in this non-trivial task, well-acknowledged requirement checklists are available in literature, but their actual support is arguable. Indeed, engineering design tasks involve multifunctional systems, characterized by a complex map of requirements affecting different functions. Aiming at improving the support provided by common checklists, this paper proposes a structured tool capable of allocating different requirements to specific functions, and to discern between design wishes and demands. A first experiment of the tool enabled the extraction of useful information for future developments targeting the enhancement of the tool's efficacy. Indeed, although some advantages have been observed in terms of the number of proposed requirements, the presence of multiple functions led users (engineering students in this work) to useless repetitions of the same requirement. In addition, the use of the proposed tool resulted in increased perceived effort, which has been measured through the NASA Task Load Index method. These limitations constitute the starting point for planning future research and the mentioned enhancements, beyond representing a warning for scholars involved in systematizing the extraction and management of design requirements. Moreover, thanks to the robustness of the scientific approach used in this work, similar experiments can be repeated to obtain data with a more general validity, especially from industry.

Keywords: Conceptual design | Design specification | Engineering design | Product planning | Requirements

Abstract: Design is inherently affected by human-related factors and it is of no surprise that the fine-Tuning of instruments capable of measuring aspects of human behavior has attracted interest in the design field. The recalled instruments include a variety of devices that capture and quantitatively assess people's unintentional and unconscious reactions and that are generally referred as neurophysiological or biometric. The number of experimental applications of these instruments in design was extremely limited as of 2016, when Lohmeyer and Meboldt published a first report on relevant measures and their interpretation in design. In the last few years, the number of relevant publications has increased dramatically and this determines the opportunity to carry out a comprehensive review in the field. The reviewed contributions are analyzed and classified according to, among others, instruments used, the kind of stakeholders involved and the supported design research activities. The role of biometric measures with respect to traditional research methods is emphasized too. The discussed instruments can represent supports or substitutes for traditional approaches, as well as they are capable of exploring phenomena that could not be addressed hitherto. The intensity of research concerning experiments with biometric measurements is discussed too; a particular focus of the final discussion is the individuation of obstacles that prevent them from becoming commonplace in design research.

Keywords: Biometric versus traditional measures | design cognition | electroencephalography | eye-Tracking | product evaluation

Abstract: The paper offers insights into people's exploration of creative products shown on a computer screen within the overall task of capturing artifacts' original features and functions. In particular, the study presented here analyzes the effects of different forms of representations, i.e., static pictures and videos. While the relevance of changing stimuli's forms of representation is acknowledged in both engineering design and human-computer interaction, scarce attention has been paid to this issue hitherto when creative products are in play. Six creative products have been presented to twenty-eight subjects through either pictures or videos in an Eye-Tracking-supported experiment. The results show that major attention is paid by people to original product features and functional elements when products are displayed by means of videos. This aspect is of paramount importance, as original shapes, parts, or characteristics of creative products might be inconsistent with people's habits and cast doubts about their rationale and utility. In this sense, videos seemingly emphasize said original elements and likely lead to their explanation/resolution. Overall, the outcomes of the study strengthen the need to match appropriate forms of representation with different design stages in light of the needs for designs' evaluation and testing user experience.

Keywords: Areas of interest | Creative products | Eye-Tracking | Human-computer interaction | Images | User experience | Videos

Abstract: The fields of eco-design and design creativity have not found strategic synergies yet. This applies despite the fact that the paramount objective of eco-design, i.e. sustainable development, might benefit from the radical design changes creativity can engender. In parallel, those significant changes should also support the transformation of products towards designs that exhibit major success chances, which is still in line with the perspectives of sustainable development. The authors have developed ten guidelines to guide eco-design towards creative and successful outcomes and the present paper illustrates the first experimentation thereof. The results of the experiment show that the compliance with the guidelines determines a satisfactory trade-off between environmental friendliness and success chances, as well as fully increasing the novelty of ideas. The outcomes are however affected by a remarked misalignment between the views of the two evaluators, i.e. an industrial player and an academic expert in eco-design.

Keywords: Design creativity | Eco-design guidelines | Eco-ideation | Success

Abstract: This paper aims to create a conceptual map of problems and solutions concerning High Power Density Speed Reducers (HPDSRs), i.e. planetary gearboxes, cycloidal gears and harmonic drives. The existing designs of HPDSRs are explored and classified through the Problem Solution Network (PSN), i.e. a method based on the Network of Problems from the TRIZ base of knowledge that considers different levels of abstraction. Through the PSN, it was possible to highlight conceptual design differences and communalities among the various HPDSRs in order to clarify the working principles of existing solutions. HPDSRs carry out the speed reduction through components that perform planetary motions. Therefore, a first distinction has been made based on input and output motions. Cycloidal and harmonic solutions have as output the rotation motion of the planet while planetary gear trains have as output the revolution motion of the planetary pinion. A second classification has been made on the strategy for avoiding the secondary path of contact, i.e. the unwanted contact between two components outside of the expected contact area. Cycloidal solutions modify the tooth profile while harmonic solutions deform the planetary pinion. Further considerations have been made on multi-stage solutions that take into account differential principles to multiply the useful function.

Keywords: Conceptual design | Cycloidal gears | Harmonic drive | Planetary gearbox | Problem solution network | TRIZ

Abstract: Eco-Design Strategies lead to both enhanced environmental sustainability and product differentiation, which, however, takes place only if observers recognize and value these advantages. To study this aspect, a sample of 40 product pictures has been administered to 12 subjects with experience in eco-design. They were asked to evaluate whether one or more Eco-Design Strategies (in Vezzoli and Manzini's version) were implemented in each depicted product. The outcome of the evaluation was an overall fair agreement. Useful information for eco-design is inferred from nuances of the results.

Keywords: design evaluation | ecodesign strategies | product design | sustainable design

Abstract: The paper investigates the relationship between the forms through which products are represented and the outcomes of evaluations made by observers. In particular, the study focuses on perceived affordances of creative designs, meant as the capability of capturing original elements and corresponding functions, for products presented through static images or videos. Also thanks to the use of Eye Tracking, the experimental results show how dynamic effects that involve salient aspects of products, as well as creative features, are critical to observers' capability of capturing design intentions.

Keywords: design affordance | design creativity | design evaluation | forms of representation | product design

Abstract: A considerable part of the design literature focuses on creativity and puts forward means to enhance creativity. It is assumed that boosting creativity results in product improvements and benefits for many stakeholders, starting from the recipients of design deliverables. However, the actual outcomes of creative endeavors and, especially, creative products have never been assessed systematically. Within this overall goal, the present paper compares the results of two experiments in which the same participants were involved. Both experiments were meant to evaluate according to multiple dimensions couples of products, where an element of the pair was subjected to some variations. The experiments foresaw the use of eye-trackers to achieve additional behavioral information. As creativity or variations thereof (novelty, unusualness) were assessed, it is possible to infer dimensions of value that are affected by creativity in multiple settings. The outcomes show that creative products significantly give rise to increased exploration time and efforts to make sense out of objects, but this process leads nevertheless to difficulties in understanding the products and to the identification of some disadvantages. According to these preliminary results, the relationship between creativity and perceived value, as well as their measurement, is overall dubious and highly depending on circumstances. While the authors support the relevance of design creativity, the paper urges to consider value at the same time.

Keywords: Design creativity | Eye-tracking | Fused Deposition Modelling | Perceived value | Product evaluation

Abstract: Recently, an increasing need for sophisticated multimedia analytics tools has been observed, which is triggered by a rapid growth of multimedia collections and by an increasing number of scientific fields embedding images in their studies. Although temporal data is ubiquitous and crucial in many applications, such tools typically do not support the analysis of data along the temporal dimension, especially for time periods. An appropriate visualization and comparison of period data associated with multimedia collections would help users to infer new information from such collections. In this paper, we present a novel multimedia analytics application for summarizing and analyzing temporal data from eye-tracking experiments. The application combines three different visual approaches: Time∘diff, visual-information-seeking mantra, and multi-viewpoint. A qualitative evaluation with domain experts confirmed that our application helps decision makers to summarize and analyze multimedia collections containing period data.

Keywords: Data visualization | Multimedia analytics | Multimedia application | Period data

Abstract: Despite the potential to lead to enhanced environmental performance, the extent to which eco-design leads to success is still unclear. In order to lay bare the effects of eco-design implementation, this paper focuses on understanding the correlations between specific eco-design principles and success through an exploratory study. A sample of 178 products, characterized in terms of their success levels and implemented eco-design principles, was statistically analyzed. The results indicate a number of positive correlations for principles that tend to favor success (e.g. intensified use and product/service systems) and negative correlations for principles that tend to moderate the chances of success (e.g. minimize packaging). Although the mechanisms that cause this phenomenon should be further investigated, the findings can provide designers with additional recommendations for the selection of eco-design principles.

Keywords: Eco-design principles | New product development | Product life cycle | Success catalysts | Sustainable products

Abstract: Previous studies have failed to provide a comprehensive view on the value perception of green products. The present research takes up this challenge through an experiment in which 43 participants have interacted with and evaluated 40 products-20 baseline products and 20 green products of the same categories. The experiment included both self-assessments to monitor conscious evaluations of the products and biometric measurements (Eye-Tracking and Galvanic Skin Response) to capture unconscious aspects. The results show that different forms of perceived value emerge clearly. Green products, for which participants required greater efforts in the search for relevant information, boost the value attributed to creative solutions still believed of high quality. This effect is significantly more evident for participants showing remarkable interest for sustainability issues. Conversely, alternative products feature greater value perception because they are acknowledged to be functional and reliable.

Keywords: Attitude-behavior gap | Biometric measures | Creativity | Eco-design | Estimated price | Eye-tracking | Green products | Principal component analysis | Value perception | Willingness to pay

Abstract: Biometric devices and especially eye tracking systems have been used in various sectors such as neuroscience, clinical research, training and learning, linguistics, biomechanics, ergonomics and market research. So far, there are only a few applications of eye tracking in industrial environments such as engineering design and manufacturing or assembly. The aim of this research is to review why and to what extent biometric devices such as eye tracking systems can be used in industry. The research provides an overview of the state of the art in using these technologies in industrial engineering with a special focus to design and manufacturing. In addition, this paper briefly describes two currently running test series of the research team to investigate the usability of these systems in industrial engineering.

Keywords: assembly | assistance systems in production | biometric devices | biometric measurement | design | eye tracking | industry 4.0 | manufacturing

Abstract: Additive Manufacturing (AM) is a potentially revolutionary technique in industry with claims of high skills shortage in the recent days. It is assumed that full exploitation of AM capabilities can be made possible by a paradigm shift steered by engineering design. Future generations of engineers might benefit from Design for Additive Manufacturing (DfAM), which targets AM potential and enables design freedoms. In this context, the paper investigates AM education for a better understanding of the main AM-related subjects taught in universities. To this scope, the authors gathered 52 syllabi of courses taught in highly-ranked technical universities worldwide that relate to AM. From the investigation, it emerges that AM is the core discipline of the course in 42 out of 52 cases and considered widely as an independent domain to date. As for taught subjects, it was found that design aspects in AM and DfAM are poorly focused on, while manufacturing and process areas are the most popular. This poses a challenge especially to the design community, as the current situation might limit the exploitation of AM capabilities.

Keywords: Additive Manufacturing | Computer Aided Design (CAD) | Design education | Design for Additive Manufacturing (DfAM)

Abstract: Understanding the impact of inventive solutions on consumers’ value perception is essential to develop successful products. This applies particularly to sustainable solutions, which need to penetrate the market to pursue environmental objectives. This paper explores the value perception of three categories of TRIZ-oriented sustainable solutions, namely designs that have undergone dynamization, change of the physical state or the field exploited. Through an experimental study with 43 participants, supported by a specific questionnaire and biometric measures (eye tracking, skin conductance), self-assessments and unconscious behavioral aspects were gathered while a series of 18 product pictures was shown. Out of them, 9 products implement one of the above TRIZ-oriented principles and 9 constitute same-category products with a higher environmental impact. The results show that the different categories of TRIZ solutions give rise to diverse nuances of value perception. This outcome triggers further considerations concerning the ease of interpreting design modifications steered by TRIZ concepts and heuristics.

Keywords: Biometric measures | Eco-design | Eco-innovation | Human perception | TRIZ-oriented sustainable solutions

Abstract: Many outputs of the application of eco-design principles and guidelines result in solutions that slightly differ from previous ones. Although the environmental advantages of new solutions are evident, the extent of achieved benefits fails to pursue the objectives of sustainable development. The latter requires disruptive change and the contextual demise of old generations of products with worse environmental performance. This is made possible just when environmental friendly product transformations positively capture the social and the economic dimension too, as these are accompanied by changes in people’s habits and fueled by customer satisfaction. However, few enterprises are available to engage in radical innovation, as it is generally understood as a risky endeavor. The situation is made more complicated by the relatively poor availability of design methods that target radical product redesign. Proactive design methods and thinking strategies are commonly in play when substantial design changes are expected, but no standard methodological reference has been established so far. Based on theoretical reflections and literature evidence, the paper outlines the need for new knowledge, as the foundation of new methodological frameworks to enable the design of products whose environmental, social, and economic sustainability is ensured.

Keywords: Design methods | Eco-design | Radical innovation

Abstract: Structured approaches to diminishing products’ environmental footprint include the identification of hotspots, e.g., lifecycle phases or aspects that feature criticalities in terms of environmental sustainability. Still in these approaches, measures are taken consistently by investing eco-design efforts to improve the situation in the identified hotspots. However, many products implement eco-design principles irrespective of hotspots, i.e., without taking into account the major sources of environmental footprint. A sample of products has been analyzed in terms of hotspots, and lifecycle stages are affected by the implementation of eco-design principles and achieved success. The study reveals that, while eco-design principles in the use phase of the product favor success, the consistency between the hotspot and the lifecycle stage does not modulate the relationship between implemented eco-design principles and success. As a result, while the identification of hotspots is a best practice as for the attempt to maximize environmental benefits brought on by eco-design initiatives, it plays a limited role in terms of customer’s acceptability and appreciation of new products.

Keywords: Eco-design principles | Lifecycle hotspots | Success

Abstract: The outreach of application domains for Additive Manufacturing (AM) is expanding and end-use products represent their next frontier. Contextually, design methods are developed for exploiting the unique AM capabilities. They largely benefit from the knowledge about peculiarities, constraints and technical performances of the various AM processes and devices. However, while the mechanical properties of objects created with AM are widely studied, there is lack of research on emotional and perceptual aspects. This is of great relevance in the mentioned perspective of employing AM for end-use products. The paper aims to elucidate which perceptual mechanisms are activated when a user observes an object generated with AM instead of traditional technologies. An experiment has involved 43 participants who have evaluated ten pairs of objects, constituted by a commercial product and a replica made with Fused Deposition Modelling. Testers have answered a questionnaire, as well as their visual behavior has been recorded with eye-tracking glasses. Based on results, replicas suffer from poor attractiveness and especially low perceived quality. They have also given rise to more careful exploratory behaviors because they likely require a lengthier examination for testers’ assessment or they arouse curiosity. It can be inferred that Fused Deposition Modelling does not exhibit sufficient accuracy to achieve acceptability with reference to everyday products. Nevertheless, it is also deemed that limited improvements might compensate for the perception of technical unsuitability this technology engenders. This can be verified by repeating the experiment with more sophisticated and precise AM devices.

Keywords: Design for additive manufacturing | End-use products | Eye-tracking | Fused deposition modelling

Abstract: The fourth industrial revolution aims at digitizing the production, supply and distribution chains. In the course of this, an optimization of the processes should take place, through which the productivity can be increased, and the error rate can be minimized. Not only the production lines and the production processes are in the focus, but also the role of the employee himself becomes more and more important, for whom the working environment has to be made more comfortable and more pleasant. Technological opportunities also consist of biometric measurement techniques, which include Eye Tracking as technology. In order to achieve the goals of Industry 4.0, Eye Tracking can be used to design the working environment of the future individually to the employee. The article discusses the benefits and critical points of Eye Tracking for optimizing assembly processes in production. The results of tests with this technology in the laboratory and in a small and mediums sized company are critically examined.

Abstract: Many scholars argue that very early design phases are not supported adequately in many respects, although they are at the cornerstone of successful new product development. Difficulties in developing appropriate methods emerge because of the need to account for uncertainties and ambiguities that feature the Fuzzy Front End. This is likely the reason behind the limited industrial adoption of existing design methods, especially those that are oriented to support Product Planning. In this context, the thrust of the paper is the attempt to identify key activities and functions featuring Product Planning. The study entrusts figures about the foreseeable growth of the intensity of research displayed by classes of methods supporting different functions in Product Planning. As the data, emerging from the application of S-curves, indicate no preferential direction in the medium term, other phenomena are monitored that might overturn the conventional systematic course of action to design in the early stages. The ‘trial-and-error’ learning approach characterising agile strategies can be seen as a partial answer to the expected demise of research about Product Planning. Beyond these conclusions, the paper includes a frame of reference that classifies Product Planning methods (adequately reviewed) beyond the classical distinction between responsive and proactive approaches.

Keywords: agile product development | Early design phases | fuzzy front end | product planning | S-curves

Abstract: The present contribution proposes a decision support paradigm that elucidates factors ensuing from Product-Service System implementations and that might be neglected due to assessment difficulties. These aspects emerge when companies are exposed to new business model scenarios underlying servitized propositions. The outcomes represent the backbone for the creation of a methodology and a quantitative estimation index, named the Servitization Value Correction Coefficient, devised as a reference term to assess and to forecast the economic value obtained by the introduction of a Product-Service System. The proposed methodology introduces an original criterion to give quantification of qualitative variables not addressed before. It is based on different factors coming into play in Product-Service System adoption that can bring both benefits and drawbacks. The study was carried out in firms initially unaware of Product-Service System opportunities.

Keywords: Decision-making | Product service system | PSS drawbacks | PSS opportunities | Service evaluation

Abstract: Previous studies have demonstrated that creative design activities benefit from stimuli and that textual prompts might extend the exploration of the design space. However, the number of stimuli to conduct a wide exploration is large and the support of an ICT platform results necessary to manage a creative task effectively because of the presumably large number of generated ideas. Within a project named Startled, a very simple first release of a web application has been developed that supports ideation activities by means of stimuli. Dozens of students enrolled in different courses and Universities have tested the platform and answered a questionnaire, which aimed to elucidate their self-efficacy, perceived workload, ease of use and utility of the present version of the web application. The outcomes show, beyond few differences between students with diverse backgrounds, a majority of neutral and slightly positive answers. The results are not fully satisfying and the authors intend to make the ICT-supported creative tool more guided, user-friendly and intuitive.

Keywords: New product benefits | Questionnaires | Stimulated ideation | Web application

Abstract: Aging societies have an extended need for transportation solutions that enhance elderly's independence. However, the solutions needed are as manifold as the elderly's lifestyles are. This study uses Usercentred Design principles as a structuring tool to manage this complexity of requirements. By not just focusing on specific functionalities but also reflecting product life cycle and usage context, new types of requirements can be revealed. Through a case study, this article shows how a participatory design approach can lead to integrated solutions that better fit the user's needs.

Keywords: Co-design | Human centred design | Integrated product development | Requirements management | Teamwork

Abstract: Although product design targets success, the achievement of success is rarely verified or insightfully explored because of difficulties in measuring this term. The present paper addresses design research by proposing a procedure to extrapolate success of products by means of the vast knowledge made available by the scientific literature and the Internet at large. The final achievements are constituted by an algorithm to perform information search about product success and a success scale to be used as an ordinal variable in a posteriori studies involving large numbers of products.

Keywords: Information retrieval | Product development | Product failure | Product success | Sustainable design

Abstract: Purpose: Although firms try to shorten time-to-market, the duration of product development projects might anyway jeopardize the assumptions made at the beginning of the design process. This includes the definition of product attributes for ensuring customer satisfaction, thus forecasting techniques could be worthwhile. Within Kano’s method, trajectories of quality attributes have been identified and they can be potentially useful to the scope, but they have not been carefully verified. Design/methodology/approach: The paper takes on the above verification challenge by exploring studies of customer satisfaction conducted by means of Kano’s model regarding manifold industrial fields. The paper focuses on changes in the relevance of customer requirements reported in different contributions and analyses data statistically. Findings: The dynamic trajectories outlined in Kano’s model are partially confirmed and they are valuable in the mid-term to predict changes in customer preferences. The use of quantitative indicators portraying the extent of customer satisfaction and dissatisfaction leads to more reliable predictions. Research limitations/implications: In order to use as many data as possible, information has been gathered from different industrial fields, which can exhibit different paces in changes of customer preferences. Practical implications: The results benefit firms willing to have a clearer picture of customer main drivers for customer satisfaction at the time of market launch, although customer surveys are conducted at the beginning of product development projects. Originality/value: The paper puts into question previous assumptions about modifications of customer preferences, which, however are just empirically supported and assesses how these can be exploited in a reliable way.

Keywords: Customer requirements | Customer satisfaction | Dynamic preferences | Forecasting | Kano’s theory | Product design

Abstract: TRIZ capability of individuating appropriate instruments for specific problems is often challenged. Although each TRIZ user tends to prefer certain tools over others, Inventive Principles undoubtedly represent the most popular technique. Consequently, a more appropriate guidance to select the most promising ones for a given problem would result in a clear advantage for designers. The Contradiction Matrix should support this process, but its reliability is often questioned. In this framework, the authors have analysed problems solved with TRIZ and described in TRIZ-related literature. This choice reflects the need to pay attention to case studies really faced with TRIZ instead of being reconstructed from other examples. The analysis includes 42 case studies from acknowledged TRIZ sources. Unfortunately, literature about problems solved with TRIZ is highly dispersed and the creation of a greater sample would have required considerable efforts. The following results emerged from the analysis. The Contradiction Matrix would have supported the determination of the described solutions in very few cases, namely eight, which confirms its limited reliability. A small number of Inventive Principles addresses the majority of the illustrated solutions; for instance, four of them are sufficient to solve almost 60% of the presented problems. Additional criteria have been used to classify conflicting parameters (more specifically a characterization in terms of Useful Functions, Undesired Effects and Resources), but their relationship with employed Inventive Principles seems quite random. The paper wills to open up a discussion about this presumable randomness of Inventive Principles and the possible measures to tackle the problem.

Abstract: Innovative products can be described as both useful and novel- or 'unexpected'. Literature suggests that surprise combined with humour may be a powerful tool in creating the positive 'unexpectedness' than can enhance perceived value and foster meaningful relationships between product and user. Surprise and humour both rely on mismatches of expectations and unexpected outcomes, however, they are not inter-changeable. Their relationship when embodied in product design is not fully understood, and guidelines for creating surprising and humorous products with long-lasting impact have yet to be defined. The objective of this research was to analyse the mutual effect taking place between the perception of humour and the display of surprise embodied in products, and in particular the capability of humorous characteristics to boost the effect of surprise. Building on previous experiments in which a set of products were evaluated for surprise, we verified humour in the same products with a group of comedians and non-comedians. Results indicate that products evaluated as 'funny' positively influence their capability to evoke surprise, but other factors are likely to be highly influential.

Keywords: Creativity | Design methods | Early design phases | Humour | Surprise

Abstract: Creativity is critical to the success of design outcomes. Several research contributions investigate the effects of different stimuli on the creativity of conceptual solutions. Studies still lacks dedicated to early New Product Development activities focused on the definition of new product ideas in terms of unprecedented benefits and product attributes. The paper deals with the forms through which stimuli are delivered to support ideation for the recalled design activity. The objective of the paper is to assess if and how different stimuli affect designers' ideation performance. An experiment was performed, in which participants were asked to produce new ideas or product attributes for an existing product category, by exploiting textual, pictorial and combined stimuli as source of inspiration. The results show that the inspiration fashions play a limited role on the outcomes of the ideation process, if the latter are assessed through the most acknowledged creativity metrics. However, the experiment reveals that significantly different ideas have emerged in groups using diversified forms of stimuli.

Keywords: Creativity | Design process | Ideation | New product development | Stimuli

Abstract: The great impact played by Product/Service-Systems (PSS) on industry and academia can be motivated by the need for modernizing business models, carrying out internal companies' reconfiguration, enhancing environmental sustainability. Despite the large number of objectives pursued by PSS, sparks of criticism have recently emerged, as well as the results ensuing from PSS adoption have not been rigorously assessed. In particular, the authors highlight a lack of quantitative analysis concerning the service aspects of PSS and hurdles in service modeling and evaluation. The paper's objective is to contribute in this field by individuating factors, advantages and disadvantages that are not directly measurable in monetary terms by companies. This kind of assessment might result crucial, as the implementation of PSS-oriented strategies require a not negligible amount of commitment, besides propensity to risk. A first activity was carried out thanks to a pilot group of firms that have not implemented any PSS initiative so far, which have been exposed to business reconfiguration scenarios underpinning PSS. A model for generalizing pros and cons of future PSS implementation has been subsequently experimented by a larger group of industrial organizations. Such a model has represented the backbone for the creation of a tentative quantitative estimation tool, which assesses and forecasts the added value of services featured by the introduction of PSS and hence represents a candidate criterion for undertaking decisions concerning the implementation of PSS strategies. The paper clarifies which assumptions are introduced in order to achieve this result.

Keywords: decision-making | Product Service-Systems | quantitative service estimates | service modelling | value forecasting

Abstract: As creativity is increasingly important in order to achieve differentiation and competitiveness in industry, designers face the challenge of conceiving and rating large numbers of new product development options. The authors’ recent studies show the effectiveness of ideation procedures guided by stimuli that are submitted to designers in the form of abstract benefits. A rich collection of said benefits has been created to this scope; more specifically, the authors have performed a detailed clustering of the categories described in TRIZ ideality, i.e. useful functions, attenuation of undesired effects and reduction of consumed resources. Aspects related to sustainability and environmental friendliness manifestly appear in the list of stimuli and these issues are reflected in several ideas emerged in initial experiments. However, many promising product development objectives conflict with sustainability or, at least, their adherence to eco-design is arguable. The paper assesses the share of ideas that are supposed to comply with sustainability in experiments described in recent literature. Subsequently, it intends to stimulate a discussion about the introduction of measures to attract attention of designers on sustainability in the critical early product development stages also when green aspects do not represent the fundamental driver to achieve greater customer value. As well, it discusses which sustainability aspects are worth being considered adequately during the very early design phases and which ones could result as exceedingly constraining.

Keywords: Idea generation | Product value | Sustainability | TRIZ | Very early design phases

Abstract: Scholars argue about the role played by surprise in making new products creative. Different perspectives evaluate surprise as a nuance of novelty, an independent dimension, or an emotional reaction to new products. The paper proposes a framework of factors supposedly characterizing the emergence of surprise in terms of individuals’ interpretations and/or modifications of products’ behavior and structure. Moreover, it illustrates the outcomes of a preliminary empirical investigation about the manifestation of unexpectedness according to such a framework: the proposed factors have been checked by interpreting the motivations leading to the presence of surprise in 12 new lamps described in the literature. The experiment states the reasonability of the described factors and, as a consequence, the paper provides a contribution to better articulate the debate in the research arena.

Keywords: Creativity | Diversity | Emotion | Novelty | Surprise

Abstract: The development of the Theory of Inventive Problem Solving (TRIZ) has not followed the usual patterns of scientific validation required by engineering methods. Consequently, its outreach within engineering design is interpreted differently in the scholarly community. At the same time, the claimed powerful support in tackling technical problems of any degree of difficulty conflicts with TRIZ diffusion in industrial settings, which is relatively low according to insights into product development practices. The mismatch between ambitious goals and moderate spill-over benefits in the industry ranges among the various open issues concerning TRIZ, its way of thinking, its effectiveness, the usability of its tools. In order to provide a general overview of TRIZ in science, the authors have attempted to analyse reliable and influential sources from the literature. The performed survey includes the top 100 indexed publications concerning TRIZ, according to the number of received citations. Variegated and poorly interconnected research directions emerge in the abundant literature that tackles TRIZ-related topics. The outcomes of the investigation highlight the successful implementation of TRIZ within, among the others, biomimetics and information processing. The traditional borders of mechanical and industrial engineering have been frequently crossed, as the use of TRIZ is also witnessed in the domain of business and services. At the same time, computer-aided platforms represent diffused attempts to boost TRIZ diffusion and applicability.

Keywords: Computer-Aided Innovation | Conceptual design | Industrial practice | Information processing | TRIZ

Abstract: According to several literature sources, Product Planning is acknowledged as a primary driver of future commercial success for new designed products, and it is schematically constituted by the identification of business opportunities and the selection of most promising alternatives. Despite the recalled relevance of Product Planning, it emerges that a marginal quantity of companies have adopted formal methods to carry out this task. The paper attempts to provide a major understanding about such a limited implementation of Product Planning techniques and other open issues emerging from the analysis of the literature concerning the initial phases of engineering design cycles. The presented study investigates the claimed benefits of methods described in the literature, the level to which such tools are diffused through educational programs in Technical Institutes, the expectations and the demands of a sample of enterprises with respect to new tools supporting Product Planning. It emerges that, whereas existing methods strive to fulfil relevant properties according to the perception of the companies, limitations come out in terms of the transfer of the proposed techniques and their perceived reliability.

Keywords: Design education | Fuzzy front end | Idea generation | Industrial survey | New product development | Review of design methods

Abstract: The work described in the paper is motivated by the lack of computer-aided tools to support Product Planning and, more specifically ideation processes of New Product Development (NPD) initiatives. The domain is populated by software applications aimed at managing and organizing Product Planning activities, which thus poorly contribute to the definition of new product characteristics, and models to stimulate novel ideas. The latter face limitations in terms of overlooked implementation with CAD tools supporting the following NPD phases and poor exploration of the design space. The authors propose an original method and software prototype capable to provide a wide range of stimuli, whose testing demonstrated much better results than traditional approaches in terms of quantity and variety of generated ideas.

Keywords: CAD | idea generation | New Product Development | product attributes | Product Planning | Value Dimensions

Abstract: The paper presents the analysis of an original online survey that aims at checking the factors triggering surprise in randomly chosen evaluators who were submitted a set of surprising products. The authors use the answers to check the capability of a situated FBS-based model to help catch the main factors triggering surprise in products, here seen as a mismatch between what is interpreted and previously conceived expectations. The survey questionnaire shows to be effective in grabbing surprising factors and the results demonstrate that the model allows a strong ex-post convergence in the investigation of surprising factors.

Keywords: Cognitive processes | Function-behaviour-structure | Surprising products

Abstract: AD helps to conceive controllable and manageable designs, beyond fulfilling initially posed requirements. According to authors' experience and understanding, this eases the evolution of designs towards their future versions. Thus, ideal solutions according to Suh's theory are characterized by a considerable capability of evolving and accelerating technological progress. Conversely, such an aspect is seldom considered in the most diffused definitions of ideality, although it can be easily regarded as a fundamental feature of good designs. In this context, the paper reviews the definitions of ideality dispersed in the literature. A particular attention is dedicated to TRIZ, since ideality represents a pillar of the former USSR-originating theory and many attempts have been performed to combine it with AD. The paper explores the compatibility of the surveyed definitions with AD objectives, revealing theoretical pitfalls, but also pointing out opportunities for increasing ideality in the design practice.

Keywords: Axiomatic Design | Design Theory | Ideality | Modularity | TRIZ

Abstract: The diffusion of TRIZ in the industry is still under the expectations of the scientific community. According to authors' experience, barriers to industrial adoption are constituted, among the others, by difficulties in approaching problems characterized by tangled networks of parameters and, consequently, very large number of contradictions. The most tailored tools to face this problem aim at managing networks of contradictions. They try to establish the starting point for an effective problem solving process. The task suffers from subjective evaluations or difficulties with applying complex algorithmic procedures. Besides, the existing approaches overlook the potential benefits descending from overcoming each single contradiction. The authors illustrate a strategy to prioritize technical contradictions, which includes metrics concerning customer value. More specifically, the implemented criteria feature the probability of succeeding in the marketplace. Thus, a business perspective is introduced in the problem solving process. The proposal has been experimented through an application to a mature phase included in the manufacturing process of pharmaceutical tablets. Said production phase, taken as the reference technical system, figures out 239 different contradictions. The application of the developed approach allowed to individuate contradictions whose solution has considerably influenced the technical evolution of the treated industrial sector.

Keywords: customer value | networks of contradictions | pharmaceutics industry | prioritization of contradictions | TRIZ

Abstract: In the first decade of 2000s, several contributions have illustrated methods combining TRIZ and Axiomatic Design (AD). The strength of the connection was found in the complementary objectives AD and TRIZ pursue. AD is supposed to analyze the problem and structure it in the most convenient way, while TRIZ should solve the minimum number of design conflicts that are intrinsically present in a case study. Nevertheless, despite the promising match between AD and TRIZ, no conjoint application strategy has emerged as a reference, neither in academia, nor in industry. Conversely, the quantity has dropped of scientific papers contextually making reference to both methodologies. Some studies attempt to remark the methodological problems concerning the combination of AD and TRIZ. In a different perspective, the authors performed an application-oriented study, in order to point out the industrial domains for which the methodologies result the most suitable. The survey highlights that TRIZ is mostly employed for mass-market products, while AD is basically used to develop systems that industrial organizations make use of. The authors discuss the consequences of these findings, inferring how design can benefit from TRIZ and AD heuristics and the practical cases in which they are likely to be combined successfully.

Keywords: Axiomatic Design | best practices | industrial sectors | TRIZ

Abstract: The manuscript illustrates a method, implemented in a computer application, which supports the identification of new product features in the early phases of engineering design cycles. In the practice, such a task is commonly carried out through cognitive techniques that generate random and unstructured stimuli. These approaches and the computer-aided tools that implement them suffer from a scarce exploration of the design space. This criticality is faced by introducing an original classification of value drivers, thus organizing a large set of concepts consisting of stimuli for generating new product ideas. The proposed method combines the concepts belonging to different categories of the classification in order to identify scenarios in which the product can provide unprecedented benefits for customers and other stakeholders. Experiments in academia and industry show the capability of the developed method and prototype software to increase the number and the novelty of ideas, reveal previously overlooked drivers for customer satisfaction and enhance the definition of stimulated design requirements.

Keywords: Computer-Aided Design | Idea stimulation | New Product Development | Product attributes | Product Planning | Value dimensions

Abstract: Kano's theory analyses only the ‘current situation’ concerning the extent of customer satisfaction, which results from fulfilling monitored product/service attributes. Such an issue hinders the exploitation of Kano surveys for long-time design projects. On the other hand, trends regarding the shift of quality attributes reported in literature are not supported by rigorous research. In order to highlight evidence about changes in the main drivers for customer satisfaction, the authors have individuated and subsequently examined surveys of three analogous products or services performed by different research groups. The use of a quantitative reference model linking the performance of quality attributes to the ensuing satisfaction provides a clear picture of the transformation occurring within the role played by a plurality of customer requirements. The results of the investigation show remarkable differences in the evolution of quality attributes and point out new needs for the organisation of an experiment to validate the existing hypotheses that concern the transformation of Kano categories. More specifically, the paper stresses the importance of performing repeated tests with the same group of customers, paying attention to industrial sectors where performance is progressing quickly, considering uncertainties related to the output of Kano surveys.

Keywords: dynamics of Kano categories | Kano's theory | product/service design | quantitative Kano model

Abstract: The field of Business Process Reengineering (BPR) has recently observed the birth of Decision Support Systems (DSSs) as a solution for overcoming the limitations of previous initiatives. The numerous failures concerning earlier BPR implementations are mostly ascribed to the introduction of best practices from other industrial experiences without proper adaptation to the local specificities, as well as by the inadequate consideration of uncertainty issues within decision making. A considerable amount of DSSs integrates issues dealing with customer opinions and behaviours and takes into account the uncertainties related to the relevance and the implications of the gathered feedbacks. In such a context, the paper describes an algorithmic model (implemented in a computer application) for supporting decision making that quantitatively relates the phases of a business process with its outputs, with reference to the contribution in generating customer value. The proposed decision support method can be advantageously employed especially in those cases characterized by time pressure and impossibility of performing suitable customer surveys. The model sheds light on process value bottlenecks and provides indications about the most beneficial reengineering activities. Context uncertainties are managed by applying Monte Carlo simulation. Such a measure allows evaluating the share of risk ensuing from redesigning certain business process phases.

Keywords: Business Process Reengineering | Customer perceived satisfaction | Decision Support Systems | Monte Carlo simulation | Process Value Analysis

Abstract: Among the studies dedicated to design creativity, a significant attention is given to the investigation of its dimensions, such as novelty and usefulness. The underlying assumption is that an enhanced knowledge of them is helpful to better understand limitations of current design approaches, and improve methods and tools. While there is still a lively discussion about these dimensions, some authors highlight that among them surprise deserves to be considered an independent aspect that differs from novelty. In fact, the latter concerns unprecedented peculiarities of an artefact, while surprise tells about the unexpectedness of a feature whatever is the degree of difference with pre-existing ones. Having observed the lack of reference models to investigate the emergence of surprise when a user first meets a new artefact, the authors propose an original model to describe the occurring cognitive processes. The model exploits some fundamental concepts of Gero's situated FBS framework and represent surprise as a mismatch between the interpretation of reality given by an observer and her/his expectations due to previous experiences. The model is illustrated by means of three examples.

Keywords: Creativity | FBS | Situatedness | Surprise

Abstract: A relevant challenge of firms developing new products stands in the capability to fulfil the requirements customers expect, which can give rise to design conflicts. Many techniques consider the relevance assigned to requirements by consequently focusing on those characteristics to which customers attribute more importance. The matter is complicated by multiple kinds of subjects, often indicated as stakeholders, that interact with the product and can influence the success of new products. Stakeholders can manifest different preferences also about requirements which are not intrinsically conflicting. The application of Kano model has been proposed to lay bare the extent of said divergences. An illustrative experiment has been conducted in the footwear industry to reveal the perception of retailers and end users with respect to shoes requirements. It emerges that the consideration of the relevance attributed to a subset of requirements is significantly different. The paper further discusses the expected modifications of design processes followed by companies needing to pay attention to intricate networks of requirements and stakeholders.

Keywords: Kano model | New product development | Product requirements | Stakeholders

Abstract: Many product development initiatives are planned on the basis of the supposed capability to generate customer satisfaction. However, market and technology conditions can undergo several transformations during the execution of product innovation projects and jeopardise the basic assumptions taken at the beginning of the design cycle. Among changing factors, the observed alternation of radical and incremental transformations of product architectures is viable to influence the success chances of new products. Such an aspect is taken into account in the decision support tool described in the paper, which can be employed to select the most beneficial alternatives in a set of different product ideas.

Keywords: Customer satisfaction | Decision-making | Dominant design. | Dynamics of customer requirements | Product evolution | Product ideas

Abstract: Scholars argue about the role played by surprise in making new products creative. Different perspectives evaluate surprise as a nuance of novelty, an independent dimension or an emotional reaction to new products. The paper illustrates the outcomes of an empirical investigation about surprising artefacts, resulting in the individuation of factors impacting the manifestation of unexpectedneb in terms of individuals' interpretations and/or modifications of products' behaviour and structure. Such factors have been checked by interpreting the motivations leading to the presence of surprise in 12 new lamps described in the literature. The experiment states the reasonability of the described factors and, as a consequence, the paper provides a contribution to better articulate the debate in the research arena.

Keywords: Diversity | Novelty | Surprising products

Abstract: The growing complexity of technical solutions, which encompass knowledge from different scientific fields, makes necessary, also for multi-disciplinary working teams, the consultation of information sources. Indeed, tacit knowledge is essential, but often not sufficient to achieve a proficient problem solving process. Besides, the most comprehensive tool of the TRIZ body of knowledge, i.e. ARIZ, requires, more or less explicitly, the retrieval of new knowledge in order to entirely exploit its potential to drive towards valuable solutions. A multitude of contributions from the literature support various common tasks encountered when using TRIZ and requiring additional information; most of them hold the objective of speeding up the generation of inventive solutions thanks to the capabilities of text mining techniques. Nevertheless, no global study has been conducted to fully disclose the effective knowledge requirements of ARIZ. With respect to this deficiency, the present paper illustrates an analysis of the algorithm with the specific objective of identifying the different types of information needs that can be satisfied by patents. The results of the investigation lay bare the most significant gaps of the research in the field. Further on, an initial proposal is advanced to structure the retrieval of relevant information from patent sources currently not supported by existing methodologies and software applications, so as to exploit the vast amount of technical knowledge contained in there. An illustrative experiment sheds light on the relevance of control parameters as input terms for the definition of search queries aimed at retrieving patents sharing the same physical contradiction of the problem to be treated.

Keywords: ARIZ85 | Explicit knowledge | Information retrieval | Patent

Abstract: Among the open research issues in the field of inventive design, a careful attention should be dedicated to the definition of means to measure and improve the efficiency of educational and training processes as well as to assess the benefits of the introduction of TRIZ expertise into R&D and engineering teams. In fact, while TRIZ methods and tools have gained a certain acknowledgment as a means to improve problem solving and inventive design skills, a dominant model about its introduction in an industrial organization is still missing. The paper presents a study aimed at measuring the impact of TRIZ learning (tools and logic) with respect to individuals' talent. The paper proposes an original methodology to investigate human approaches to inventive design tasks: definition of the test (Sample group and control group, Inventive problems); evaluation criteria (Aptitude to follow a logical problem analysis path; Aptitude to explore various perspectives of the problem; Aptitude to generalization; Overall correctness of the problem analysis task; Completeness of the analysis); comparison and correlation criteria (Pearson correlation). The proposed investigation methodology is clarified through the description of an exemplary application in design courses at Politecnico di Milano and at the Università di Firenze.

Keywords: Human behaviour | Inventive design | Problem solving

Abstract: A relevant part of TRIZ literature concerns the steps of the problem solving process, hence the analysis of the troublesome situation, the identification of the core problem and its resolution. Conversely, few efforts have been dedicated to support the last phase of the conceptual design process, which regards the selection of the most promising solutions to be further developed. The lack within TRIZ of an instrument capable to fulfill the abovementioned task led the authors to investigate the classical decision making methods and their applicability in the context of selecting the most valuable concepts downstream of problem solving phases characterized by divergent thinking. Several potential approaches have been surveyed and, among the others, the Weighted Sum Method and the Analytic Hierarchy Process seem to hold some of the characteristics requested by an ideal method to facilitate the decision making. In this paper, both of them have been tested through a real case study in order to verify their actual applicability and to reveal strengths and weaknesses with a particular focus on their capability to guide the decision process when a plurality of parties (e.g. policy makers, domain experts) are involved. The testing activity revealed that the Analytic Hierarchy Process resulted overall more appreciated by the experimenters, thanks to the systematic approach employed to select the best solution among a sample of alternatives developed through the Network of Problems.

Keywords: Analytic Hierarchy Process | Best solution selection | Hand steamer | Network of Problems

Abstract: The first decade of 2000s has observed the diffusion of several contributions illustrating methods that combined Axiomatic Design (AD) and the Theory of Inventive Problem Solving (TRIZ). Such a kind of methodological matching seemed to flourish in both reference communities. The strength of the connection was found in the complementary objectives AD and TRIZ pursue. The former faces design tasks with a holistic view, oriented to schematize and simplify the design brief. However, despite the correct employment of AD axioms, the decoupling is not ensured of Functional Requirements' and Design Parameters̈ matrices. As a consequence, the powerful problem solving capabilities of TRIZ can be employed in order to overcome extant contradictions. With this vision, AD is supposed to analyze the problem and structure it in the most convenient way, whereas TRIZ should solve the minimum amount of design conflicts that are intrinsically present in a case study. Nevertheless, despite the promising match between AD and TRIZ, no conjoint application strategy has emerged as a reference, neither in academia, nor in industry. Conversely, the quantity has dropped of Scopus-indexed scientific papers contextually making reference to both methodologies. The authors have attempted to investigate the reasons of the unsatisfactory evolution of the matching hypotheses between AD and TRIZ. The paper puts particular attention on the sources that manifest skepticism with respect to the combination of the two techniques. The conducted research remarks that unsuitable modelling has been so far employed to represent conflicts arising with AD through TRIZ terms. To the scope, the authors point out the potential advantages of exploiting poorly known instruments developed within TRIZ field. These tools are capable of facing the problem with a wider perspective and guide the user to perform troubleshooting in a more efficient way, also in the perspective of the second AD axiom.

Keywords: Axiomatic Design | engineering design | TRIZ

Abstract: The assessment of creativity arouses increasing interest within design community. The literature witnesses efforts to quantitatively measure creativity, although commonly considered intrinsically subjective. Recent experiences show a good degree of convergence between assessments employing more objective metrics and evaluations of creativity made by experts in design and innovation. With the overall goal of determining whether such judgments are reliable and repeatable, the present paper analyzes creativity assessments of commercial products performed by skilled and novice designers in order to highlight further differences due to accumulated experience. The investigation is carried out by means of a suitable questionnaire asking to evaluate the creativity of 10 market successes and 10 commercial flops. The experiment tests also whether commercial results can strongly influence the perception of creativity. The outcomes reveal that experience is supposed to play a not negligible role in evaluating creativity, while the question about the impact of market success requires further investigation. © 2013 The Design Society.

Keywords: Creativity | Experts' assessment | Innovation | Novices' assessment

Abstract: The capability to innovate and thus to renew the commercial offer, is becoming the mission of several companies in order to dramatically increase the customer satisfaction. To this aim, the design activities should be effectively supported, paying specific attention to the earliest phase of design, i.e. product planning, in which the designers have to identify the user needs and translate them in product requirements. In the last decades, there have been some attempts to systematically support this critical design activity. The authors undertook an analysis of these methods, highlighting how they support the product planning phase, their strengths and weaknesses. The comparison of the collected contributions shows a plurality of viable research directions, poorly investigated up to now, in order to effectively support the task of product planning. The paper suggests new functionalities to be introduced in the methodologies proposed so far and stresses the attention on performing further tests to increase the reliability of a great amount of poorly validated, although promising, design approaches.

Keywords: Innovation | New product development | Product planning | Systematic design methods

Abstract: The paper aims at exploring the opportunities for improving the Human Computer Interaction (HCI) of Computer-Aided systems for supporting designers in carrying out the early stages of the Product Development Process (PDP). In details, the authors stem from the analysis of the latest advancements and issues in the field of Question and Answer techniques, which they have already implemented in algorithms for supporting the analysis of inventive problems. According to the analysis, they identify two basic directions to improve the HCI in such systems. Literature evidences concerning the different approach of designers according to their experience point out the need of producing more flexible systems, tailored for both skilled individuals and novices. Moreover, the need emerges to both foster creativity with meaningful stimuli and introducing pictorial communication within a dialogue flow, so as to follow the common cognitive path emerged by the analysis of design protocols. The discussion shows that the combination of textual and graphical interactions is crucial to support the cognitive processes in design. Such blend allows to introduce stimuli viable to reduce design fixation and psychological inertia, that affect negatively the outcome of the idea generation stage. © 2013 CAD Solutions, LLC.

Keywords: Cognition | Computer-aided innovation | Emotion | Engineering design | HCI

Abstract: Companies willing to introduce radical innovations have to face the tough task of correctly evaluating manifold aspects concerning the lifecycle of the new products to be launched. In such a circumstance severe difficulties arise because, at the very beginning of the design process, project teams own limited and unreliable information about the performances viable to positively impact value for customers and consequently the commercial success. The present paper suggests an original approach for the anticipatory assessment of the expected market appraisal of a new product profile. The proposed "Value Assessment Metrics" (VAMs) is a tool to estimate the success potential of a new artefact through a balance of its functionalities and features with respect to the alternatives existing in the market. The metrics are defined through an induction process from a large collection of successful innovations and market failures. After reporting the methodological approaches adopted to build the VAMs, the first based on Logistic Regression, the second on Neural Networks, the paper presents their preliminary validation and two example applications to the proposition of an innovative lipstick and a concealed hinge. © 2013 Elsevier B.V.

Keywords: Decision support | Functional classification | New Product Development | TRIZ | Value Assessment Metrics

Abstract: Nowadays, a growing consensus is attributed to conceptual design in the perspective of developing effective and successful products; as a consequence, major efforts should be dedicated within the Computer-Aided Innovation field to correctly support this task. A particular line of evolution of these systems concern computer coaches, i.e. software applications capable to assist users along each step of design activities. In such perspective the authors have developed a dialogue-based system supporting a natural language questioning procedure to investigate technical problems through TRIZ way of thinking.Anemerging deficiency of its first version concerns limited capabilities in providing a broad screening of the issues and features relevant within the encountered inventive problems. The integration of a further analysis module supporting the logic of the TRIZ System Operator has allowed the individuation of effective resources for breaking technical conflicts inherent to the investigated systems or formalizing contradictions in TRIZ terms. The paper provides further support about the need of developing broad thinking skills in engineering education. The new generation of Computer-Aided systems is extending its scope, by supporting the user already from the early design stages, where creativity and cognitive processes are of paramount importance. In such context, the authors have developed a natural language dialogue-based framework capable to coach designers in investigating non-routine technical problems through a TRIZ way of thinking. The first version of the questioning procedure has showed limitations in terms of the capability to widen the designer's perspective, resulting in the overlooking of aspects relevant for the problem. The new version of the dialogue-based system integrates a further analysis module, here presented, supporting the logic of the TRIZ System Operator. New tests demonstrate that the modification allows to improve the quality of the analyses, especially in terms of the identification of features to be advantageously redesigned in order to solve the addressed problems. © 2013 TEMPUS Publications.

Keywords: Broad-spectrum investigation | Computer aided innovation | Dialogue-based system | Inventive problem analysis | TRIZ

Abstract: CAD systems are nowadays extending their domain of application towards the preliminary phases of the design process, with the emergence of Computer-Aided Innovation - CAI. However, the first generation of CAI commercial software is far from achieving the intended objectives; among them, the diffused TRIZ-based systems made no exception. Particular limitations are highlighted within the embodiment design stage with reference to the support provided by CAx tools in fulfilling product specifications, whenever the generated solutions do not satisfy system requirements. The authors propose to overcome the current limitations by implementing a dialoguebased system into the framework of existing CAD applications, to support the designer in overcoming problems emerged during the initial design stages. The manuscript illustrates a refined set of requirements for a Dialogue-Based CAD system according to the outcomes of a testing campaign carried out with a preliminary version of a question-answer framework. The proposed instrument is capable to measure the achievement of all the major characteristics highlighted by the survey of established models for carrying out embodiment design. © 2013 CAD Solutions, LLC.

Keywords: Dialogue-based interaction | Embodiment design | Innovation

Abstract: An emerging thread of research is represented by the attempt of quantitatively assessing creativity, its dimensions, and how it influences the design process. The purpose of the task is to compare design options, thus allowing to select the most innovative and supposedly profitable alternative. The endeavor of previous works has consisted in the assessment of creativity concerning designers, methodologies, concepts, and products. As the scope of engineering design is expanding so to include not traditional aspects of the product development process, the paper proposes metrics tailored to evaluate the creativity of services. Such metrics are built as a result of the extension and adaptation of previously formulated criteria, including the evaluation of novelty and usefulness. A sample of successful innovative services is considered, giving rise to a considerable variability of creativity scores. The outcomes may represent a starting point for a wider discussion about which dimensions of creativity majorly impact the success of products and services in the marketplace.

Keywords: Creativity assessment | Degree of novelty | Design of services | Usefulness

Abstract: Computers actually support, almost automatically, routine tasks such as those related to the optimization in design. Besides, the scientific community shows a growing interest in developing computer systems to aid non-routine tasks as a key to enhance individuals' creativity and innovation potential. In such a context, several attempts have been made to create tools based on the TRIZ logic to support inventive problem solving; some of them have been commercialized since decades, but still there is no established paradigm and all of them suffer from several limitations. So far the analysis of those limitations has been focused on the structure and on the nominal features of the software tools, while no in-depth and systematic investigation has been made to identify the reasons behind the partial failure of the existing systems. This paper proposes a set of general criteria to perform the evaluation of computerized tools supporting inventive design and reports an exemplary application, through protocol analysis, to the dialogue-based computerized algorithm for problem analysis, published by the authors in the past. © Springer-Verlag London 2013.

Abstract: An emerging thread of research is represented by the attempt of quantitatively assessing creativity, its dimensions and how it influences the design process. The endeavour of previous works has consisted in the assessment of creativity concerning designers, methodologies, concepts and products. As the scope of engineering design is expanding so to include not traditional aspects of the product development process, the paper proposes metrics tailored to evaluate the creativity of services. Such metrics are built as a result of the extension and adaptation of previously formulated criteria, including the evaluation of novelty and usefulness. An exemplary sample of successful innovative services is considered, giving rise to a considerable variability of creativity scores. The outcomes may represent a starting point for a wider discussion about which dimensions of creativity majorly impact the success of products and services in the marketplace.

Keywords: Creativity assessment | Degree of novelty | Design of services

Abstract: The research about the patterns of technology evolution is populated by descriptive models, explaining quite regular trends of product development processes. The most popular schemes share the idea of long innovation periods characterized by incremental improvements and punctuated by technological turmoil events. Within the engineering field, such pattern can be described by S-shaped curves depicting the growth of performances in charge of technological paradigms, which approach their natural limit after entering their maturity stage. The birth of a novel S-curve symbolizes the emergence of a new breakthrough technology, which is followed by the choice of a preferred paradigm in the industry, generally designated as Dominant Design. However, new exigencies expressed by practitioners have remarked the limitations of qualitative models. Whereas some contributions openly question the general validity of the described models, a remarkable amount of literature claims that certain conditions related to the innovation processes have to be respected to make the outlined frameworks be valid. A deeper understanding about the open issues raised by the paper would result in more conscious innovation practices. Indeed, the exploitation of reliable models pertaining innovation trajectories could result in assessing the advantages arising by introducing new product functions or characteristics, enhancing performances on which industry is currently competing, reengineering manufacturing processes.

Abstract: The paper presents the research activity developed by the authors in the field of computer-aided inventive problem solving: an original model and a dialogue-based software application have been developed by integrating the logic of ARIZ (Algorithm for the Inventive Problem Solving) with some OTSM-TRIZ (General Theory of Powerful Thinking) models in order to guide a user also with no TRIZ education to the analysis of inventive problems. The paper demonstrates that through a dialogue-based interaction it is possible to guide the user towards a proper formulation of the problem statement, which is an essential step of any conceptual design activity. The proposed software system, although still at a prototype stage, has been tested with students at Politecnico di Milano and at the University of Florence. The paper details the structure of the algorithm and the results of the first validation activity; then, it discusses about the possibility to integrate the proposed approach into a new generation of CAD systems. © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Computer-Aided Innovation | Conceptual design | Dialogue-based system | OTSM-TRIZ | Problem solving

Abstract: Several scholars dealing with business innovation individuate a great role played by customer value in achieving market success. With this perspective the investigation of prescriptive means for New Value Proposition represents a promising, although still poorly explored, domain. The paper presents an original approach to investigating past success stories focused around approaches derived from "Blue Ocean Strategy", for this new dimensions of performance and value have been introduced. The lesson learned from this survey is that certain strategies based on the fulfilment of established or overlooked customer needs provide greater market appraisal. This article introduces some preliminary directions to support the rethinking of products and services.

Abstract: The application of IPPR to a reengineering problem belonging to class 1, i.e. organizing a new process to overcome market boundaries, is here presented. The case study concerns the manufacturing of pellet that is a bio-fuel obtained through the processing of the wood coming from the sustainable exploitation of forests. Due to several under capacities which afflict the value chain, the present industrial process is not capable to provide a convenient output starting from the available resources. This drawback has resulted in the impossibility to follow the dynamics of the market demand of such bio-fuel, which is grown dramatically during the last years. In such a context, IPPR has led to the identification of meaningful directions of evolution aiming at making the process more efficient and consequently boosting its potentialities in satisfying the market demand. Eventually, a countercheck has been performed in order to verify the reliability of the provided outcomes. The feedbacks have confirmed the coherence among the outputs of IPPR and those available in the acknowledged literature.

Keywords: Business Process | Customer Requirement | Wood Chip | Wood Pellet | Wood Waste

Abstract: This Chapter faces the implementation of the workflow foreseen by the IPPR methodology. Several instruments, both well established and originally developed within IPPR, are suggested to support the user in the execution of the involved activities. The adopted Multi-domain process modeling technique is capable to organize the relevant information concerning manifold features about the industrial activities and their outputs, which are comprehensively individuated through the CRs checklist. The Kano model is proposed to classify the customer requirements according to their appraised function in delighting the buyer or avoiding his/her dissatisfaction, which is a relevant facet for the problems grouped in the class 2. Moreover, for the classes of problems 1 and 2, proper metrics are proposed for the calculation of the Phase Overall Satisfaction, the estimation of the resources consumption and the computation of relevant value indexes. The last coefficients are used to build graphical maps, such as the Assessment Charts, aimed at facilitating the identification of the process criticalities in terms of value bottlenecks and the subsequent reengineering actions. The definition of new product profiles, which is the main scope when facing the class 3 of reengineering problems, swivels on the adoption of the New Value Proposition Guidelines, adopted as systematic tool to support the early phases of NPD activities. The Lifecycle System Operator and the Functional Features clustering model represent useful supports to identify business opportunities and to aid the creative generation of new value profiles. Eventually, specific guidelines to select proper redesign tools of processes and products are suggested to support the activities included in the step 3 of IPPR.

Keywords: Business Process | Customer Requirement | Customer Satisfaction | Product Attribute | Resource Consumption

Abstract: The Chapter presents a discussion about the global achievements of IPPR. The proposed method represents an original contribution in terms of the tools for supporting both BPR and NPD tasks. More specifically, it suggests modeling techniques capable to represent the functioning of a business process linking the phases to the aspects of value supplied to the user. Novel assessment metrics have been defined aimed at identifying the process bottlenecks in terms of the ratio between generated customer satisfaction and involved resources. Furthermore, original guidelines have been identified to support the user in performing new value proposition tasks oriented towards the definition of new product profiles. The tests have confirmed reliability and consistency of the feedbacks provided by IPPR. Eventually, further studies have been planned to expand the potentialities and the reliability of the methodologies, among them some are included in ongoing research activities.

Keywords: Business Process | Computerize Decision Support | Customer Satisfaction | Product Platform | Product Service System

Abstract: The introduction of the book is dedicated to outline the scientific context within which Integrated Product and Process Reengineering (IPPR) has been developed, as well as the basic motivations of the work. The disciplines aimed at proposing alternative configurations of industrial processes and products/services, i.e. Business Process Reengineering (BPR) and New Product Development (NPD), are analyzed by pointing out the main strengths and weaknesses. The birth of IPPR is a contribution for filling the gap between the expected outcomes of the present methodologies and the practical displayed results. The present Chapter clarifies the main concepts employed within the presented methodology and provides suitable definitions for the most relevant notions. Furthermore, a classification of common industrial problems is presented, for which different tools are suitable to reengineer the current business. As a result of a broad review of the existing techniques, the purpose of the book is clarified, illustrating the main strategic and methodological objectives to be pursued throughout original tools focused on customer value.

Keywords: Business Model | Business Process | Customer Requirement | Customer Satisfaction | Quality Function Deployment

Abstract: The Chapter illustrates an exemplary application of the tools proposed by IPPR to face product reengineering with a value-oriented approach. The case study regards the building of a new value profile for a professional blow dryer employed in the hairdressing industry. The sector is characterized by conservativeness, as well as the innovation of equipment presents a slow pace and mostly involves the maximization of established performances. The implementation of the IPPR roadmap for the third class of reengineering problems has led to the determination of two partially diverging value transitions synthesized by different product embodiments. The second alternative infringes to a certain extent the recommendations suggested by the New Value Proposition Guidelines. A conducted survey, involving some dozens of professionals, has revealed a considerable appreciation of the idea underpinning the first option and some criticism with regards to the second candidate value profile. The outcomes additionally show a possible market segmentation according to the kind of business and clientele of the respondents.

Keywords: Carpal Tunnel Syndrome | Esthetical Quality | Hair Dryer | Product Profile | Quality Function Deployment

Abstract: This Chapter presents an overview of the IPPR methodology aimed at clarifying the involved activities and how they are organized in the methodological workflow. The analysis and solution path of the suggested approach consists in three main steps. The first step is aimed at defining a multi-domain model of the business process to support the subsequent analysis tasks and the representation of the relevant information. The second step supports the user in the identification of the business process weaknesses according to the classes of problems defined in Chap. 1, thus leading to the definition of meaningful directions for their solution. The last step suggests suitable methodological approaches for the identification of physical solutions aimed at implementing the improved business process. The specific tools involved in each step of IPPR method are detailed in Chap. 3.

Keywords: Business Process | Customer Requirement | Customer Satisfaction | Quality Function Deployment | Tacit Knowledge

Abstract: According to the current trend to extend the domain of application of Engineering Design to the whole Product Cycle, i.e. from the definition of the product profile to the management of the dismantling procedures, the authors are investigating the possibility to define a practical toolkit to support the earliest stages of product development both in terms of prescriptions to generate new value propositions and assessment of the expected market appraisal. The present paper deals with the second objective and proposes a twofold version of Value Assessment Metrics (VAM) which allow to estimate the success potential of a new product through a balance of its functionalities and features with respect to the alternatives existing in the market. After reporting the methodological approach adopted to build the VAM, the paper presents their preliminary validation and an exemplary application to the proposition of an innovative lipstick.

Keywords: Blue ocean strategy | Functional classification | New product development | TRIZ

Abstract: The paper illustrates an original model and a dialogue-based software application that have been developed by integrating the logic of ARIZ with some OTSM-TRIZ models, in order to guide a user, also with no TRIZ background, to the analysis of inventive problems. The dialogue-based procedure brings to the construction of a model of the inventive problem, which is used both to trigger new solutions by highlighting different solving perspectives and to start an automatic knowledge search within technical and scientific information. The prototype system has been tested with students at Politecnico di Milano and at the University of Florence. The paper details the structure of the algorithm and the results of the first validation activity. © 2011 IFIP International Federation for Information Processing.

Keywords: Computer-Aided Innovation | conceptual design | dialogue-based system | OTSM-TRIZ | problem solving

Abstract: Among the different aims and scopes of Computer-Aided Innovation (CAI) systems a relevant topic is the support of inventive problem solving tasks. The paper presents the research activity developed by the authors in this domain, encompassing the review of the distinctive features of problems encountered by designers and the common approaches employed to overcome them. A further thread of the investigation carried out in this paper concerns the limitations of computer-based approaches exploiting acknowledged models for problem solving. Downstream of the performed analysis the authors highlight the requirements that a novel CAI application should fulfil, supporting the opportunities for building a dialogue-based system. © 2011 IFIP International Federation for Information Processing.

Keywords: Computer-Aided Innovation | conceptual design | dialogue-based system | inventive problem solving

Abstract: The paper reports an exemplary application in the field of wood pellets production of an original methodology to support business process re-engineering by mapping product requirements to product development phases in order to analyse their contribution to value creation. The methodology has been already published and validated by the authors in different industrial sectors through real case studies, all characterized by well-established business processes, needing improvements to preserve their competitiveness on the marketplace. In this paper the effectiveness of the methodology in identifying process criticalities is tested with regards to industrial processes experiencing under capacities in satisfying the market demand as well as concerning not yet established business ideas. According tothis perspective, the wood pellet production process is a suitable case study. In fact, this industrial sector presents high business opportunities in Italy, since the market demand of such kind of energy sources has grown dramatically in the last five years. However, the poor performance of current industrial processes not yet at a mature stage does not allow the complete exploitation of the biomass resources, thus the market demand of woody fuels remains unsatisfied. The paper first positions the work of the authors with respect to already established business processre-engineering techniques; then summarizes the original methodology and details its application in the biofuel field.

Keywords: Business process re-engineering | Customer satisfaction | Pellet manufacturing improvements | Process value analysis | Under development business opportunities

Abstract: The research of the authors within product development is addressed at developing a tool for innovation in industry, namely Integrated Product and Process Re-engineering (IPPR), whose overall objective is enhancing and harmonizing ideation, design and manufacturing with a product lifecycle approach. The module of IPPR indicated as Process Value Analysis (PVA) is aimed at ranking the phases of a business process according to their contribution to customer satisfaction with respect to the employed resources. The original contribution of the present paper is complementing the method with information concerning drops in customer satisfaction as a result of poorly performed process phases. By accepting the non-linear relationship between satisfaction and attributes' quality level and the different roles played by customer requirements according to Kano categories, the authors propose a preliminary method to provide quantitative evaluations of the effects of process phases that do not thoroughly fulfil the intended objectives. An exemplary application here presented refers to the cosmetic industry, by investigating the production process of lipsticks, to which PVA was previously applied with encouraging outcomes.

Keywords: Customer satisfaction | Kano categories | Lipstick production | Process phases performance | Process value analysis

Abstract: The paper describes a methodology to support business process re-engineering by mapping product requirements to product development phases in order to analyze their contribution to value creation. The methodology has been already validated by the authors in different industrial sectors through real case studies [1], that were all characterized by well established business processes, needing improvements to preserve their competitiveness in the marketplace. In this chapter the effectiveness of the methodology in identifying process criticalities is tested with regards to industrial processes experiencing under capacities in satisfying the market demand as well as concerning not yet established business ideas. The task is performed by considering the wood pellet production process as a case study. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2011.

Keywords: Business process re-engineering | Customer satisfaction | Process value analysis | Product requirements

Abstract: In recent years, several TRIZ practitioners have focused their attention on the application of TRIZ concepts for new business strategy definition. Among the others, the Blue Ocean Strategy has attracted the largest consensus. Nevertheless, this methodological approach proves to be very elegant to describe past business innovation successes, while it provides just general directions if a new profile of "values" is requested for a given product or service. The present paper analyzes with a TRIZ perspective 32 case studies from the BOS literature and shows that more prescriptive guidelines can be identified from these experiences. © 2011 Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Keywords: Functional features | New value proposition | System operator | TRIZ ideality

Abstract: Two decades of studies about business process re-engineering have proposed several strategies for the reorganization of a production process aimed at costs saving and waste reduction. Nevertheless, there is still a substantial lack of suitable means to measure if and how much the production phases contribute to deliver value, i.e. satisfaction, to the end user. The present paper proposes a methodology aimed at supporting business process re-engineering activities by taking into account the impact each phase of a process has on the value perceived by the customers. The methodology swivels on process value analysis, that is performed through the evaluation of both the customer perceived benefits originated from the process phases, and the resources spent in the same phases. On the basis of customer satisfaction requirements, guidelines are defined in order to identify both process evolution strategies and resource reorganization activities allowing the market competitiveness of products and/or services that the process sells to be preserved and improved. The methodology has been applied to a case study in the field of the Italian footwear industry in order to assess its efficiency.

Keywords: Business process re-engineering | Customer perceived value | Footwear sector | Kano model | Process modelling | TRIZ | Value analysis