Cognitive Outsourcing in the Conceptual Phase of the Design Process

Investigations of how the design process actually proceeds have shown (B&B Reports 1994–2001) that engineering design can be made both more efficient and better at fulfilling the original purpose if the design process flow is based on order and clearness. This applies to the description of the objects being designed at the various stages of their development; it applies, likewise, to the formulating of rules, regulations and critical paths with which it will be necessary to support a methodical approach, and it also applies to their use. Objects being designed are to be represented in a variety of external forms, but, frequently, the full possibilities of such representations are not exploit. For the concrete stages of the design process, technical drawings with their laws and norms are one well-established and useful type of representation. Another is geometrical modelling, whether with two-dimensional or three-dimensional CAD systems. However, there is no set of representational and other support tools to assist in the earliest stages of engineering design. In hopes of closing this gap to some extent, the paper concentrates on cognitive outsourcing (see introduction of the chapter) and helps for conceptual design, with the aim of offering suitable methods and computer-assisted tools which may support the designers conceptual work.