DOCSLIB.ORG

Design for an Unknown Future: Amplified Roles for Collaboration, New Design Knowledge, and Creativity Stephanie Wilson, Lisa Zamberlan

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Design for an Unknown Future: Amplified Roles for Collaboration, New Design Knowledge, and Creativity Stephanie Wilson, Lisa Zamberlan Design for an Unknown Future: Amplified Roles for Collaboration, New Design Knowledge, and Creativity Stephanie Wilson, Lisa Zamberlan Introduction The field of design has expanded significantly in recent years. In Downloaded from http://direct.mit.edu/desi/article-pdf/31/2/3/1715404/desi_a_00318.pdf by guest on 27 September 2021 addition to engaging in the design of artifacts, designers are apply- ing their skills in a wide range of areas that include organizational design, service design, strategic design, interaction design, and design for social innovation. The rapid development of these areas is, in part, propelled by a broad recognition of design thinking and practice as a significant driver of innovation. This recognition is reflected in the establishment of government-funded design labs, such as MindLab in Denmark and Helsinki Design Lab in Finland. The potential of design to transform the public sector has also recently been recognized in Australia through the development of the Centre for Excellence in Public Service Design. Although recent research has identified new and emerging roles for design and the designer in the twenty-first century, a num- ber of areas remain underexplored in the literature. This article examines several of these areas, including the designer’s role as co- creator in collaborative and interdisciplinary teams, as well as the designer’s role in generating new design knowledge and in devel- oping and contributing to cultures of creativity. Examples from practice are used to illuminate the growing importance of these roles in design and for designers as they navigate the complexity of today’s design challenges. Design for an Unknown Future Educational theorist Ronald Barnett explores the notion of what it means to learn for an unknown future.1 He describes the con- text through the notion of supercomplexity. His ideas provide a constructive lens through which to examine the future of design. Barnett notes that of course the future has always been unknown, but that the sense of the unknown has never been as vivid as it is 1 Ronald Barnett, “Learning for an now. A supercomplex world is characterized by uncertainty, unpre- Unknown Future,” Higher Education Research and Development 31, no. 1 dictability, contestability, and changeability, and its complexity 2 (2012): 65–77. arises from a multiplicity of frameworks. In the case of education, 2 Ronald Barnett, “University Knowledge this situation challenges the notion of well-defined discipline in an Age of Supercomplexity,” Higher Education 40 (2000): 409–422. © 2015 Massachusetts Institute of Technology doi:10.1162/DESI_a_00318 DesignIssues: Volume 31, Number 2 Spring 2015 3 structures. What does the supercomplex world, with its multi- plicity of frameworks, mean for design? How are the platforms, approaches, and processes of design shifting to meet the needs of this changing world? The Global Agenda Council for Design Innovation recog- nizes that the complex environment in which we live requires that we “constantly readjust our mindsets to tackle its dynamic forces” and describes design and innovation as drivers for a creative and sustainable future.3 To address future global challenges, the Coun- cil asserts, design and innovation need to “act as systems of collab- oration that encourage inclusive, accessible, multifunctional, and sustainable ways of thinking.”4 Similarly, in their RED Paper 02, Colin Burns et al. make clear that new problems require new prac- Downloaded from http://direct.mit.edu/desi/article-pdf/31/2/3/1715404/desi_a_00318.pdf by guest on 27 September 2021 tice, and they highlight the need for greater interaction with the community and users and new ways of tapping into the creativity of these groups.5 Design and innovation have been described as naturally democratic mediums. That is, they are able to preserve their cul- 6 3 “Global Agenda Council on Design tural principles while embracing new ideas and systems. In this & Innovation 2013,” World Economic sense, design seems well positioned to make significant contribu- Forum, www.weforum.org/content/ tions in a world where discipline boundaries are blurred and new global-agenda-council-design-innova- frameworks are called for. tion-2012-2013 (accessed May 28, 2013). 4 Ibid. Design Thinking to Transformational Design: 5 Colin Burns et al., “Red Paper 02: Toward a Renegotiation of Boundaries Transformation Design,” British Design Tim Brown, CEO and President of the leading design firm IDEO, Council (2006): 8. See www.designcoun- 7 cil.info/mt/RED/transformationdesign/ has contributed to the popularization of design thinking. The early TransformationDesignFinalDraft.pdf application of design thinking by Brown and his contemporaries (accessed May 20, 2013). was largely focused on the business sector. It has been used to give 6 See Leon Cruikshank, “The Innovation businesses a competitive edge and to provide managers with alter- Dimension: Designing in a Broader native tools for undertaking significant organizational change. In Context,” Design Issues 26, no. 2 (2010): 17–26; and Global Agenda Council. Brown’s words, design thinking “uses the designer’s sensibility 7 See Tim Brown, “Design Thinking,” and methods to match people’s needs with what is technologi- Harvard Business Review (June 2008): cally feasible and what a viable business strategy can convert into 84–92; Tim Brown, Change By Design: customer value and market opportunity.”8 Brown has described the How Design Thinking Transforms process as a system of three overlapping spaces: inspiration, ide- Organizations and Inspires Innovation ation, and implementation, and he defines the key features of (New York: HarperCollins, 2009); and Tim Brown and Jocelyn Wyatt, “Design design thinking as empathy, integrative thinking, optimism, exper- Thinking for Social Innovation,” Stanford imentalism, and collaboration.9 Brown notes that the more linear Social Innovation Review, Stanford nature of business approaches and activities is what distinguishes Graduate School of Business (Winter them from design thinking. 2010), www.ssireview.org/articles/entry/ In critical discussions about design thinking, Lucy Kimbell design_thinking_for_social_innovation/ (accessed May 28, 2013). calls for an acknowledgement of “the situated, embodied work of 8 Brown, “Design Thinking,” 86. design thinking practice,” as well as for recognition of “the diver- 9 Ibid., 87–88. sity of designers’ practices and the institutions in which they 10 Lucy Kimbell, “Rethinking Design work.”10 In addition, she raises concerns about the fact that despite Thinking: Part I,” Design and Culture 3, claims about design thinking being “user-centered,” the designer is no. 3 (2011): 289. still heralded as the main agent in and of design.11 11 Ibid. 4 DesignIssues: Volume 31, Number 2 Spring 2015 Kimbell’s efforts to reinstate “practice” in conversations about design thinking are supported by Tony Fry, who highlights the inseparable connection between design practice and what designers do. He describes practice as that which “forms and ani- mates [designers’] ontology as designers.”12 The distinction between process and practice as a way of understanding the contri- bution of design is further explored by Robert Young, who empha- sizes design as a way of being and doing, rather than as an object of enquiry. Young highlights the ability of design to embrace opportu- nity through creativity, to observe patterns and to connect problems with solutions.13 The release of RED Paper 02 in 2006, by the RED group of the British Design Council,14 signifies an important shift in ideas Downloaded from http://direct.mit.edu/desi/article-pdf/31/2/3/1715404/desi_a_00318.pdf by guest on 27 September 2021 about design thinking. The paper articulates a broader conception of design thinking and captures new directions in design under the banner of transformation design. (The paper has been credited as one of the first to link design and social innovation.) The paper recognizes the potential of harnessing “the creativity of users and front line workers to co-create new public services that better address… complex problems.”15 The RED group has applied trans- formation design to a broad range of contexts, including the pre- vention of ill health, the management of chronic illness, reducing energy use, strengthening citizenship, reducing recidivism among prisoners, and improving learning.16 The practice is described as interdisciplinary, and the term “design innovation” is used to describe RED’s approach to challenging the accepted thinking in business and the public sector. Transformation design is described as “building on traditional design skills,” and using “the design process as a means to enable a wide range of disciplines and stake- holders to collaborate.”17 The paper acknowledges that the desire is growing among designers to tackle society’s challenging problems, and those challenges are described as complex, non-linear problems 12 Tony Fry, Design Futuring: Sustainability, that are connected to other problems and produce unintended con- Ethics and New Practice (Oxford, UK: sequences.18 Once again, we are reminded of the features of super- Berg, 2008): 22. complexity identified by Barnett: unpredictability, changeability, 13 Robert Young, interview, Design 19 Transitions (February 2012), http:// uncertainty, and contestability. These conditions challenge the design-transitions.com/expert-view/ effectiveness of hierarchical structures, which are less suited to han- bob-young/ (accessed
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Shaping New Knowledges
    PAPER ABSTRACT BOOK SHAPINGSHAPING NEWNEW KNOWLEDGESKNOWLEDGES ROBERT CORSER SHARON HAAR 2016 ACSA 104TH ANNUAL MEETING Shaping New Knowledges CO-CHAIRS Robert Corser, University of Washington Sharon Haar, University of Michigan HOST SCHOOLS University of Washington Copyright © 2016 Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture, Inc., except where otherwise restricted. All rights reserved. No material may be reproduced without permission of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture. Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture 1735 New York Ave., NW Washington, DC 20006 www.acsa-arch.org 2 – 2016 ACSA 104th Annual Meeting Abstract Book CONTENTS THURSDAY, MARCH 17 FRIDAY, MARCH 18 SATURDAY, MARCH 19 2:00PM - 3:30PM 11:00AM - 12:30PM 9:00AM - 10:30AM 05 Acting Out: The Politics and Practices of 15 Divergent Modes of Engagement: 31 Beginnings in the Context of New Interventions: Session 1 Exploring the Spectrum of Collaborative Knowledge Mireille Roddier, U. Michigan and Participatory Practices: Session 1 Catherine Wetzel, IIT Caryn Brause, U. Massachusetts, Amherst James Sullivan, Louisiana State U. 06 Architecture is Philosophy: Beyond the Joseph Krupczynski, U. Massachusetts, Post-Critical: Session 1 Amherst 32 Open: Hoarding, Updating, Drafting: Mark Thorsby, Lone Star College The Production of Knowledge in Thomas Forget, U. N. Carolina @ Charlotte 16 Knowledge Fields: Between Architecture Architectural History and Landscape: Session 1 Sarah Stevens, U. of British Columbia Cathryn Dwyre, Pratt Institute 07 Open: Challenging Materiality: Industry Chris Perry, RPI Collaborations Reshaping Design 33 Water, Water Everywhere…: Session 1 Julie Larsen, Syracuse U. Jori A. Erdman, Louisiana State U. Roger Hubeli, Syracuse U. 17 Knowledge in the Public Interest Nadia M.
    [Show full text]
  • What Knowledge Is of Most Worth in Engineering Design Education?
    Integrated Design: What Knowledge is of Most Worth in Engineering Design Education? Richard Devon Sven Bilén 213 Hammond 213 Hammond Pennsylvania State University Pennsylvania State University PA 16802 PA 16802 [email protected] sbilé[email protected] Alison McKay Alan de Pennington Dep’t. of Mechanical Engineering Dep’t. of Mechanical Engineering University of Leeds University of Leeds Leeds LS2 9JT, UK Leeds LS2 9JT, UK [email protected] [email protected] Patrick Serrafero Javier Sánchez Sierra Ecole Centrale de Lyon Esc. Sup. de Ingenieros de Tecnun 17 Chemin du Petit Bois Universidad de Navarra F-69130 Lyon-Ecully, France 20018 San Sebastián, Spain [email protected] [email protected] Abstract This paper is based on the premise that the design ideas and methods that cut across most fields of engineering, herein called integrated design, have grown rapidly in the last two or three decades and that integrated design now has the status of cumulative knowledge. This is old news for many, but a rather limited approach to teaching design knowledge is still common in the United States and perhaps elsewhere. In many engineering departments in the United States, students are only required to have a motivational and experiential introductory design course that is followed several years later by an experiential and discipline-specific capstone course [1]. Some limitations of the capstone approach, such as too little and too late, have been noted [2]. In some departments, and for some students, another experiential design course may be taken as an elective. A few non-design courses have an experiential design project added following a design across the curriculum approach.
    [Show full text]
  • Budgen, Software Design Methods
    David Budgen The Loyal Opposition Software Design Methods: Life Belt or Leg Iron? o software design methods have a correctly means “study of method.”) To address, but future? In introducing the January- not necessarily answer, this question, I’ll first consider D February 1998 issue of IEEE Software,Al what designing involves in a wider context, then com- Davis spoke of the hazards implicit in pare this with what we do, and finally consider what “method abuse,”manifested by a desire this might imply for the future. to “play safe.”(If things go well, you can take the credit, but if they go wrong, the organization’s choice of method can take the blame.) As Davis argues, such a THE DESIGN PROCESS policy will almost certainly lead to our becoming builders of what he terms “cookie-cutter, low-risk, low- Developing solutions to problems is a distinguish- payoff, mediocre systems.” ing human activity that occurs in many spheres of life. The issue I’ll explore in this column is slightly dif- So, although the properties of software-based systems ferent, although it’s also concerned with the problems offer some specific problems to the designer (such as that the use of design methods can present. It can be software’s invisibility and its mix of static and dynamic expressed as a question: Will the adoption of a design properties), as individual design characteristics, these method help the software development process (the properties are by no means unique. Indeed, while “life belt” role), or is there significant risk that its use largely ignored by software engineers, the study of the will lead to suboptimum solutions (the “leg iron”role)? nature of design activities has long been established Robert L.
    [Show full text]
  • A Prototype Framework for Knowledge-Based Analog Circuit Synthesis* Abstract 1. Introduction 2. Background
    A Prototype Framework for Knowledge-Based Analog Circuit Synthesis* Ramesh Harjani, Rob A. Rutenbar and L. Richard Carley Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering Carnl:gie Mellon University Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213 Abstract Analog design is commonly perceived to be one of the most knowledge-intensive of design tasks: the techniques needed to An organization for a knowledge-based analog (circuit build good analog circuits seem to exist solely as expertise in- synthesis tool is described. Analog circuit topologies are vested in individual designers. represented as a hierarchy of functional blocks; a planning This paper describes a knowledge-based framework for an mechanism is introduced to translate performance specifica- analog circuit synthesis tool. Although “knowledge-based” tions between levels in this circuit hierarchy. A prototype im- has come to be synonymous with “rule-based” in CAD ap- plementation, OASYS, synthesizes sized transistor schematics plications, our prototype implementation relies more heavily for simple CMOS operational amplifiers from performance on planning mechanisms than on rule execution. We attack specifications and process parameters, and demonstrates the the behavior-tc+structure portion of the synthesis task; our workability of the a.pproach. goal is to produce circuit schematics including device sizes, from performance specifications for common analog functional 1. Introduction blocks. This approach is motivated by the lack of tools to Design automation ideas from digital VLSI have only support the design of custom analog circuits. In particular, recently begun to migrate into analog circuit design. In part there are emerging semi-custom methodologies to lay out a this reflects the inherent complexities of the analog design given circuit schematic, but as yet no real tools to help design process.
    [Show full text]
  • Understanding the Creative Mechanisms of Design Thinking: an Evolutionary Approach
    !"#$%&'("#)"*+',$+-%$(').$+/$0,(")&1&+23+4$&)*"+5,)"6)"*7+ 8"+9.2:;')2"(%<+8==%2(0,+ Katja Thoring Roland M. Müller Department of Design Faculty of Business and Economics Anhalt University of Applied Sciences Berlin School of Economics and Law Seminarplatz 2a, 06846 Dessau/Germany Badensche Str. 50/51, 10825 Berlin/Germany +49 (0) 340 5197-1747 +49 (0) 30 85789-387 [email protected] [email protected] 8>?5@8-5+ Since generating creative concepts is one of the core aims In this article, we analyse the concept of design thinking of design thinking, we try to analyse how this is actually with its process, the team structure, the work environment, achieved. The first part of this article presents a short the specific culture, and certain brainstorming rules and overview of the design thinking process, as well as the techniques. The goal of this work is to understand how the involved artefacts and team members, and the underlying creative mechanisms of design thinking work and how they principles and guidelines for the process. In the second might be improved. For this purpose, we refer to the idea of section, we present an overview of the evolutionary theory creativity as an evolutionary process, which is determined of creativity. Both sections also cover the analysis of by generation (i.e., recombination and mutation), selection, existing literature in each area. The third section describes and retention of ideas. We evaluate the design thinking the used methodology, while in the fourth section, the main process in terms of its capabilities to activate these part of this article, we draw a comparison between the two mechanisms, and we propose possible improvements.
    [Show full text]
  • On Deciding the Boundaries of Architectural Knowledge
    1 On deciding the boundaries of architectural knowledge Abstract Architectural educators constantly struggle with the boundaries of architectural knowledge and the logistics of providing an education that prepares a student to become an architect. The constant struggle between the intellectual demands of the discipline of architecture and the practice of architecture is due to the vagueness in defining the boundaries of architectural knowledge. A new approach to structure architectural knowledge may provide the armature necessary to bridge the divide between the discipline of architecture and the practice of architecture, to redefine the architectural curriculum and allow us to map the territory of architectural knowledge. Introduction A major problem facing the field of architectural education is the lack of boundaries for architectural knowledge. The proverbial curriculum of 22 years suggested by Dean Hudnut, or pithy statements that point out that the pursuit of architectural knowledge is a lifelong endeavor, do not help the situation. Faced with a limited time frame in which to provide an architectural education in a university setting (which is constantly being questioned), deciding1 the boundaries of architectural knowledge (thereby defining a discipline?) becomes a necessary task. Architects are perpetual transgressors when it comes to disciplinary knowledge. We appropriate from many different sources and pride Ganapathy Mahalingam Page 1 3/2/2019 2 ourselves on the fact that we are able to creatively synthesize an "architectural
    [Show full text]
  • The Design Studio Brief in Architecture's
    Charrette:essay Tales and tools: the Design Studio Brief in Architecture’s expanded field. Suzanne Ewing. Edinburgh School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture, University of Edinburgh. ABSTRACT This essay argues that the Design Studio Brief establishes tacit disciplinary practices of architecture, as well as more explicit pursuit of topics of formulated relevance or concern. A series of tales of Design Studio Briefs from the fourth year of study at one UK Architecture School are sampled at dates which coincide with significant moments in Scotland’s recent constitutional history: the 1979 devolution Referendum, the 1997/1999 establishment of the Scottish Parliament, and the 2014 Independence Referendum. The tales are followed by a discussion on tools: towards means and practices which might inform the re-tooling of the Design Studio Brief and its ends. KEYWORDS design studio brief, disciplinary practices, architectural education Over the past forty years the field of global Higher Education economy. Allied to Architecture has expanded in scope and in the funding conditions which redefine national and potential of architectural design as subject and transnational educational responsibilities, what practice.1 Focus has shifted from site to field, educational capital is and what it is for, from static object to moving project.2 requires a refreshed ethical position.5 Preoccupations of Design Studios in architectural education have shifted from Euro- Architectural Design Studios are often known centric sites and artefacts deemed worthy
    [Show full text]
  • From Design Knowledge to Design Wisdom Pınar Yalçın Celik Semra Aydinlı
    1 Techné's strategic nature / The role of ‘understanding’ in design: from design knowledge to design wisdom Pınar Yalçın Celik Semra Aydinlı Introduction Contemporary design education becomes more complex and comprehensive because of its holistic character. The main problem in design education is the dilemma posed by theory and practice. There is a distance between everyday life/ reality and design ideas / possibilities. The integration of theory and practice is essential for preparing students to deal with the community and design issues during their professional life. According to Buchanan (1995), design thinking in the contemporary world must be based on knowledge gained from many fields and disciplines. Knowledge may be a source for inspiration, practical constraint or criteria for evaluation, but knowledge is useless unless it is transformed in the designer’s imagination into ideas and images, visions of the world that may be effectively communicated to others. Today the designer should be prepared for a world where problems arise and change faster than their answers, where uncertainty is great and the change is essential within the future innovations of the 21st century. Therefore, the designer must develop a more unified mind, to be able to use simultaneously both intuitive and logical reasoning in grasping the design knowledge. As Margolin and Buchanan (1995) say, what design offers are fresh opportunities to understand what it means to be human in the contemporary world, and at the same time, bringing theoretical understanding into direct relation with practice. Eventually, the idea of design lies in being able to integrate new thought-style with the past experiences without neglecting the value of knowledge.
    [Show full text]
  • From Requirements to Design Specifications- a Formal Approach
    INTERNATIONAL DESIGN CONFERENCE - DESIGN 2010 Dubrovnik - Croatia, May 17 - 20, 2010. FROM REQUIREMENTS TO DESIGN SPECIFICATIONS- A FORMAL APPROACH W. Brace and K. Thramboulidis Keywords: requirements, requirements checklist, design specification, requirements formalization, model-centric requirements engineering 1. Introduction The traditional development process for mechatronic systems is criticized as inappropriate for the development of systems characterized by complexity, dynamics and uncertainty as is the case with today’s products. Software is playing an always increasing role in the development of these systems and it has become the evolving driver for innovations. It does not only implement a significant part of the functionality of today’s mechatronic systems, but it is also used to realize many of their competitive advantages [Thramboulidis 2009]. However, the current process is traditionally divided into software, electronics and mechanics, with every discipline to emphasize on its own approaches, methodologies and tools. Moreover, vocabularies used in processes and methodologies are different making the collaboration between the disciplines a great challenge. System development activities such as requirements and design specification, implementation and verification are well defined in software engineering. In terms of software engineering the term “design specification” is used to refer to the various models that are produced during the design process and describe the various models of the proposed solutions. Therefore, “design specifications” are descriptions of solution space while “analysis specifications” are descriptions of problem space. Analysis specifications include both requirements specifications but also the problem space structuring that is represented by analysis models such as class diagrams that capture the key concepts of the problem domain and in this sense they provide a specific structuring of the problem space.
    [Show full text]
  • Perception from Maintenance Technicians
    applied sciences Article Analysis for the Knowledge Management Application in Maintenance Engineering: Perception from Maintenance Technicians Javier Cárcel-Carrasco 1,* and José-Antonio Cárcel-Carrasco 1,2 1 Department of Architectural Constructions, Universitat Politècnica de València, Camino de Vera s/n, 46022 València, Spain; [email protected] 2 Tecnatom S.A., C.N. Cofrentes s/n, Cofrentes, 46625 València, Spain * Correspondence: [email protected]; Tel.: +34-96-387-7000 Abstract: Knowledge based on personal experience (tacit knowledge) acquired in problem solving actions and in maintenance actions is the fundamental basis for maintenance technicians in companies with great physical assets. Generally, there is no proper policy for managing strategic knowledge and its capture. In this article, through qualitative studies (grounded theory) and surveys conducted with technicians, the aim was to obtain the perception of the maintenance technicians’ part of the companies, in order to establish the characteristics of the relation between the strategic aspects and the engineering aspects of industrial maintenance, regarding knowledge management, as well as the enablers and barriers to its application. The results show how a high level of tacit knowledge is used in this activity, which requires more time for new staff. The values obtained from this survey show that the knowledge recorded by the companies (explicit) is 51.25%, compared to the personal knowledge (tacit) of maintenance technicians regarding reliability and breakdowns. In operational/exploitational actions it is 43.90%, for energy efficiency actions it is 49.61%, and in maintenance actions (preventive, predictive, and corrective) the value is 68.78%. This shows the significant gap between the perception of recorded knowledge (explicit), and the knowledge that maintenance technicians have (tacit knowledge).
    [Show full text]
  • Chapter 3 Software Design
    CHAPTER 3 SOFTWARE DESIGN Guy Tremblay Département d’informatique Université du Québec à Montréal C.P. 8888, Succ. Centre-Ville Montréal, Québec, Canada, H3C 3P8 [email protected] Table of Contents references” with a reasonably limited number of entries. Satisfying this requirement meant, sadly, that not all 1. Introduction..................................................................1 interesting references could be included in the recom- 2. Definition of Software Design .....................................1 mended references list, thus the list of further readings. 3. Breakdown of Topics for Software Design..................2 2. DEFINITION OF SOFTWARE DESIGN 4. Breakdown Rationale...................................................7 According to the IEEE definition [IEE90], design is both 5. Matrix of Topics vs. Reference Material .....................8 “the process of defining the architecture, components, 6. Recommended References for Software Design........10 interfaces, and other characteristics of a system or component” and “the result of [that] process”. Viewed as a Appendix A – List of Further Readings.............................13 process, software design is the activity, within the software development life cycle, where software requirements are Appendix B – References Used to Write and Justify the analyzed in order to produce a description of the internal Knowledge Area Description ....................................16 structure and organization of the system that will serve as the basis for its construction. More precisely, a software design (the result) must describe the architecture of the 1. INTRODUCTION system, that is, how the system is decomposed and This chapter presents a description of the Software Design organized into components and must describe the interfaces knowledge area for the Guide to the SWEBOK (Stone Man between these components. It must also describe these version).
    [Show full text]
  • Design Knowledge and Design Change Management in the Operation of Nuclear Fleets
    Design Knowledge and Design Change Management in the Operation of Nuclear Fleets Cooperation in Reactor Design Evaluation and Licensing Working Group Title: Design Knowledge and Design Change Management in the Operation of Nuclear Fleets Produced by: World Nuclear Association Published: April 2015 Report No. 2015/002 © 2015 World Nuclear Association. Registered in England and Wales, company number 01215741 This WNA report reflects the views of industry experts but does not necessarily represent those of any of the WNA’s individual member organizations. Contents Executive Summary 1 1. Introduction 2 2. CORDEL and Design Change Management 5 3. Design Change and Lessons Learned from Fukushima 6 4. The Licensee’s (Utility / Operating organization) Role and Responsibility 7 5. The Importance of the Vendor and Responsible Designer’s Role 9 6. The Owners’ Group Role for a Standardized Reactor Fleet 12 7. WANO role 14 8. Regulator Role 15 9. Design Authority 16 10. The Aerospace Industry Model 18 11. Conclusions and Recommendations 19 12. References 21 Executive Summary The operating lifetime of a nuclear plant spans several decades. During this time, the plant may undergo design changes as a result of experience feedback, new knowledge or requirements, and safety reviews. To ensure that safety remains optimised, these changes must be carried out with a full understanding of and without compromising the design intent. The licensee, usually the operator, holds prime responsibility for the safety of the plant, and by extension it is fully responsible for design change management. According to the IAEA (SSR-2/1), it should fulfil this responsibility by establishing “a formal system for ensuring the continuing safety of the plant design throughout the lifetime of the nuclear power plant”.
    [Show full text]