Systems Design Thinking: Identification and Measurement of Attitudes for Systems Engineering, Systems Thinking, and Design Thinking by Melissa T. Greene A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Design Science) in the University of Michigan 2019 Doctoral Committee: Professor Richard Gonzalez, Co-Chair Professor Panos Y. Papalambros, Co-Chair Associate Professor Eytan Adar Dr. Anna-Maria Rivas McGowan, National Aeronautics and Space Administration Professor Oscar Ybarra Melissa T. Greene [email protected] ORCID iD: 0000-0002-7063-2500 © Melissa T. Greene 2019 DEDICATION To Dad Love, Tess ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS First and foremost, my sincerest thanks to Anna McGowan for recognizing my potential, introducing me to like minds at NASA Langley, and connecting me with the thought leaders in Design Science at the University of Michigan. Without you, I’d have never found “my people.” To Panos Papalambros, my advisor, chair and mentor: you have helped me grow intellectually, professionally, and personally. Thank you for challenging me to be the best version of myself, for encouraging me to be confident, and for your empathy and kindness through it all. It has been an honor and a privilege to learn from you. To Rich Gonzalez: learning to leverage the incredible amount of knowledge, experience, and skill available to me at Michigan was and continues to be a challenge. Thank you for allowing me the time and space to figure it out. I sincerely appreciate your intellectual contributions to the work and your patience and support as I learn how to communicate. To DESCI and ODE, past and present: thank you all for being wonderful friends and colleagues. I have many fond memories and have learned so much from each of you. To Vignesh and Sanjana, thank you for your intellectual contributions. Aria, thank you for sharing this journey with me – what a long, strange trip it’s been. Finally, and most importantly, my deepest gratitude to my family, for believing in me every step of the way. Mom and Dad, thank you for your unwavering support through every decision, pivot, change of plan, and change of location over the last ten years. You have enabled me to realize my talents and fulfill my potential. I will be forever grateful. To Doug and Steve, my brothers and best friends, thank you for always reminding me what’s truly important, for iii keeping me grounded, and for being a constant source of fun and light in my life. To Patty and Ryanne, my soul sisters, thank you for being the wonderful women you are. I’m so thankful to know you. To Andy, my boots on the ground: thank you for living the “every day” with me, for truly understanding what it took to get here, and for helping me make it happen. You are the best teammate and partner and I am so grateful for you. To all: thanks again. I couldn’t have done it without you. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS DEDICATION ................................................................................................................................ ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ............................................................................................................. iii LIST OF TABLES ......................................................................................................................... ix LIST OF FIGURES ....................................................................................................................... xi LIST OF APPENDICES ............................................................................................................... xii ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................. xiii CHAPTER I. What is “Systems Design Thinking?” ......................................................................................... 1 1.1 Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Research Questions and Methodology................................................................................ 7 1.2.1 Understanding Systems Design Thinking Attitudes .................................................... 8 1.2.2 Measuring Systems Design Thinking Attitudes ........................................................ 10 1.3 Dissertation Overview ...................................................................................................... 10 II. Understanding Systems Design Thinking Attitudes ................................................................ 13 2.1 Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 13 2.2 Literature Review................................................................................................................ 14 2.2.1 An Introduction to the “Systems Approach” for Dealing with Complexity .............. 14 v 2.2.2 Systems Engineering .................................................................................................. 16 2.2.3 Systems Thinking....................................................................................................... 19 2.2.4 Design Thinking......................................................................................................... 25 2.3 Developing a Codebook for Interview Analysis ............................................................... 27 2.3.1 Systems Engineering Codes ....................................................................................... 28 2.3.2 Systems Thinking Codes............................................................................................ 30 2.3.3 Design Thinking Codes.............................................................................................. 32 2.4 From Frameworks to Attitudes: Interviews with Systems Engineers ............................... 34 2.4.1 Method ....................................................................................................................... 35 2.4.2 Analysis...................................................................................................................... 35 2.4.3 Findings...................................................................................................................... 38 2.5 Summary ........................................................................................................................... 41 III. Modeling Systems Design Thinking Attitudes ....................................................................... 43 3.1 Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 43 3.2 Study 1: Technical, Organizational, and Social Systems Thinking .................................. 45 3.2.1 Scale Development .................................................................................................... 45 3.2.2 Pilot Test, Factor Analysis, and Results for Study 1 ................................................. 48 3.2.3 Discussion .................................................................................................................. 52 3.3 Study 2: Systems Thinking and Design Thinking ............................................................ 55 3.3.1 Comparing Systems Thinking and Design Thinking ................................................. 56 vi 3.3.2 Scale Development .................................................................................................... 59 3.3.3 Pilot Test, Factor Analysis, and Results for Study 2 ................................................. 62 3.3.4 Discussion .................................................................................................................. 64 3.4 Study 3: Systems Engineering and Design Thinking ....................................................... 65 3.4.1 Comparing Systems Engineering and Design Thinking ............................................ 66 3.4.2 Scale Development and Pilot Test ............................................................................. 70 3.4.3 Exploratory Factor Analyses...................................................................................... 77 3.4.4 Confirmatory Factor Analyses ................................................................................... 83 3.4.5 Multigroup CFA......................................................................................................... 87 3.4.6 Tests for Measurement Invariance ............................................................................. 91 3.4.7 Additional Qualitative Findings ................................................................................. 92 3.4.8 Discussion .................................................................................................................. 94 3.5 Summary ........................................................................................................................... 96 IV. Validating the Systems Design Thinking Scale...................................................................... 98 4.1 Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 98 4.2 Behavioral Research in Systems Engineering and Design Thinking ................................ 99 4.3 Pilot Validation Study ..................................................................................................... 101