Knowledge in the making: Prototyping and human-centred design practice. WALTERS, Peter J. Available from Sheffield Hallam University Research Archive (SHURA) at: http://shura.shu.ac.uk/20492/ This document is the author deposited version. You are advised to consult the publisher's version if you wish to cite from it. Published version WALTERS, Peter J. (2005). Knowledge in the making: Prototyping and human- centred design practice. Doctoral, Sheffield Hallam University (United Kingdom).. Copyright and re-use policy See http://shura.shu.ac.uk/information.html Sheffield Hallam University Research Archive http://shura.shu.ac.uk Adsetts Centre City Campus Sheffield S1 1WB <^r)/0cC<c r J O 101 826 210 5 2 * Sheffield Haliam University Author: Title/Thesis Number: no WmaKiNQ - • Degree: -tP Year: <£oo^ Copyright Declaration Consultation for Research or Private study for Non Commercial Purposes I recognise that the copyright in this thesis belongs to the author. 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Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106- 1346 Knowledge in the making: Prototyping and human-centred design practice Peter James Walters A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of Sheffield Hallam University for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy December 2005 6 * 0 'w-i ? * * * > . , ; ' V*. ;:;r, Jr.; ••■\L. r-t-i Contents Acknowledgements Abstract 1.0 Introduction, aims and objectives...........................................................................5 Part One: Contextual Review 2.0 User-centred design literature: definitions and methods................................... 15 3.0 Human-centred design: Knowledge in the making.............................................44 Part Two: Practical Examples 4.0 Practical examples: methodological overview....................................................100 5.0 Well Connected: an interdisciplinary investigation into the benefits of tactile cues within safety critical product applications................. 106 6.0 Bio-inspired actuators........................................................................................... 126 7.0 Summary, conclusions, future directions............................................................228 8.0 Bibliography.............................................................................................................248 9.0 Appendix 1 report on the visit to the MIT/Harvard Centre for Medical Simulation................................................................................................265 10.0 Appendix 2 refereed conference paper, extract from patent application 269 V Acknowledgements I wish to express my gratitude to my supervisory team Professor Paul Chamberlain, Dr Tom Fisher, Professor Mike Press and Professor Anne Tomes who have supported, encouraged and inspired. I am thankful to Professor Chamberlain for providing me with the opportunity to contribute to his program of research in medical device design, and also to the other members of the interdisciplinary project team: Dr Peter Gardner, Dr Rebecca Lawton and Dr Neil Carrigan (University of Leeds) and Dr Philip Bickford Smith (Bradford Royal Infirmary). I would also like to thank Professor Sergio Pellegrino and Matthew Santer (University of Cambridge), Dr Alaster Yoxall (University of Sheffield), and Dr Muhammad Islam and Robert Glynn (Sheffield Hallam University) for taking an interest in my shape- changing structures and also for providing support and advice on computer modelling and simulation techniques in this area. Thanks must also go to the skilled craftsmen and technicians in the design workshops of Sheffield Hallam University who have supported me in my making activities, especially Peter Downes, Howard Walker and John Walton, and also to Katie Davies for her assistance with photography. Research funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council Knowledge in the making: Prototyping and human-centred design practice Abstract This thesis presents an enquiry into the natur e and role of prototyping within human- centred design practice, examining the capabilities and limitations of emerging prototyping technologies within this context. A contextual review explores the significance of the human element in design. This leads to the proposal of a paradigm statement for human-centred design which informs the theoretical and practical research activity undertaken in the course of this investigation. A critical review of literature aimed at the design and engineering professions identifies a rhetoric celebrating the virtualisation of design processes. Here, advocates of emerging virtual prototyping technologies argue computer-based simulation techniques may reduce or replace physical prototype iterations, thereby greatly increasing the speed and efficiency of new product development processes. This thesis questions the extent to which virtual prototyping can replace physical human input in design. A counter argument to the designer's total immersion in the virtual design world is that valuable creative opportunities may be revealed through discoveiy-oriented physical prototyping. Furthermore, it may not be possible to adequately describe all aspects of a design proposal using virtual methods alone. This is demonstrated in practical investigations in which designers sought to exploit tactile qualities as essential features in design, and also in cases involving complex structural behaviour. Despite significant advances in virtual prototyping technologies, there remain some types of design problem which may only be identified and addressed through the making and testing of physical models. Moreover, this thesis argues that the valuable practical knowledge which may be derived through hands-on engagement and manipulation of physical prototypes and materials must be retained as an essential human element in design. VVIUVIIUM 1.0 Introduction, aims and objectives 'The feel for the physical world about us is being lost due to the intervention o f computerised equipment and work is becoming an abstraction from the real world. In my view profound problems face us in the coming years due to this process.' Cooley (1980 p 4) Like many others, I have always enjoyed making. The research described within this thesis arises from this personal enthusiasm and also a deeply held belief in the value of physical making and testing as a means of exploring practical design ideas. For me, a childhood fascination with all things mechanical led to a period of employment as an engineering draughtsperson. I was trained to work on the drawing board and also in CAD (Computer Aided Design) for the production of engineering drawings for a variety of applications ranging from the fabrication of large industrial structures to precision-machined engineering components. Here I benefited from the practical knowledge and experience of those who had worked "on the shop floor". However, I soon grew tired of life in the drawing office, and so I embarked upon studies in industrial design, undertaken in the hands-on "ait school" tradition of studio and workshop-based leaning; a pragmatic approach which actively encouraged 'doing for the sake of knowing' (Dewey 1929 p 87, Gedenryd 1998 p 123). Upon graduation, I entered employment in industrial design, where I gained professional experience in the use of industry-standard computer aided design and engineering techniques and rapid prototyping technologies within a range of product design applications. I later pursued postgraduate study, where I was inspired by the work of researchers and academics engaged in practice-centred design research, based upon an approach of'experimental making' (eg Rust, Whiteley and Wilson 2000; Rust, Chamberlain and Roddis 2000; Rust 2004; Chamberlain, Roddis and Press 1999; Whiteley 2000). The quotation from Mike Cooley cited above comes from a book which is sadly now out of print. In 'Architect or Bee? The human/technology relationship* Cooley anticipated problems which may result from the rapid intervention of'computerised' technology aimed at increasing