THE DESIGN PROCESS - PROPERTIES, PARADIGMS, AND STRUCTURE

In this paper, we examine the logic and methodology of engineering des ign from the perspective of the philosophy of science. The fundamental characteristics of design problems and design processes are discussed and analyzed. These characteristics establish the framework within wh ich different design paradigms are examined, Following the discussions on descriptive properties of design, and the prescriptive role of des ign paradigms, we advocate the plausible hypothesis that there is a di rect resemblance between the structure of design processes and the pro blem solving of scientific communities, The scientific community metap hor has been useful in guiding the development of general purpose high ly effective design process meta-tools [73], [125].