Improving design processes through structured reflection : a domain-independent approach

This report includes the Ph.D. thesis of Isabelle Reymen, which has been defended at the Technische Universteit Eindhoven on April 3, 2001. The thesis can be positioned in the field of design research. The goal of the performed research is to decrease the gap between design research and design practice in order to improve design processes. To reach this goal, the development of support for structured reflection on design processes and the development of domain-independent design knowledge is combined in a broad explorative study. Structured reflection on design processes can help designers to improve their design process, its results, and the designer’s proficiency. Domain-independent design knowledge (as distinguished from domain-specific knowledge) is useful to improve design processes in various design disciplines. The Ph.D. thesis describes a domain-independent approach to improve design processes through structured reflection. The results are a design philosophy and a design frame, offering concepts, a vocabulary, and a structure to describe design processes in a domainindependent way, and a design method, being a first proposal of a method that supports structured reflection on design processes. The results are starting points to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of design processes in practice