Ross Maclachlan

Innovation education programs : toward a conceptual framework

Purpose: Innovation education has been identified as a key contributor to enhancing the innovative behavior of individuals, organizations and economies; yet very little literature exists on the development and assessment of innovation education programs (IEPs). This is particularly so in the higher education and vocational education domains. The purpose of this paper is to bridge the gap in the literature, by proposing a conceptual framework of a multi-dimensional IEP. Design/methodology/approach: The paper employs a transparent and reproducible procedure and critical appraisal of the literature; coupled with emergent inquiry and case study implementation of a leading international IEP. Findings: The study provides a framework by which innovation education facilitators may develop and evaluate their IEPs. The proposed framework provides a thematic appreciation of the multi-dimensional relationships between components. Research limitations/implications: Limited within the context of this case study, geographical context and scant literature on IEPs and reproducible procedure. Originality/value: The study provides a conceptual innovation education framework, based upon a successful international innovation management program.

The best form of medicine? Using humour to enhance design creativity

In addition to playing an important role in social bonds and group dynamics, humor has a long association with creativity and creative thinking. This study attempts to utilize this relationship in the context of design by enhancing brainstorming with the use of humor. The theories of Incongruity, Superiority, and Relief are central in the creation of humor. This research hypothesizes that these can be applied to enhance creative performance in brainstorming by (1) inducing a humorous atmosphere through stimuli and (2) applying jocular structure to the brainstorming process itself. A study of three brainstorming methods (classical, silent structured, and video-enhanced) was undertaken, the results analyzed using the Torrance Test of Creative Thinking, and possible influences of humor on levels of creativity evaluated. The results in this indicated that using a humorous stimulus did not have a positive effect, although there remains a strong case in the literature for further investigation. Structuring the brainstorming session did increase fluency and originality, and a number of insights for creative team formation and working are outlined.

An exploratory model for understanding culture in student design team idea generation

ABSTRACT This paper explores the relationship between measures within Hofstedes cultural framework and performance in concept design by setting out a methodology for evaluating the conceptual design output of student design teams from a cultural perspective. Economic globalization has meant that the management of global teams has become of strategic importance in product development. Cultural diversity is a key factor in such teams, and this work seeks to better understand the effect this can have on two key aspects of the concept design process: concept generation and concept selection. Three different measures were utilized in the analysis of a design study: aggregate cultural values, calculated individual cultural values and personality traits. The effectiveness of these is reviewed, and a methodology presented that provides a basis for more tangible consideration of how culture impacts upon active concept design teams.

Realising the affective potential of patents: a new model of database interpretation for user-centred design

ABSTRACT This research sets out a new interpretation of the patent database using affective design parameters. While this resource contains a vast quantity of technical information, its extraction and use in practical design settings is extremely challenging. Until now, all filing and subsequent landscaping or profiling of patents has been based on their technical characteristics. We set out an alternative approach that utilises crowdsourcing to first summarise patents and then applies text analysis tools to assess the summarising text in relation to three affective parameters: appearance, ease of use, and semantics. The results been used to create novel patent clusters that provide an alternative perspective on relevant technical data, and support user-centric engineering design. The workflow and tasks to effectively interface with the crowd are outlined, and the process for harvesting and processing responses using a combination of manual and computational analysis is reviewed. The process creates sets of descriptive words for each patent which differ significantly from those created using only functional requirements, and support a new paradigm for the use of big data in engineering design – one that utilises desirable affective qualities as the basis for scouring and presenting relevant functional patent information for concept generation and development.

Evolving improvised ideation from humour constructs: a new method for collaborative divergence

This paper reviews and applies key principles from improvised comedy (“improv”) to overcome common barriers in effective group ideation, resulting in the formulation and presentation of a new creative idea generation method. The emergence of an innovative product design can be compared to the telling of a funny joke: both combine seemingly unconnected ideas in a way that is both surprising and satisfying. Our research expands upon this link between humour and creativity, and operationalizes the improv principles best suited to the conceptual design process. A workshop‐based methodology was used to select, develop, and refine the method protocol and facilitation technique. Participant feedback and observations have demonstrated how this approach can expand the solution space to support the generation of bold, innovative ideas. Finally, we present a step‐by‐step guide for the new “design improv” method and discuss its potential value in the generation of creative ideas in a group ideation context.

The analysis and presentation of patents to support engineering design

This paper explores the role of patents in engineering design, and how the extraction and presentation of patent data could be improved for designers. We propose the use of crowdsourcing as a means to post tasks online for a crowd of people to participate and complete. The issues of assessment, searching, clustering and knowledge transfer are evaluated with respect to the literature. Opportunities for potential crowd intervention are then discussed, before the presentation of two initial studies. These related to the categorization and interpretation of patents respectively using an online platform. The initial results establish basic crowd capabilities in understanding patent text and interpreting patent drawings. This has shown that reasonable results can be achieved if tasks of appropriate duration and complexity are set, and if test questions are incorporated to ensure a basic level of understanding exists in the workers.