A module interface concept evaluation approach promoting the consilience of design science, practice and emotion

Abstract

The early stages of product design are particularly important due to the fact that the decisions made, have a profound impact on subsequent life cycle phases of the artefact. The research presented in this paper contributes with a design approach, which supports the design team in the evaluation of module interface design concepts. In addition, this evaluation approach comprehensively supports the design team with respect to the multiple challenges which have to be addressed throughout the evaluation process. The intent of the research presented in this paper, is also to render the developed approach sufficiently practical to be employed in a realistic setting. For this purpose the approach framework has been implemented into a prototype computer aided design tool.