Managing uncertainty in the design and development process by appropriate methods selection

Potentially, the numerous design methods generated for decades have much to offer in the complex multi-objective product design activity. However, the number of methods used in industry is relatively small. Of those that are used, some are practised at the wrong stage or incorrectly, which leads to poor results and to distrust of design methods generally. A framework for the classification of methods intended to help engineers select them appropriately is presented in this paper. It has a basis on concepts from the field of creativity. The selection principle matches the fundamental characteristics of the design methods with the solution requirements of the problem. Its use provides a way of handling uncertainty in the design process.