Collaborative Invention in Computer Prototype Design: Negotiating Group Processes and Artifacts.

A study looked at four groups of mostly senior graphic and industrial design students in their final semester capstone course--a collaborative studio project intended to give them the opportunity to apply their design expertise to real-world problems for real clients. The study examined the ways in which one of these groups used arguments to handle the dev ,opmental and communication-based difficulties of approaching an open-ended project. Data were collected through structured and semi-structured interviews, direct observations, and archived documents and drawings. The scenario called for the participants to design the next family of Apple computers; the largest computer was to be a desktop sort and the others hand-held or wearable. A vocabulary developed by the observation team proved helpful in evaluating the functioning of the student design team: requirements (features considered necessary for the proposed design); criteria (the norms that are necessary to fulfill the design requirements and the relative weight that should be given to each of these norms); models (prior designs that can serve as potential analogs to the current design); plans (which exist at the confluence of requirements, criteria and models); and prototypes (more costly than plans, they are refined enough to "work"). An examination of how one group worked through these various stages shows the enormous potential for conflict, frustration and confusion. Generally, however, the student group worked smoothly, especially after plans and prototypes were on the table. (TB) *********************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. *********************************************************************** Collaborative Invention in Computer Prototype Design: Negotiating Group Processes and Artifacts -PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE THIS MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC)" Mark Werner Conference on College Composition and Communication March 19, 1994 Introduction U l DEPARTMENT OI [DUCAT** 0Oc ot Educa0000. Romo od trel Oocutnool not boon rfeleduCO at wo] fro. too °non of agora:soon 0 14'..00g7c1oIngftoo Oa. Woo owl* lo wormov ,o0o,Ouenco, OuOOI 011110.1 lour Or °proem. slated of uosOocu. rMnl do ^Of ,v,....unr oesent °Metal OE RI p000son w oscy Throughout this project described in these three papers, we have focused on the role of argument in collaborative efforts that routinely cross visual and verbal modalities. While David Fleming's paper told of the importance of considering the client 's requirements in design activity, and Ann SinsheimerWeek's paper told of the importance of giving attention to the legal requirements in design situations, this paper seeks to describe how a group of designers employed arguments surrounding verbal and visual artifacts to respond to a complex and open-ended design problem.