RELATING THE QUALITY OF THE IDEA GENERATION PROCESS TO THE QUALITY OF THE RESULTING DESIGN IDEAS

In earlier research we used linkography to examine how the use of sketching influences the design idea generation process. Linkography is a structuralist research approach in which a network of links between design ideas is constructed, based on evidence found in the protocol. This network is then further analyzed to make inferences about the qualities of the design process under investigation. To increase the validity of linkography as a research approach, we still have to verify whether a more creative idea generation process indeed brings forth more creative ideas. The main hypothesis is that ideas with a strong structure of connections with earlier ideas are more ‘creative’ than ideas without such a strong structure of connections. This study is compares the participants’ appraisal of 192 ideas, generated in 4 idea generation meetings with the link structures that lead tot these ideas. The results show a positive relationship between the wellintegratedness of ideas and the creative qualities of those ideas.