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Design Principles: The Foundation of Design

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 Proceedings of the ASME 2015 International Design Engineering Technical Conferences &
Computers and Information in Engineering Conference
IDETC/CIE 2015
August 2-5, 2015, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

DETC2015-46157

DESIGN PRINCIPLES: THE FOUNDATION OF DESIGN

Katherine K. Fu Maria C. Yang Kristin L. Wood

Georgia Institute of Technology Massachusetts Institute of Singapore University of
Atlanta, GA, USA Technology Technology and Design
Cambridge, MA, USA Singapore, Republic of
Singapore

ABSTRACT In this paper, we seek to make strides in formalizing design principles

Design principles are created to codify and formalize design in terms of the various disparate theoretical, empirical, and
knowledge so that innovative, archival practices may be experimental approaches. This research will assist in enabling a
communicated and used to advance design science and solve future fundamental understanding and development of design principles, and
design problems, especially the pinnacle, wicked, and grand-challenge associated processes, as well as guiding researchers and practitioners
problems that face the world and cross-cutting markets. Principles are in advancements and use of such principles. Ultimately, the research
part of a family of knowledge explication, which also include provides foundations to design science.
guidelines, heuristics, rules of thumb, and strategic constructs. 2 BACKGROUND
Definitions including a range of explications are explored from a The formalization of design research methodology is the indisputable
number of seminal papers. Based on this analysis, the authors pose path to the maturation of the field. Pahl and Beitz, some of the first to
formalized definitions for the three most prevalent terms in the propose formalized design processes and research [1]. Blessing and
literature – principles, guidelines, and heuristics. Current research Chakrabarti formulated a DRM (Design Research Methodology)
methods and practices with design principles are categorized and process comprised of 4 main steps: (1) Research Clarification, or
characterized. In analyzing the methodology for discovering, deriving, literature review to formulate a worthwhile research goal, (2)
formulating and validating design principles, the goal is to understand Descriptive Study I, or empirical data analysis in an exploratory study,
and advance the theoretical basis of design, the foundations of new (3) Prescriptive Study, or assumption experience synthesis into a
tools and techniques, and the complex systems of the vision of how to improve upon on the existing situation, and (4)
future. Suggestions for the future of design principles research Descriptive Study II, or empirical data analysis of the effect of the
methodology for added rigor and repeatability are proposed. improvement support developed [2]. Finger and Dixon extensively
1 INTRODUCTION reviewed design research methods, including descriptive models of
A number of technical research fields have grown and matured over design processes, prescriptive models for design, computer-based
decades through the investigation, study, experimentation, and models of design processes, languages, representations, and
validation of core principles. Accepted research methodologies and environments for design, analysis to support design decisions, design
standards similarly emerge and mature, founded on the scientific for manufacturing and other life cycle issues such as reliability,
method, but also tailored to the characteristics and scope of the field. serviceability, etc. [3, 4]. Many of the research efforts reviewed in this
The life sciences and physical sciences are classical examples of this paper fall into one of these categories, whether through descriptive
growth and maturation process. Numerous cases are prevalent in these models like case studies, protocol studies, and observations, or
fields, such as the theories and laws from classical mechanics to prescriptive models of how the design process ought to be carried out
explain the motion of particles, bodies, and systems of bodies. [4]. Inductive vs. deductive research methodologies are a particular
Design research, or design science, is a relatively young field of focus in this paper, where inductive research is based upon a process
research investigation. With the first treatises published around the in which data is collected first, patterns are extracted, and a theory is
mid-twentieth century, design science has grown steadily in the developed to explain those patterns, while deductive research is based
devoted attention and depth of investigation. From the very earliest upon a process in which a theory is developed first, after which data is
discourse related to this field, such as Glegg’s “The design of design,” collected and analyzed to determine if the theory is supported. Though
principles of design have been postulated [4]. Because of the broad not perfectly aligned in meaning, descriptive research and inductive
and interdisciplinary or trans-disciplinary nature of design science, research methods are similar in that they both rely on discovery of
numerous forms of design principles have been suggested across patterns and findings in data, while prescriptive research and deductive
disciplines, between disciplines, and at various levels of granularity or research methods are similar in that they pose a theoretical solution or
specificity. The time is now apparent to carefully study these efforts, answer, and test if it is effective or supported. The methodologies
seeking a formalization of design principles, definitions, and reviewed in this paper tend to fit into one of these two categories,
supporting research methodologies. though some are both. In reviewing the current research efforts to

1 Copyright © 2015 by ASME

extract design principles, effective techniques and areas for 4 DISCUSSION OF NOMENCLATURE
improvement and development of greater rigor can be identified In the pursuit of standardization, formalization and added rigor to any
toward a more formalized design principles research methodology. scientific methodological undertaking, the articulation of clear and
3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY well-reasoned definitions for key concepts is imperative. Formal
This paper is both a literature review and original critical analysis of definitions ensure a common understanding and universal language,
the state-of-the-art with the goal of advancing and formalizing the field not only between the authors and reader, but hopefully spreading
of design principles research. To gain an understanding of the types throughout the research community over time. In the following Sub-
and prevalence of each type of methodologies for exploring, deriving Sections (4.1-4.5), the authors present articulated formal definitions of
and validating design principles, the authors reviewed 66 sources, design principles from the literature reviewed. A formal definition for
including monographs, books, anthologies, journal publications, and each term is then posed based on an amalgamation and aggregate
conference publications. References were chosen based on either their assessment of the literature findings and the expertise of the authors.
seminal nature to the foundation of the field (noted by their longevity These definitions are within the context of the design research field,
and/or high citation rate) or their publication in leading design and, therefore have an implied “design” before each term reviewed
engineering journals or conference proceedings. Figures 1, 2, and 3 (i.e. design principle).
show the proportional breakdown of types of references, the field that 4.1 Principle
the references come from, and the distribution of references by year of Design principles are the focus of this research, though the
publication. methodologies surrounding their conceptual kin (i.e. heuristics, etc.)
70
can be and often are similar, relevant, and applicable to those for
60
design principles. Several definitions and characteristics have been
Number of References

Books   gathered and juxtaposed below in their original form. Researchers use
50
40
a large variety of terms when defining “principle,” including:
Journal  
Papers   30
technique, methodology, data, experience, example, recommendation,
suggestion, assertion, and proposition. Factors considered when
Conference 20
Papers
classifying and describing principles include: level of detail in which
10
they impact the design, point of application in the design process, level
Reference   0
Texts   of abstraction, specificity or granularity of the principle itself, the
manner in which principle is applied, the level of refinement or
FIGURE 1.
success of the principle, among others. As expected, terms like
PROPORTION OF
“guideline” are used to define principles, and are often used
REFERENCE TYPES
interchangeably in informal settings. To summarize the literature
FIGURE 2. FIELD OF review in Table 1, the common threads that can be observed
REFERENCES throughout most of the definitions are:
7
• Principles are not universally applicable, effective, or true but
Number of References

6
5
instead are generally applicable, effective, and true in a given
4
context.
3 • Principles are typically based on experiences, examples, or
2 empirical evidence.
1 • The application of principles may be context and/or problem
0
dependent, but should be more generalizable than a few isolated
2011
1969
1972
1973
1980
1981
1984
1985
1988
1989
1990
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010

2012
2014
2015

instances
Year of Publication • Principles are used as foundations for understanding and for the
FIGURE 3. REFERENCE YEAR OF PUBLICATION development of supporting methods, techniques, and tools.
As each reference was reviewed, the authors tabulated the following Based on the literature review and analysis of the definitions, the
information from each source where applicable: keywords/key topics, following is a proposed formalized definition for principle.
main contribution/brief synopsis, methods to find principles, methods Proposed Formal Definition:
to validate principles, principles discovered, and any articulated formal Principle: A fundamental rule or law, derived inductively from
nomenclature definitions. This tabulation was analyzed in several extensive experience and/or empirical evidence, which provides
different ways, as reviewed in the following sections. design process guidance to increase the chance of reaching a
successful solution.

TABLE 1. LITERATURE REVIEW OF DEFINITIONS AND CHARACTERISTICS FOR “PRINCIPLE”

Source Definition/Characteristics
[5] Merriam-Webster “A moral rule or belief that helps you know what is right and wrong and that influences your actions; a basic truth or theory: an
Dictionary idea that forms the basis of something; a law or fact of nature that explains how something works or why something happens”
[6] Moe et al., 2004 “A (transformation) principle is a generalized directive to bring about a certain type of mechanical transformation. A
[7] Weaver et al., 2008 (transformation) principle is a guideline that, when embodied, singly creates a transformation.”
[8] Singh et al., 2009
[9] Glegg, 1969 “Principles of engineering design can be divided into three distinct types:
1. Specialized techniques: particular data and manufacturing techniques that have been amassed over a long period of
time with respect to a very specific technology that you cannot hope to design that product without - i.e. camshaft for a

2 Copyright © 2015 by ASME

 petrol engine.
2. General rules: broader theoretical considerations which are not confined to a single engineering mechanism - wide
though their scope may be, they are not of universal application.
3. Universal principles: underlying laws which cross the frontiers of most engineering design. They are the rules behind
the rules; they are not tied to any particular type of design, they concern the design of design.”
[10] Bell et al., 2004 Design principles are “…an intermediate step between scientific findings, which must be generalized and replicable, and local
experiences or examples that come up in practice. Because of the need to interpret design principles, they are not as readily
falsifiable as scientific laws. The principles are generated inductively from prior examples of success and are subject to
refinement over time as others try to adapt them to their own experiences. In this sense, they are falsifiable; if they do not yield
purchase in the design process, they will be debated, altered, and eventually dropped.”
[11] Kali, 2008 “Specific Principles describe the rationale behind the design of a single feature or single research investigation. Due to their
direct relation to one feature, specific principles in the database are embedded within the features.
Pragmatic Principles connect several Specific Principles (or several features), …
Meta-Principles capture abstract ideas represented in a cluster of Pragmatic Principles.”
[12] Anastas and “The principles are not simply a listing of goals, but rather a set of methodologies to accomplish the goals…The breadth of the
Zimmerman, 2003 principles’ applicability is important. When dealing with design architecture, …the same…principles must be applicable,
effective, and appropriate. Otherwise, these would not be principles but simply a list of useful techniques that have been
successfully demonstrated under specific conditions. Just as every parameter in a system cannot be optimized at any one time,
especially when they are interdependent, the same is true of these principles. There are cases of synergy in which the successful
application of one principle advances one or more of the others.”
[13] Mattson and Wood, “A principle…[is] a fundamental proposition used to guide the design process. The principles in this paper are not suggestions
2014 or activities the designer should complete, they are assertions that can guide the designer to a more effective outcome. The
principles do not explicitly say what should be done; they simply guide the engineer as decisions are made...Although
principles are not guaranteed, and at times they should not be followed, they should always be considered”
[14] McAdams, 2003 A design principle is “‘a recommendation or suggestion for a course of action to help solve a design issue’. This definition is
adapted from the definition for a design guideline according to Nowack (1997). Off-line principles are applied at the design
stage. On-line principles are applied anytime after this stage, including manufacturing and during use. Another characteristic
that distinguishes between the principles is the level of detail that they change the design.”
[15] Perez et al., 2011 “A set of principles can make this process more efficient as well as improve on the design of the original product. The
principles provide a means of processing the information gathered in the reverse engineering step in order to derive ideas
based on specific details encompassed by the example products.”
[16] Sobek et al., 1999 “…Principles…are not steps, prescriptions, or recipes. Rather, (Toyota chief) engineers apply the principles to each design
project differently. Design engineers use the principles to develop and evaluate a design process. The key to success is the
implementation of ideas as much as the principles themselves.”
[17] Altshuller, 1994 “Technical evolution has its own characteristics and laws. This is why different inventors in different countries, working on the
same technical problems independently, come up with the same answer. This means that certain regularities exist. If we can
find these regularities, then we can use them to solve technical problems – by rules, with formulae, without wasting time on
sorting out variants.” – in describing the 40 inventive principles of TRIZ
[1] Pahl and Beitz, 1988 “Only the combination of the physical effect with the geometric and material characteristics (working surfaces, working motions
and materials) allows the principle of the solution to emerge. This interrelationship is called the working principle …and it is the
first concrete step in the implementation of the solution.”

4.2 Guideline maximum effectiveness and usability, though this could be an

As discovered in the literature addressing the definitions and artifact of the choice of references.
characteristics of principles, we find similar content for that of • Guidelines are described as more prescriptive than heuristics,
guidelines. Key terms found throughout the literature quoted in Table presented in the next section, which tend to be descriptive or
2 include: prescriptive, imperative, advice, instruction, opinion, prescriptive.
recommendation, assistance, prediction, and general. Descriptions Based on the literature review and analysis of the definitions, the
address factors such as when to use guidelines during the design following is a proposed formalized definition for guideline.
process, how they must be changed and revised, and how they must be Proposed Formal Definition:
presented and described to their user. There are two key differences Guideline: A context-dependent directive, based on extensive
that stand out between the definitions of principles and guidelines: experience and/or empirical evidence, which provides design
• Guidelines seem to be presented as more context dependent and process direction to increase the chance of reaching a
changeable than principles – perhaps even less “universal” or successful solution.
“fundamental.”
• The literature on guidelines places strong emphasis on their
modality, organization, and level of detail of presentation for
TABLE 2. LITERATURE REVIEW OF DEFINITIONS FOR “GUIDELINE”
Source Definition/Characteristics
[18] Merriam-Webster “A rule or instruction that shows or tells how something should be done”
Dictionary
[19] Greer et al., 2002. “Design guidelines provide a means to store and reuse design knowledge with the potential to be effective in the early stages

3 Copyright © 2015 by ASME

 of design where…broad knowledge is beneficial. The format used to present the product evolution design guidelines is the
imperative form from English grammar…According to Nowack, a design guideline has at least four parts: issue(s) addressed
or impacted, links to design context, action recommendations, and rationale [20].”
[20] Nowack 1997 A design guideline is “a prescriptive recommendation for a context sensitive course of action to address a design issue.”
[21] Kim, 2010 “…Design guidelines can…be considered as an intermediary interface between the designer and …[expert] knowledge. The
purpose of design guidelines is to enable designers to make usable and consistent applications that conform to designated
conventions. To maximize the compliance of the resulting products, it is important to produce design guidelines that designers
can actually understand and apply [22]. Design guidelines address a wide range of design levels; the contents are typically
based on laboratory experiments and experts’ opinions. These guidelines are being continuously revised and updated to
meet technical and environmental changes.”
[23] Bevan and “A good set of guidelines is composed of a combination of more specific guidelines for the application at hand and more
Spinhof, 2007 generic guidelines that refer to more general aspects...”
“And the set of guidelines should be well documented, including good or bad examples, a thorough table of contents and
glossaries [21].”
[24] Jänsch and “The generality inherent in all guidelines has been greatly increased… direction of the guidelines has changed from a personal
Birkhofer, 2006 support for individuals…towards a general procedure for a company addressing organization and content….advice within the
guidelines [has] changed from addressing concrete thinking processes to general problem solving advice…instructions have
changed from statements that can be immediately put into action or thought to instruction on an abstract level, which need to
be adapted to the current situation of the designer… appearance of the descriptions of the guidelines have altered from a pure
one-page text-based description to comprehensive descriptions with figures, in particular flow charts and in-depth
texts….content of the descriptions has been enhanced with figures, examples and a quantity of text.”
[25] Matthews, 1998 “Guidelines can provide additional assistance by predicting likely outcomes of actions and by identifying additional issues
that should be considered. For guideline support to be effective, appropriate guidelines must be available to the designer at the
time of a design decision.”

4.3 Heuristic • Ability to be prescriptive or descriptive, unlike guidelines, which

The term heuristic has an understandably broader and richer base of are mostly prescriptive.
literature from which its definition can be derived, as it has both • Value is typically defined by usefulness
connotations with computational applications as well as analogue • Heuristics are generally reliable, but potentially fallible depending
design process applications. Table 3 draws upon both sets of literature on context and circumstances.
in an attempt to generalize the definition among the fields of • There may not be as extensive evidence or validation of heuristics,
application. Key terms used in describing and defining heuristics from compared to guidelines, and especially principles.
the sampled literature include: rule-of-thumb, guideline, common Based on the above literature review and analysis of these definitions,
sense, principle, experience, observation, knowledge, lesson, strategy, the following is a proposed formalized definition for heuristic.
simple, concise. Again, as in the previous two section defining Proposed Formal Definition:
principle and guideline, we find the terms can be and often are used Heuristic: A context-dependent directive, based on intuition, tacit
interchangeably in the literature. Distinctions that emerge based on knowledge, or experiential understanding, which provides design
the literature sampled that make heuristics unique include: process direction to increase the chance of reaching a
• Emphasis on reducing search time – not necessarily an optimal satisfactory but not necessarily optimal solution.
result, but satisfactory, practical or “quick and dirty.”

TABLE 3. LITERATURE REVIEW OF DEFINITIONS FOR “HEURISTIC”

Source Definition/Characteristics
[26] Merriam-Webster “Using experience to learn and improve; involving or serving as an aid to learning, discovery, or problem-solving by
Dictionary experimental and especially trial-and-error methods <heuristic techniques> <a heuristic assumption>; also: of or relating to
exploratory problem-solving techniques that utilize self-educating techniques (as the evaluation of feedback) to improve
performance <a heuristic computer program>”
[27] Stone and Wood, “(Module) heuristics: A method of examination in which the designer uses a set of steps, empirical in nature, yet proven
2000 scientifically valid, to identify (modules) in a design problem. This definition requires another: the phrase ‘proven
scientifically valid’ refers to a hypothesis, formulated after systematic, objective data collection, that has successfully
passed its empirical tests. Thus, the heuristics are proven by following the scientific method.”
[28] Bolc and “Heuristics [are] explicit rules derived from human experiences and tacit knowledge.”
Cytowshi, 1992
[29] Li et al., 1996 “Heuristics are rules-of-thumb that have been successful in producing ‘acceptable’, not necessarily ‘optimal’ solution to
a type of problem.”
[30] Chong et al., 2009 Heuristics “…are criteria, methods, or principles for deciding which among several alternative courses of action
promises to be the most effective in order to achieve the desired goals.”
[31] Nisbett and Ross, “Heuristics are reasoning processes that do not guarantee the best solution, but often lead to potential solutions by
1980 providing a “short-cut” within cognitive processing.”
[32] Pearl, 1984 “The term ‘heuristic’ has commonly referred to strategies that make use of readily accessible information to guide
problem-solving.”
[33] Yilmaz and “The term ‘heuristic’ implies that it:
Seifert, 2011 1) Does not guarantee reaching the best solution, or even a solution; and

4 Copyright © 2015 by ASME

 2) Provides a ‘quick and dirty’ (easier) method that often leads to an acceptable solution.”
[34] Koen, 1985 “All engineering is heuristic.
“Synonyms of the heuristic: rule of thumb, intuition, technique, hint, aid, direction, rule of craft, engineering judgment,
working bias, random suggestions, le pif (the nose)
A heuristic is an “engineering strategy for causing desirable change in an unknown situation within the available
resources…anything that provides a plausible aid or direction in the solution of a problem but is in the final analysis
unjustified, incapable of justification, and fallible. It is used to guide, to discover, and to reveal.
“Signatures of the heuristic:
• A heuristic does not guarantee a solution
• It may contradict other heuristics
• It reduces the search time in solving a problem for a satisfactory solution
• The absolute value of a heuristic…is based on the pragmatic standard …[it] depends exclusively on its usefulness in
a specific context…a heuristic never dies. It just fades from use.
• One heuristic [replaces] another by…doing a better job in a given context.”
[35] Magee and Frey, “A heuristic is a generally reliable, but potentially fallible, simplification that enables a problem to be addressed within
2006 resource constraints.”
[36] Clancey, 1985 “The heuristic classification model characterizes a form of knowledge and reasoning-patterns of familiar problem
situations and solutions, heuristically related. In capturing problem situations that tend to occur and solutions that tend to
work, this knowledge is essentially experiential, with an overall form that is problem-area independent.”
[37] Maier and “The heuristics methodology is based on “common sense,” …comes from collective experience stated in as simple and
Rechtin, 2000 concise a manner as possible… Insight, or the ability to structure a complex situation in a way that greatly increases
understanding of it, is strongly guided by lessons learned from one’s own or others’ experiences and observations. But
they must be used with judgment.
“People typically use heuristics in three ways…[1] as evocative guides... evoke new thoughts…[2] as codifications of
experience…[3] as integrated into development processes.
“Two forms of heuristic[s]…[1] descriptive: it describes a situation but does not indicate directly what to do about it…[2]
prescriptive: it prescribes what might be done about the situation.
“Heuristics…are trusted, nonanalytic guidelines for treating complex, inherently unbounded, ill-structured problems….are
used as aids in decision making, value judgments, and assessments…provide the successive transitions from qualitative,
provisional needs to descriptive and prescriptive guidelines and, hence, to rational approaches and methods.
Heuristic evaluation criteria “…to eliminate unsubstantiated assertions, personal opinions, corporate dogma, anecdotal
speculation, mutually contradictory statements:
• … must make sense in its original domain or context…a strong correlation, if not a direct cause and effect, must be
apparent between the heuristic and the successes or failures of specific systems, products, or processes.
• The general sense…of the heuristic should apply beyond the original context.
• The heuristic should be easily rationalized in a few minutes or on less than a page.
• The opposite statement of the heuristic should be foolish, clearly not “common sense.”
• The heuristic’s lesson, though not necessarily its most recent formulation, should have stood the test of time and
earned a broad consensus.
• Humor (and careful choice of words) in a heuristic provide an emotional bite that enhances the mnemonic effect
• For maximum effect, try embedding both descriptive and prescriptive messages in a heuristic.
• Don’t make a heuristic so elegant that it only has meaning to its creator, thus losing general usefulness.
• Rather than adding a conditional statement to a heuristic, consider creating a separate but associated heuristic that
focuses on the insight of dealing with that conditional situation.

To synthesize the three previous Sections (4.1-4.3), the authors pose a 4.4 Additional Nomenclature
set of dimensions that form the definitions of heuristics, guidelines, A number of terms fall into the same family as principles, guidelines,
and principles: and heuristics, but are not used as prevalently in the literature. A few
• Supporting Evidence or Validation Dimension: the degree of of these terms are reviewed here as acknowledgment of their
supporting evidence for the terms tends to be ordered as heuristics, importance, relationship, and distinction from the three terms defined
guidelines, and principles in increasing evidence. thus far.
• Granularity or Specificity: the degree of granularity or specificity 4.4.1 Rule/Commandment Roozenburg and Eekels
for the terms tends to be ordered as heuristics, guidelines, and discuss design rules as dichotomous in nature, either being algorithmic
principles in increasing formalization. or heuristic. Algorithmic design rules are “based on knowledge where
• Formalization Dimension: the degree of formalization of the terms the relationship between cause and effect is known well, as in physical
tends to be ordered as heuristics, guidelines, and principles in laws, and they produce predictable and reliable results.” Heuristic
increasing formalization. design rules are much less well defined, guaranteed, or proven. They
• Prescriptive-Descriptive Dimension: the nature of the terms tends to state that “any design rule that cannot be converted into an algorithm is
be ordered as heuristics, guidelines, and principles, progressing heuristic” [38]. In light of the discussion thus far, were there to be a
from more prescriptive to more descriptive. continuum rather than a dichotomy between algorithmic and heuristic
rules, it would be expected that principles might be placed closer to the

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algorithmic end, heuristics closer to the heuristic end (naturally), and 4.4.6 Algorithm Suh conceived of Axiomatic Design,
guidelines somewhere in between. from which the definition for algorithm and the following definition
Only one instance of the term commandment was encountered in for axiom are taken [42, 43]. Suh states that “in purely algorithmic
the work of Hamstra [39], which presented a set of seven design, we try to identify or prescribe the design process, so in the end
commandments for exhibit and experience design. The research the process will lead to a design embodiment that satisfies design
describes commandments as “not written in stone…[as] creative work goals. Generally, the algorithmic approach is founded on the notion
cannot be done from a straightjacket of design principles…[they] that the best way of advancing the design field is to understand the
combine…beliefs about…goals and planning, …methods, and content design process by following the best design practice” [42]. According
development, and are designed to spark discussion and to Suh, most terms discussed thus far would fit within the category of
inspiration…and to clarify ambitions to clients” [39]. Interestingly, algorithmic design.
the author portrays design principles as restrictive, more so than 4.4.7 Axiom Suh goes on to define axioms as
commandments, despite the semantic connotation of the term. “generalizable principles that govern the underlying behavior of the
Commandments as defined come across as most similar to guidelines, system being investigated. The axiomatic approach is based on the
in that they are prescriptive in nature, and based on beliefs rooted in abstraction of good design decisions and processes. As stated earlier,
successful design experiences. axioms are general principles or self-evident truths that cannot be
4.4.2 Facilitator Facilitator is a term found in a series of derived or proven to be true, but for which there are no
related works that study the design of transformers [6-8]. As stated by counterexamples or exceptions. Axioms generate new abstract
the authors, “a Transformation Facilitator is a design archetype that concepts, such as force, energy and entropy that are results of
helps or aids in creating mechanical transformation. Transformation Newton’s laws and thermodynamic laws” [42, 43]. While Suh uses
Facilitators aid in the design for transformation but their the term “principle” in the definition for axiom, the requirements for
implementation does not create transformation singly” [6-8]. This the level of unshakeable truth and correctness of them makes axioms
term harkens to the recommendation of Maier and Rechtin [37] to the most stringent term discussed yet.
create associated heuristics one is tempted to add a conditional 4.4.6 Strategy Merriam-Webster defines strategy as the
statement – in that there are corollaries and associations among them following:
as well, in addition to being potentially descriptive rather than “1: a careful plan or method for achieving a particular goal usually
prescriptive. over a long period of time
4.4.3 State of the Art (SOTA) Koen inextricably links 2: the skill of making or carrying out plans to achieve a goal” [44]
heuristics to the term state of the art [34], which he defines simply as a None of the sources reviewed here directly or explicitly defined
SOTA, or “a group of heuristics.” He goes on to stipulate that “each strategy, but rather used rule of thumb as a synonym for other terms,
should be labeled…and…time stamp[ed], [as]…SOTA is a function of such as principle or heuristic.
time. It changes as new heuristics become useful and are added to it 4.4.8 Rule of Thumb Merriam-Webster defines rule
and as old ones become obsolete and are deleted” [34]. As stated of thumb as the following:
earlier in the heuristic section, Koen sees all of engineering as “1: a method of procedure based on experience and common sense
heuristic, so naturally state of the art practice is defined by those 2: a general principle regarded as roughly correct but not intended to
heuristics. be scientifically accurate” [45]
4.4.4 Ontology Gruber provides a relevant and cogent As with strategy, none of the sources reviewed here directly or
definition of ontology, stating that “a conceptualization is an abstract, explicitly defined rule of thumb, but rather used rule of thumb as a
simplified view of the world that we wish to represent for some synonym for other terms, such as principle or heuristic.
purpose. Every knowledge base, knowledge-based system, or 5 DESIGN PRINCIPLES RESEARCH METHODS
knowledge-level agent is committed to some conceptualization, To gauge the state of the art in research methodologies for design
explicitly or implicitly. An ontology is an explicit specification of a principles and their kin, 66 publications were analyzed. From this
conceptualization…When the knowledge of a domain is represented in point forward in the paper, the term “principle” is used to refer to itself
a declarative formalism, the set of objects that can be represented is and any of the other familial terms reviewed in the nomenclature
called the universe of discourse. This set of objects, and the section, as the methods and sources for deriving and validating any of
describable relationships among them, are reflected in the the knowledge codification types reviewed previously is valuable to
representational vocabulary with which a knowledge-based program this analysis. The research efforts analyzed in Section 5 include the
represents knowledge” [40]. Ontology, as Gruber defines it, could be following references: [2, 6-9, 11-17, 19, 21, 22, 24, 25, 27, 30, 33-36,
conceived of as the umbrella under which all other terms discussed 39, 40, 46-88]. The topics addressed in the research efforts reviewed
here may sit. include: transformational
4.4.5 Standard Standards, as defined by Cheng [41], are design, biomimetic/bio-
“documented agreements containing technical specifications or other inspired design, robotics,
precise criteria to be used consistently as rules, guidelines or software design, user interface
definitions of characteristics, to ensure that materials, products, design, reconfigurable design,
process and services are fit for their purpose.” This definition has a green/environmental design,
mix of softer, more subjective words like “agreements” and TRIZ, biomechanical design,
“guidelines” in combination with more definitive, strong terms like universal design, among other
“precise criteria”, “technical specifications”, and “ensure”. One topics. FIGURE 4. RESEARCH
interpretation of these mixed subtexts is that standards are often put In Figure 4, the proportion of METHOD CLASSIFICATION
into place through governmental regulations, relying upon agreement research efforts in the FOR ANALYZED LITERATURE
of law makers and technical experts, and the expertise of the state of literature that used deductive
the art practices, as translated (to the extent possible) into exact
numerical specifications – no small feet to achieve, let alone define.

6 Copyright © 2015 by ASME

 Sources of Principles
Methods to Find/Derive Principles
Literature
Analysis of Existing Designs Consumer products
Existing principles Engineers
Experience Patents
Derivation from Design Practice Authors
Derivation from Laboratory Designers
Design Expert Observation Nature
Expert Industrial Designers
Not Specified or Not Applicable
Not Specified or Not Applicable
0 5 10 15 20 Students
Design Project/task
Number of Papers
0 5 10 15 20
FIGURE 5. METHODS USED IN LITERATURE TO DERIVE Number of Papers
DESIGN PRINCIPLES
FIGURE 6. SOURCES FROM WHICH DESIGN
PRINCIPLES WERE EXTRACTED
vs. inductive approaches
TABLE 4. SAMPLE SIZES USED IN
is shown, including those that used both approaches. The majority of
LITERATURE TO DERIVE PRINCIPLES
researchers used an inductive method, which will be discussed further
Methods to find Sample
in the next two sections. Principles
Unit of Sample Size
Size
5.1 Review of Methodologies for Extraction/ Derivation/ 10, 46, 23,
Discovery of Design Principles Consumer products
15, 10, 3
Each of the 66 references was examined to ascertain the methodology Consumer products, Patents 190, 90
used by the authors to derive, discover, extract, or codify design Consumer products, Patents,
190, N/A
principles. These were first tabulated as their specific detailed Analysis of Existing Nature
methodologies, and then reduced to broader categories, including: Designs Examples 163
• Not Specified or Not Applicable: the authors did not state the Nature 1
method by which the principles were derived 200,000,
Patents
41
• Design Expert Observation: in situ observation of expert designers
Computer Programs N/A
at work expressly not a laboratory setting or study Reconfigurable systems 33
• Derivation from Laboratory Base Design Practice: design study Analysis of Existing
based data was collected, from which principles were extracted Designs, Existing Patents 90
• Derivation from Design Practice: based on design performed by Principles
the authors, from which principles are derived – can be less time Derivation from Design Design project/task 2, 1, 1
and experience than expert level, otherwise would fall into the next Practice Engineers N/A
category N/A (3) N/A (3)
• Experience: derived from the experience of an expert designer or Design project/task 5
collection of expert designers, usually the author(s) Derivation from N/A (2),
Designers
Laboratory Based Design 20
• Existing Principles: existing literature was used as the source of Practice Engineers 36
principles, which were validated or tested using one of the means Students 300, 29
discussed in Section 5.2 Teams 12
• Analysis of Existing Designs / Design Repositories/Empirical Designs (sketches, early stage) 50
Data Sets: consumer products, patents, nature, or even software are Design Expert Observation
(Person) Years 0.5
analyzed N/A N/A
As shown in Figure 5, the most publications derived principles by N/A (5),
studying existing designs themselves, a methodology that has the Literature 442, 10, 3,
Existing Principles
benefit of publicly accessible data sources and large accessible sample 2
sizes. The second most frequent methodology used principles derived N/A (6) N/A (6)
by others, a clear deductive approach to design principles research, in Existing Principles,
N/A (2) N/A (2)
Experience
which the theory is the starting point of the research confirmed by the
N/A (2) N/A (2)
validation step. Design experts often write about their career’s worth 30, 40, 40,
of experiences in a memoir-esque format, sharing their life long Experience
(Person) Years 40, 40, 20,
lessons learned for designers to come. The least prevalent 1, N/A (2)
methodologies are those that are highly energy and resource intensive it from an external source. The categories shown in Figure 4 are
in terms of observation, data collection and data coding and analysis. described as the following:
Very few of the papers did not specify or address where the principles • Design Project/task: designers/study subjects perform a design task
came from, or how they were derived. • Students: students serve as the subjects for a design study
Figure 6 shows the sources that researchers used from which to derive • Not Specified/Not Applicable: the authors did not state the source
principles. Many cited multiple sources, for example using both • Expert Designers from Industry: expert industrial designers were
consumer products and literature review. If the authors generated
observed, interviewed, or studied as the source
principles from their own design activities, it was coded as “authors”,
• Nature: natural phenomena, as in biologically inspired or
rather than “design project/task.” This choice was made to illustrate
biomimetic design
that many authors and researchers are writing about their own design
experiences, lessons, and accumulated knowledge, rather than deriving

7 Copyright © 2015 by ASME

• Designers: designers performed design tasks, neither novices nor 6 PROPOSED FUTURE DIRECTIONS FOR DESIGN
experts, nor engineers or roboticists – a middle category for design PRINCIPLES RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
study subjects
• Authors: the authors of the research publication served as the TABLE 5. SAMPLE SIZES USED IN LITERATURE
source either through design activity or experiential knowledge FOR PRINCIPLE VALIDATION
• Patents: patents were analyzed as the source Methods to Validate
Unit of Sample Size Sample Size
Principles
• Engineers: engineers were studied, observed, or interviewed as the
Consumer Products 4, 17, 70, 645
source Analysis of Existing Designs
Industrial Products 2
• Consumer products: consumer products were analyzed to extract N/A (2) N/A (2)
principles Customer reviews 200
• Literature: principles were taken as already articulated in pre- Convergence Analysis
Patents 41, 50
existing literature Convergence Analysis,
Design project/task 1
The sample sizes used for the derivation of the principles were also design project/task
tabulated, as shown in Table 4. If any information was not included, Design Expert Observation Designs 218
N/A was marked. Numbers in parentheses denote the number of 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1,
papers that did not specify that particular information. The largest Design project/task 1, 1, 1, 1, 2, 2,
Design Project/task 3, 3, 3, 4, 4, 28
sample sizes came from analysis based on student participant design
Students 6, 64, N/A
studies, patent/consumer product analyses, and individuals reporting
Team 1
on their own person-years of experience. Experience N/A (4) N/A (4)
5.2 Review of Methodologies for Validation of Design N/A (28) N/A (28) N/A (28)
Principles The review of the design principles literature indicates some key
Similar to the analysis in Section 5.1, the source literature was also opportunities for future directions of design research methodology.
examined for the ways in which they validated the design principles First, most research efforts focus on the presentation of principles
that were derived. Figure 7 shows that the majority of publications did themselves, with very few offering any prescriptive application of
not address the validation of the principles, but rather focused on the these principles into design practice for their validation. Author
derivation of the principles, or more often the pure presentation of the experience should be combined with empirical derivation/discovery of
principles themselves without regard for methodology. The second design principles so as to combine the benefits of longitudinal
most prevalent validation methodology was a design project or task – expertise and reduction of bias in reporting on just one personal
most often a case study of solving 1 to 3 design problems employing perspective or experience. As is true of much of design science
the design principles. Interestingly, a niche in the publication set [8, research, more investment must be made into the study of expert
74, 80] is represented by those who validated principles through: designers, regardless of energy/time/resource intensive requirements –
Convergence/Asymptotic Analysis: Examining a larger set of source or alternatively, a solution to this problem should be developed. This
material (test data) until the quantity of principles converged to a issue of sample size and access to expert or advanced level design
horizontal asymptote, i.e. asymptotic convergence. This numerical participants is being addressed innovatively through efforts like the
technique shows promise for its computational robustness, but does use of crowd-sourced design and other online platforms [89].
not address the validation of the utility of the principles. There is also an opportunity for more computational and
As expected based on the number of publications that did not address numerical validation of the principles, through techniques like
validation methodology, the source for validation was naturally not convergence analysis referenced earlier [8, 74, 80]. Alternative
addressed either for the majority of publications, as shown in Figure 8. computational validation might include other data mining techniques,
Most often, the authors or others performed small-scale agent based modeling of design processes, modeling of human
implementations of the design principles in practice as proof of cognition through Bayesian statistics or other philosophical
concept and initial validity at a case study level. approaches, artificial intelligence models implementing methods like
Sample sizes used for principle validation were also tabulated, as neural networks, decision trees, and complex systems modeling. An
they were for derivation. Table 5 shows the samples sizes and units of increased level of formalism in the articulation of principles, using
those samples for each paper analyzed. Notice that nearly half (28) of tools like logic operators, language structures, etc. is an additional way
the papers did not report the method to validate principles nor the to add rigor and repeatability to the research methodology.
source nor sample size. The largest sample sizes came from analyses As discussed earlier, there are dimensions of principles that
of consumer products, patent analyses, and customer review analyses. emerge from the various definitions that should be considered or even
Most papers went about validation with 1-3 design tasks implementing explicitly stated, including level of supporting evidence or validation,
the derived principles. level of granularity or specificity, level of formalization, and position
Methods to Validate Principles Sources of Validation
Not Specified or Not Not Specified or Not Applicable
Authors
Design Project/task
Examples/Case Studies/Design task
Analysis of Existing Designers
Convergence Analysis Students
Experience Consumer products
Patents
Design Expert Observation
Consumer Reviews
0 10 20 30 Expert Industrial Designers
Number of Papers
0 10 20 30 40
FIGURE 7. METHODS USED IN LITERATURE TO VALIDATE Number of Papers
DESIGN PRINCIPLES FIGURE 8. SOURCES USED IN LITERATURE TO VALIDATE
DESIGN PRINCIPLES

8 Copyright © 2015 by ASME

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