Discovering the design problem

The design disciplines of architecture, engineering, and computer science have provided three distinct models of the design process. We hypothesize that these models merely indicate three approaches to design, and that fragments of all three models will be found in any one discipline. To discuss this issue we present a discipline-independent cognitive framework which we then apply to a protocol analysis study of five engineering designers. Our results indicate that the designer's experience plays a key role in determining the design process.