dcc16
Design descriptions: conceptual and computational challenges
Important Dates
May 27 Submissions due
June 10 Notification of acceptance
26 June 2:00pm-5:30pm Workshop

Workshop Aim:

A challenge for design, especially in the context of new product development processes for complex products and systems, lies in managing and exploiting multiple design descriptions. There are many types of description including visual, verbal, linguistic, graphical, structural, hierarchical and ontological. How they are best related to each other, if at all, both conceptually and computationally, is an open question in both literature and practice. Relationships can include connections between descriptions, embedding one description in another, how descriptions are transformed, and relationships between design descriptions and processes. The goal of this workshop is to explore state-of-the-art thinking, computational methods and practices in design description. The following questions will be explored.

  • What are limitations resulting from theoretical foundations of currently available software systems?
  • What are end user needs, requirements and opportunities?
  • What characteristics are needed in benchmark cases? How might such cases be developed?
  • How might relationships between design descriptions and design processes be established?
  • How are design descriptions transformed, in design processes and as a result of engineering change?
  • How do design descriptions need to be transformed for downstream applications such as additive manufacturing, design prototyping and other kinds of design realisation process?How can emerging computational techniques be exploited to enable novice designers to design in expert ways and support complex decision making processes?

The workshop builds on a white paper (http://doi.org/10.5518/wp/1) that resulted from an international research collaboration meeting in November 2014 on design shape and structure.

Workshop Chair
  • Alison McKay (a.mckay@leeds.ac.uk)
  • Saeema Ahmed-Kristensen (s.ahmed-kristensen@imperial.ac.uk)

Program Committee
  • Alan de Pennington, University of Leeds, UK
  • Chris Earl, Open University, UK
  • Mine Ozkar, Istanbul Technical University, Turkey
  • Kristina Shea, ETH Zurich, Switzerland
  • George Stiny, MIT, USA

Workshop Notes
Abstracts should be submitted as .PDF files using this Submission Link.
 
Each abstract should be a maximum of two pages long, including no more than one page of text plus up to a page of screenshots or other visual information.

Submission information:
 Abstracts of research presentations and demonstrations that include at least one of the following are invited: (i) demonstration of examples and cases of using/applying links between descriptions in design; (ii) candidate benchmark examples that encompass key characteristics of problems they highlight and benefits of proposed or potential approaches.

Workshop format:
¼ hour Introduction
2 hours Up to 6 x 10 minute presentations followed by 10 minutes discussion focussed on presentation
1 hour Group discussion ... focussed on future opportunities and workshop goals
¼ hour Wrap up

Attendees at the workshop need to register either as an addition to the DCC'16 conference registration at a cost of $30, or if not registered for the conference at a cost of $60. Please go the DCC16 conference homepage and then to Registration to register.

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