Nesta pesquisa é investigado o processo de cotação de projetos de produtos/serviços de design com foco na estimativa de tempos. Uma proposta de framework é desenvolvida pelo entendimento de como os profissionais do design têm acesso as informações de esforço necessárias para cotação de seus projetos. O escopo e objetivos desta pesquisa advém de problemas relacionados com a prática de cotação, uma vez que os profissionais do design não dispõem de uma base de dados que os oriente com relação aos tempos para execução de suas atividades. O contexto de cotação de projetos de produtos/serviços apresenta uma lacuna no ambiente do design e as demandas relacionadas foram apontadas por meio de pesquisa bibliográfica, sendo posteriormente validadas através de estudo exploratório com profissionais do design. Nessa busca pelo entendimento da cotação, primeiramente é aplicada entrevista em profundidade com designers, que resulta em um conjunto de elementos chamados de dimensões da estimativa de tempo e ditos estruturantes para a cotação de projetos. Com base nesses elementos, um conjunto de hipóteses é elaborado e avaliado através de uma survey, veiculada nacionalmente, obtendo 427 respostas válidas. O framework proposto atuará sobre a variável “tempo” e disponibilizará um conjunto de opções de Redes de Projetos para desenvolvimento de produtos e/ou serviços, destacando, dentre as disponíveis, as boas práticas para as diversas atividades do Design. Para um aprimoramento contínuo das práticas registradas, será utilizada a abordagem de sistemas dinâmicos e para assegurar que as atividades do design possam ser expressas computacionalmente, para posterior comparação, será considerada a aplicação de uma ontologia das atividades do design. / In this research the process of quotation of products/services projects in the design domain is investigated focusing time estimation. A framework proposal is developed by understanding how design professionals estimate the information of effort needed to quote their projects. The scope and objectives of this research arise from problems related to the practice of quotation, since the design professionals do not have a database that guides them in relation to the times for carrying out their activities. The context of quotation of product/service projects presents a gap in the design environment and the related demands were pointed out through bibliographic research, and later validated through an exploratory study with design professionals. In the search for an understanding of the quotation process, it was, firstly applied an in-depth interview with designers, which resulted in a set of elements called structuring for time estimation and, therefore, for the quotation of projects. Based on these elements, a set of hypotheses was elaborated and evaluated through a survey, carried nationally, obtaining 427 valid answers. The proposed framework will act on the variable "time" and will make available a set of Project Network options for the development of products and/or services, highlighting, among the available ones, good practices for the various Design Activities. For a continuous improvement of the registered practices, the approach of Dynamic Systems will be used and to ensure that the activities of the design can be computationally expressed, for later comparison, will be considered the application of an ontology of the design activities.

Engineering education serves to provide society with competent engineering graduates, capable of making a difference to their profession and the world around them. Since the Grinter Report of the 1950s in the United States, engineering education has focused its approach upon improving the technical and analytical competencies of engineering students. Many practicing engineers find that recent graduates are adequately developing their technical skills but are lacking in a deep-knowledge of engineering’s core creative process: design. Although there has been an increase in design instruction in some engineering programs, there is typically a lack of focus on related assessment, which forms a key part of the educational process. Students focus their efforts upon that which is being graded, resulting in students focusing on achieving deliverable requirements rather then on deeply learning the process and techniques of engineering design. The research question asked was: will students be more likely to achieve core course objectives and learning goals in an intensive, multidisciplinary course by using a well tailored rubric-based assessment process, in comparison to a more “traditional” course assessment scheme? Traditional course assessments often focus upon the success of a final deliverable for students to achieve a good mark, and in design courses can focus on the success of the final product. Student opinion towards its implementation and value in helping them reach learning goals was surveyed to determine the usefulness of the rubric in helping to reach course objectives and learning goals. These surveys indicated: strong student support for the use of a rubric system; a positive student response to the feedback being provided to them through weekly rubric-based advice; the rubric provided a suitable level of detail to be helpful to students in achieving course objectives; students were capable of internalizing the learning goals and using the assessment system to evaluate their peers; and finally that the assessment system was a viable alternative to traditional course assessments. / Thesis (Master, Civil Engineering) -- Queen's University, 2008-09-24 16:21:34.954

More and more people are using the internet to access various societal functions. In recent years, municipalities and private enterprises have increasingly begun to explore and develop internet-based services to support public health in general and to disseminate health information in particular. This compilation thesis consists of four articles that explore and provide different perspectives on the design and implementation of new online youth counselling services for public organisations and social services, working with counselling and health information for young people. Ethnographic methods, and materials from two empirical settings, have been used to investigate how aspects of design and participation can serve to empower both potential young users and counsellors as stakeholders in the design projects. An important secondary focus is how mechanisms of empowerment play out in the design of online counselling services targeting young people. The notion of empowerment is addressed in terms of empowerment through design, focusing on normative expectations regarding young people as users of online youth counselling, as well as how to work with norms and norm-critical perspectives in the design and development of user interfaces. Another aspect of empowerment concerns participation, here seeking an increased understanding of the processes, practices and shifting roles involved in engaging professionals and young users as participants in a design project. In order to address these interrelated areas of inquiry, an eclectic theoretical and methodological approach has been used to study design in practice. An ethnomethodological approach unpacks how the participants relate to and reflect upon the design projects under study, highlighting aspects of empowerment and user agency. In addition, a sociocultural perspective on communities of practice and participation is used to increase the understanding of what it means to be a participant in participatory design projects. The findings show how embedded social norms and values have implications for users’ identities as presented in the digital design of online youth counselling services. The findings also reveal ways in which user empowerment is facilitated but also restricted by the design of youth counselling e-services, including not only the designed multimodal features of such services, but also the norms that guide usage. The studies also address the outcomes of technological change and the implementation of sociotechnical systems and services for the professionals involved in design projects. Here the studies provide knowledge about the forms of practical reasoning the counsellors engage in when anticipating work-related issues associated with the new technology and how they might deal with potential challenges. Finally, the findings show how participation in a design project may enable the development of new forms of communities of practice in which the participants and their roles and participation status change as the organisation changes.

The design process of a production system referred to as the production system design process (PSDP) impacts on the operational performancethroughout the lifecycle of the production system, especially on the rampupand operation phases. Despite the impact of activities of PSDP on the operational performance, how to manage the PSDP is still a challenge for manufacturing companies. Earlier research urged to develop a systematic PSDP concerning its impact on the operational performance. This thesis aims to contribute with knowledge of how manufacturingcompanies can manage the PSDP by investigating 1) the enablers in thePSDP that impact on operational performance in ramp-up and operation phases, and 2) how the lean production concept could be adopted tomanage the activities during the PSDP. A case study was conducted in aprocess type manufacturing company, where empirical data were collectedfrom three new production line launching projects by qualitative means. This thesis identifies a set of enablers in the PSDP that potentiallyimpact the operational performance after launching the productionsystem. Empirical findings demonstrate that ensuring proper actions onthe identified enablers in the PSDP could lead to higher operationalperformance of the designed production system. These enablers rangefrom the company´s internal boundary to external vendors, requiring asystematic way to manage these diverse aspects. Adopting the lean production concept in the PSDP context, this thesis proposes a model of Lean Production System Design Process, containing 13 principles andrelevant practices. The proposed model of lean PSDP could be used as a systematic processto manage the activities in the PSDP that would ensure proper actions related to the identified enablers. Empirical findings indicate that adoptionof lean in the PSDP could result in reducing lead time of launching a new production system, and achieving fast ramp-up and desired operational performance considering sustainability aspects. Finally, this thesis demonstrates how the lean PSDP could be a means to achieve a sustainable competitive advantage based on the resource based view theoretical perspective. / Utformningsprocessen av ett produktionssystem, i denna avhandlingkallad produktionssystemets utformningsprocess (PSUP), påverkar denoperativa prestandan under hela produktionssystemets livscykel, särskilt iupprampnings- och driftsfasen. Traditionellt sett ligger fokus underutformningsprocessen på att lansera det nya produktionssystemet vidplanerad tidpunkt och enligt budget. Trots att de aktiviteter somgenomförs i utformningsprocessen påverkar den operativa prestandan idriftsfasen, ägnas ofta mindre uppmärksamhet åt designfasen än vad somvore önskvärt. Tidigare forskning har argumenterat för att utveckla ensystematisk designprocess för framtagning av produktionssystem medsyfte att nå en positiv påverkan på den operativa prestandan. Forskningen i denna avhandling bidrar till att öka kunskapen om hurPSUP kan hanteras och förbättras genom att identifiera: 1) möjliggörare i PSUP som påverkar den operativa prestandan i upprampnings- ochdriftfasen, och 2) hur lean konceptet skulle kunna användas för att hanteraaktiviteterna under PSUP. Resultatet är identifieringen av ett antal faktorer/möjliggörare iproduktionssystemets utformningsprocess (PSUP) som potentiellt kanpåverka den operativa prestandan efter lansering av produktionssystemetoch produktionsstart. Dessa möjliggörare handlar om alltifrån frånföretagets interna gränser till externa leverantörer och kräver ensystematisk procedur för att dra nytta av faktorernas potential. Genom attanvända lean även i PSUP-sammanhanget, föreslås här konceptet Lean PSUP (produktionssystemsutformningsprocess), som innehåller 13 principer och relevanta praxis. Den föreslagna modellen för lean PSUP skulle kunna användas och gestruktur till hanteringen av aktiviteterna i utformningsprocessen.Forskningen indikerar att lean inte bara kan användas i driftsfasen utanäven i utformningen av ett produktionssystem, vilket skulle kunnaresultera i bättre integration mellan olika funktioner, minska ledtiden förutformning och lansering av ett nytt produktionssystem, och uppnå snabbupprampning och önskad operativ prestanda, både avseende produktionoch hållbarhet. Slutligen visar denna avhandling hur lean PSUP kan varaett sätt att uppnå konkurrensfördelar ur ett resursbaserat teoretiskt perspektiv.