This thesis aims to explore the potential impact of Computer Aided Architectural Design (CAAD) as a conceptual design tool on the design methodology of final year students. Many design studies have focused on sketching and its relationship with creative thinking to validate CAAD programs as a design tool. On the contrary, this study argues that the continued primacy of traditional tools as the predominant conceptual tools needs more evidence in the contemporary design practices. That is to say, the relative importance of CAAD alongside other media, such as sketching, model making and verbalisation must be recognised before the forthcoming leap in CAAD programs development. To illustrate these ideas, the Scott Sutherland School of Architecture and Built Environment was used as a case study to explore CAAD’s role in the educational context, the studio in general and the final year studio in particular. A mixed methods approach was employed to carry out two studies: a case study and a protocol study. A case study approach was utilised to understand the modern context whereby CAAD is used by the students despite CAAD not being an integrated part of the project model. The case study was also used to document the reasons behind students’ tendency of using CAAD at the conceptual phases of the design process. Mixed methods were used to collect data at three different intervals of the two semesters; before starting the studio project, while working on the project and after submitting the final project. The methods used include a questionnaire survey, structured reflection interviews, and a focus group. A protocol study was conducted to understand the impact of CAAD on selfcommunication using the think aloud method under the same experimental conditions using CAAD program(s) as the only external representation. The case study findings clarified the effects of the traditional context of the studio and the project model on CAAD’s utility within students’ design processes and identified the lack of CAAD professional skills, and the integration of CAAD as a knowledge base. The protocol study findings provided a greater understanding of the cognitive processes in designing and design performance while using CAAD, as well as acknowledging the possibility of a cyclic conceptual process. The potential impact of CAAD on the design process was further categorised. The empirical exploration provides CAAD research with new insights, instigating more useful ways of teaching and learning by an appropriate integration of CAAD programs and design methods in a situated manner where students can enhance their design processes creatively. It is proposed that a more measured and disinterested approach is now required to investigate CAAD and their implications for education.

The purpose of my study was to describe the manner in which Grade 9 technology learners typically accessed and used information sources during the early phases of their design processes. I did this by using an Extended Cognition framework to study the internal and external information sources that learners typically accessed and used in a technology learning environment. Theoretically, my study aimed to develop the application of the Extended Cognition Theory in an educational context. In this manner, my study adds to the scarce literature on design cognition in technology education. The methodological purpose of this study was to adapt conventional Think Aloud Protocol methods (TAPS) to investigate groups of learners in their natural technology learning environment. This methodology enabled me to understand the link between theoretical and empirical approaches of design cognition. As such, I was able to conceptualise practical guidelines that could be used by technology lecturers and teachers for the effective facilitation of the early phases of design processes. The conceptual framework of my study was adapted from empirical studies of expert designers, and is underpinned by the Information Processing and Embodiment theories. I followed a concurrent mixed methods approach and employed a case study design applying pragmatic assumptions. The target population for this study comprised Grade 9 learners based in a low socio-economic region. Eight female participants were purposefully selected and conveniently clustered into three groups: two groups of three participants, and one group of two participants. Data collection therefore consisted of three separately video recorded protocol studies. I was able to elicit the information access and usage activities of the participants by providing them with a design task that I adapted from a prescribed textbook, as suggested for technology by the Department of Basic Education. During the video recordings of the participants’ design processes, I was able to collect concurrent verbal, visual and temporal data types. I analysed the data according to a five-level framework, also adapted from the empirical investigations of expert designers. During my quantitative data analysis, I identified the occurrences of each group of participants’ cognitive phases, as well as the occurrences of their information access and use activities during each cognitive phase. On the one hand, problem structuring did not occur regularly. However, during their problem structuring activities, the participants mainly accessed and used instructions contained in the design task and pictures. On the other hand, the participants predominantly exhibited problem solving cognitive phases in which they mainly accessed and used external information sources including pictures and sketches. During my qualitative data analysis, I traced how the participants transformed their understanding of the design problem and possible design solutions. During problem structuring, the participants accessed information about the users’ needs, the design context and design objectives by perceiving and recognising useful information in their design task instructions and pictures. Information use during problem structuring was evidenced when the participants transformed information that they accessed to propose design objectives, constraints and requirements. Accessed information was typically transformed when the participants: (1) Read/evaluated information from the design task; (2) Evaluated the problem/context; (3) Evaluated/Elaborated information about the design objective; (4) Justified a design requirement; (5) Proposed/justified a design constraint; (6) Evaluated/Elaborated available resources in the environment; (7) Elaborated on the design context. During problem solving, the participants accessed information about the function, behaviour and structure of possible design solutions by perceiving and recognising useful information, primarily in their sketches, 3D models and pictures. Information use during problem solving was evidenced when the participants transformed accessed information to propose design specifications and limitations. Accessed information was typically transformed when the participants: (1) Evaluated existing solutions; (2) Proposed design limitations; (3) Modified existing solutions; (4) Proposed/evaluated a design idea; (5) Elaborated on a design idea; (6) Justified ideas; (7) Qualified ideas; (8) Modified previous design ideas. From the findings of my study, I could develop practical guidelines for current and future technology teachers. These guidelines should help technology teachers to effectively facilitate information rich design thinking during the early phases of learners’ design processes. I conclude this study by reiterating that the participants’ design cognition was enhanced by the availability of various information sources. This implies that technology teachers play a central role as information providers and mediators. Failure to provide adequate information sources during design tasks might inhibit learners’ development of the proficient design skills intended by the technology Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) document. / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2015. / National Research Foundation (NRF) / Science, Mathematics and Technology Education / MEd / Unrestricted

Abstract There is a broad consensus in the software engineering (SE) research community that understanding system desiderata and design creativity is critical for the success of software projects. This has motivated a plethora of research in SE to improve requirements engineering (RE) processes. However, little research has investigated the relationship between the way desiderata are presented (i.e., framed) and creative design performance. This dissertation, therefore, examines the effects of more formal presentations of desiderata on design creativity. The research was conducted in three phases. The first consisted of summarizing the available literature on cognitive biases in SE to build a comprehensive body of knowledge, understand the current state of research, and identify the relevant literature to position and delineate subsequent investigations involving the framing effect and fixation. This research phase also investigated how creativity is conceptualized (i.e., understood, assessed and improved) in SE by exploring the perceptual differences and similarities between SE researchers and practitioners. In the second phase, two controlled experiments were conducted to investigate the impact of framing desiderata first as requirements (in general) and then as prioritized requirements on design creativity (i.e., the originality and practicality of a design). The third phase involved a protocol study to explore the underlying cognitive mechanisms that may explain why framing desiderata as formal requirements affects creativity. The empirical evidence from the second and third phases was interpreted together to propose a theoretical framework that explains the effect of specification formality on design creativity. While the results of the experiments show that specification formality is negatively related to design creativity (i.e., desiderata framed as requirements or prioritized requirements result in designs that are less creative), the findings from the protocol study indicate that the negative relationship between specification formality and design creativity is mediated by fixation (i.e., more formal presentation of desiderata induces fixation and hinders critical thinking). Overall, the results of this dissertation suggest that more formal and structured presentations of desiderata cause requirements fixation—the tendency to attribute undue confidence and importance to desiderata presented as formal requirements statements—that affects design creativity, and thus undermines software engineering success. / Tiivistelmä Ohjelmistotuotannon tutkijoiden keskuudessa on laaja yksimielisyys järjestelmän tarpeiden ja suunnittelun luovuuden ymmärtämisen kriittisyydestä ohjelmistoprojektien menestyksessä. Tämä on motivoinut monia ohjelmistotuotannon vaatimusmäärittelyprosessien parantamiseen liittyviä tutkimuksia. Harvassa on tarkasteltu tarpeiden esitystavan (eli muotoilun) ja luovan suunnittelun lopputuloksen välistä yhteyttä. Tässä väitöskirjassa tarkastellaan tarpeiden muodollisempien esitystapojen vaikutuksia suunnittelun luovuuteen. Tutkimus oli kolmivaiheinen. Ensin referoitiin ohjelmistotuotannossa kognitiivisiin harhoihin liittyvä kirjallisuus kartoittamaan nykytutkimuksen tila ja merkityksellinen kirjallisuus myöhempien, kehysvaikutuksen ja fiksaation sisältävien tutkimusten sijoittamiseen ja rajaamiseen. Lisäksi tarkasteltiin luovuuden käsitteellistämistä (eli ymmärrettävyyttä, arviointia ja parantamista) tutkimalla katsannollisia eroja ja yhtäläisyyksiä tutkijoiden ja ammattilaisten välillä. Toisessa vaiheessa tehtiin kaksi kontrolloitua koetta tarpeiden muotoilun vaikutuksien tutkimiseksi, ensin vaatimuksina (yleisesti) ja sitten tärkeysjärjestykseen laitettuina vaatimuksina suhteessa suunnittelun luovuuteen (eli omaperäisyyteen ja käytännöllisyyteen). Lopuksi, protokollatutkimuksella selvitettiin taustalla olevia kognitiivisia mekanismeja selittämään syitä muodollisina vaatimuksina esitettyjen tarpeiden vaikutuksista luovuuteen. Toisesta ja kolmannesta vaiheesta saatujen empiiristen aineistojen tulkittiin yhdessä muodostavan teoreettisen viitekehyksen, joka selittää määrittelyn muodollisuuden vaikutusta suunnittelun luovuuteen. Vaikka kokeiden tulokset osoittavat määrittelyjen muodollisuuden vaikuttavan negatiivisesti suunnittelun luovuuteen (eli tarpeiden muotoilu vaatimuksina tai priorisoituina vaatimuksina vähentää suunnitelmien luovuutta), protokollatutkimuksen tulokset viittaavat fiksaation vaikuttavan negatiiviseen yhteyteen määrittelyjen muodollisuuden ja suunnittelun luovuuden välillä (eli tarpeiden muodollisempi esitystapa aiheuttaa fiksaatiota ja vaikeuttaa kriittistä ajattelua). Kaiken kaikkiaan, väitöskirjan tulokset esittävät muodollisempien ja strukturoidumpien tarpeiden esitystapojen aiheuttavan vaatimusten fiksaatiota, taipumusta pitää luottamusta ja tärkeyttä tarpeiden muodollisten vaatimusten ilmaisun ansioina, joka vaikuttaa suunnittelun luovuuteen heikentäen ohjelmistotuotannon menestymisen mahdollisuutta.