Engineering design is complex, where each phase is dependent on the others and iteration occurs with and across these phases. Further, a successful design outcome hinges on foundational work done during the "front-end” of design processes, which includes problem definition, deep needs and stakeholder assessments using design ethnography, requirements development, and idea generation. Research has shown that experts develop both conscious and subconscious design strategies that impact success, and that novices often lack strategies and the ability to successfully implement them. This seminar will discuss investigations of strategies in front-end design, ways these strategies can be translated to design and education tools, and the role of front-end design in broadening recognition of skills that engineering includes.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH: Dr. Shanna Daly is an Assistant Professor in Mechanical Engineering in the College of Engineering. She has a B.E. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Dayton and a Ph.D. degree in Engineering Education from Purdue University. Her research characterizes front-end design practices across the student to practitioner continuum, uses these findings to develop tools to support design best practices, and studies the impact of front-end design tools on design success. She focuses on divergent and convergent thinking processes, including concept generation and development and problem space exploration, how to foster creativity in engineering work, and processes to understand social and cultural elements of the contexts in which engineering work occurs and integrate them into decision making. Her studies often involve both professional and educational contexts and collaborations across disciplines with scholars in engineering, education, industrial design, and psychology.