THE INVESTIGATION OF DESIGNERS’ REFLECTIVE PRACTICE ACTIVITY USING VERBAL PROTOCOL ANALYSIS

DS 93: Proceedings of the 20th International Conference on Engineering and Product Design Education (E&PDE 2018), Dyson School of Engineering, Imperial College, London. 6th - 7th September 2018

Year: 2018
Editor: Erik Bohemia, Ahmed Kovacevic, Lyndon Buck, Peter Childs, Stephen Green, Ashley Hall, Aran Dasan
Author: KAMIL, MUHAMMAD JAMEEL MOHAMED; ABIDIN, SHAHRIMAN ZAINAL; HASSAN, OSKAR HASDINOR
Series: E&PDE
Institution: 1: Universiti Sains Malaysia, Malaysia; 2: Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia
Section: Assesment Methods in Design and Engineering Education
Page(s): 363-368
ISBN: 978-1-912254-02-6

Abstract

This paper intends to investigate the cognitive process of designers’ sketching activity based on their understanding towards the value of unconscious interaction and cognitive of human behaviour in the everyday products. Using Verbal Protocol Analysis (VPA) as the main approach, four Malaysian designers with different levels of expertise worked on product design tasks in relation to four attributes of unconscious interaction in everyday human behaviour. The VPA data were coded and analysed based on Schon’s theoretical framework of reflective practice. At the end of the study, the descriptive analysis of each designers’ design activity was presented based on Andreasen’s level of abstraction. The result of the study illustrates remarkable strategies differences in the patterns of designer’s reflective practice during the conceptual design process. The implications of this study clarify the significance of these approaches in gaining insights into designers' reflective practice activity.

Keywords: Verbal Protocol Analysis, Reflective Practice, Product Design

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