3.6.1 Design
The concepts of ‘design’ (C1) and ‘implementation’ are closely linked to each other. (F1) (C2) In general, designs are for implementation and implementations are of designs. (F2) A design represents (F3) an object or artefact. (C4) An implementation realises (F4) the object or artefact. (F5) (C5) However, designs may remain unimplemented and implementations may not have been designed. (F6) (C3)
Footnotes
(F1) In fact, their contrast is an essential feature of both their meanings.
(F2) However, design and implementation also exist independently of each other (see also (6)).
(F3) The representation may take many forms: sketch; text; drawing; diagram; model; instructions etc.
(F4) ‘Realises’ here could as well be replaced by: ‘constructs’; ‘makes’; ‘renders’ etc.
(F5) Design can also be used of people, as in education or training.
(F6) An unimplemented design remains a design. An undesigned implementation is not, however, strictly speaking an implementation; but simply an object or artefact.
Citations
Dowell and Long (1989)
(C1) ‘… one class of general problem is that of the general design problem and includes the design of artefact (of bridges, for example) and the design of ‘states of the world’ (public administration, for example).’ (Page 1514, Lines 43-45)
(C2) ‘Thus, HCI is a discipline addressing a general design problem expressed informally as: ‘to design human-computer interactions for effective working.’ (Page 1515, Lines 9 and 10)
(C3) ‘… disciplines appear to differ in the completeness with which they specify solutions to their respective general design problems before implementation occurs.’ (Page 1518, Lines 1 and 2)
(C4) ‘the concern of an Engineering HCI discipline would be the design of interactive worksystems for performance.’ (Page 1522, Lines 13 and 14)
(C5) ‘Instances of the general design problem may include the development of a worksystem, or the utilisation of a worksystem within an organisation.’ (Page 1532, Lines 16-18)
3.6.2 Knowledge
Knowledge can be contrasted with ‘belief’. Once assured, belief becomes knowledge. It remains, however, only assured belief. (F1) Assurance, here, is acquired through experience and can be expressed as: facts; information; descriptions; representations; skills; principles; laws etc. (C2) Knowledge has two primary modes of expression. Knowing that (something is the case, that is, for example, a fact) and knowing how (that is, a skill in doing something). Usually both modes of knowledge are used to take effective action to achieve goals. (C1) Similarly, both are used to increase the assurance, which can be ascribed to a belief. (F2) Useful contrasts between types of knowledge include: theoretical/practical; implicit/explicit/ formal/informal; and systematic/nonsystematic. (F3) (C3)
Footnotes
(F1) Following Popper, even scientific theories are only ‘supported’ or not disproved’ rather than ‘true’. The assurance, however, may be high, rather than low.
(F2) See 1.
(F3) These contrasts can be usefully related to the two modes of knowledge expression.
Citations
Long and Dowell (1989)
(C1) ‘The framework expresses the essential characteristics of the HCI discipline, and can be summarised as: ‘the use of HCI knowledge to support practices seeking solutions to the general problem of HCI’. (Page 9, Lines 16-19)
(C2) ‘All definitions of disciplines make reference to discipline knowledge as the product of research or more generally of a field of study. Knowledge can be public (ultimately formal) or private (ultimately experiential). It may assume a number of forms; for example, it may be tacit, formal, experiential, codified – as in theories, laws and principles etc. It may also be maintained in a number of ways; for example, it may be expressed in journals, or learning systems, or it may only be embodied in procedures and tools. All disciplines would appear to have knowledge as a component (for example, scientific discipline knowledge, engineering discipline knowledge, medical discipline knowledge, etc). Knowledge, therefore, is a necessary characteristic of a discipline.’ (Page 11, Lines 30-38)
(C3) ‘First, HCI engineering principles would be a generaliseable knowledge. …….. Second, engineering HCI principles would be operational, and so their application would be specifiable…….. Because they would be operational, they would be testable and their reliability and generality could be specified.’ (Page 27, Lines 20-22 and 36-28)
3.6.3 Design Knowledge
The concept of ‘design knowledge’ is a conjunction of ‘design’ and ‘knowledge’. However, the order makes clear, that design qualifies knowledge and not the reverse. (F1) Here, the concept of design knowledge is defined by intersecting the concept of design (3.6.1) with the concept of knowledge (3.6.2), a definition in which the latter is qualified by the former.
A design problem (see 2.6.3) is a state-of-design affairs, which is not as wanted. (F2) Once identified, a design problem requires a design solution, which represents the designed state-of-affairs and which, if implemented, realises that state-of-affairs. Design knowledge supports the practice of solving the design problem. (C1) The support can be substantive (knowing what) or methodological (knowing how) or both. (F3)
However, not all design problems have the necessary design knowledge for their solution. But all design knowledge is intended to addresses one or more design problems. Design knowledge may be novel or carried forward from its resolution of earlier design problems. (C2)
Footnotes and CitationsFootnotes
(F1) Design knowledge, then, is a subset of knowledge. Knowledge designs, in contrast, are a subset of designs.
(F2) Design state-of-affairs concern objects; artefacts; people; and the world, more generally. The latter, then, constitute the scope of the design knowledge.
(F3) The concepts of design problem and design solution and the knowledge required to transform the former into the latter are, thus, closely linked.
Citations
Long and Dowell (1989) Citations
(C1) ‘The framework expresses the essential characteristics of the HCI discipline, and can be summarised as: ‘the use of HCI knowledge to support practices seeking solutions to the general problem of HCI’. (Page 9, Lines 16-19)
Dowell and Long (1989) Citations
(C2) ‘Most definitions of disciplines assume three primary characteristics: a general problem; practices, providing solutions to that problem; and (6) ‘There is no formal structure within which experience accumulated in the successful development of previous systems can be recruited to support solutions to the new problems, except through the memory and intuitions of the designer.’ (Page 1516, Lines 28-31)