Mind-sets are expected to influence the process of designing, which require designers to successfully integrate complex decision-making processes into good design solutions. The study reported here analyses whether differences in mind-sets shown by design students can influence their design processes and impact the quality of the design solutions that they produce. The considerations, design activities and quality of solutions that design students produced in response to a given design task are examined to make an inference of mind-sets in actual design situations. 45 undergraduate students majoring in industrial design filled in a questionnaire that assessed their mind-set, and engaged in a design task. Two general types of mindsets can be discerned empirically: discerning and opportunistic. Significant differences between design students with a discerning or opportunistic mind-set could be observed. Evidence for the cultivation of a discerning mind-set in designing is found. Building on these results, recommendations on how to potentially support design teaching and learning are discussed.

This paper describes a study designed to investigate the effect of concept representation types on the use of abductive reasoning by decision makers when selecting early stage innovation concepts for further development. According to prior research, abductive reasoning can be instrumental to decision makers in terms of generating testable hypotheses about an innovation concept's future developments into concrete, viable product or service offerings. It has furthermore been linked with an increase in project acceptance rates. Here, an experiment is described testing whether visual concept representations promotes higher levels of abductive reasoning than textual concept representations or a combination of visuals and text. The results show that when purely visual concept representations were used, the participants showed a significant higher level of abductive reasoning than when this visual representation was complemented with text. This has managerial implications pertaining to how innovation concepts could/should be presented to selection committees or individuals in companies seeking to increase the amount of innovation projects that pass through a first screening process.

Function modelling is proposed in textbooks to support solution finding early in a development process. Although it has great potential to support the comprehensiveness and systematisation of conceptual design, it has been taken up in design practice only to a limited extent. Based on a literature review, potential barriers hampering its widespread application are discussed. A central problem revolves around the abstract nature of function modelling, which makes it difficult to apprehend the concrete benefits from its implementation. The article contributes to related research by showcasing success stories in the implementation of function modelling in six companies. The implemented models include morphological charts, use case modelling and two approaches developed in-house. The paper presents an interview study with managers and design leaders investigating the motivations and reasons leading up to the decision to newly implement function modelling in the companies. Furthermore, the paper explores the interviewees’ reflections on experiences gained while (gradually) implementing function models, the specific advantages attained, and also the challenges faced in doing so. The findings show that shared function modelling has great potential to support interdisciplinary collaboration and comprehension and to lead to a significant increase in the efficiency of the design process.

Design learning can be improved by understanding the differences between individual characteristics of students and its connection with their learning processes and outcomes. This paper focusses on the differences between discerning and opportunistic mind-sets. 91 students from industrial, product or automotive design courses participated in a quasi-experiment where they were required to generate solutions for a design problem, answer a Q&A survey and fill in a questionnaire. The obtained data were analysed using qualitative and quantitative metrics. We found evidence of individual characteristics, processes and outcomes that differentiate the discerning and opportunistic mind-sets. Based on these findings the paper proposes and discusses potential implications for design education.

Selecting innovative design concepts for further development entails decision making under conditions of sometimes extreme uncertainty pertaining to technical feasibility and market potential. In such situations, decision makers all too often become risk averse and reliant on known metrics that are inherently based on deductive and inductive logics. In prior research, however, good decision making on innovation has been linked with the complementary use of another form of logic: Abductive reasoning. Abductive reasoning changes the mind-set of decision makers to become intrinsically forward thinking and explorative towards innovation opportunity. In this paper, we present an experimental study suggesting that the cognitive, creative capabilities of humans correlate positively with their use of abductive reasoning in decision making. We are further able to show that a higher level of abductive reasoning leads to significantly better, i.e. more accurate, decisions in selecting successful innovation concepts. These findings have strong implications for companies seeking to improve their innovative performance, specifically, how and by whom decisions on innovation should be made.