A systematic study of the introduction of a new function representation, function structures, into
morphological charts is explored in this research. This is a first step in developing systematic guidelines to
aid student designers in using the combinatorial idea generation tool in an effective and efficient manner. An
experiment is conducted with senior mechanical engineering students to determine how novelty and variety
of means generated from morphological charts is influenced by different function representations (function
lists and function structures). The findings from this experiment suggest that the variety and novelty of
means generated in a morphological chart is not dependent on the function representation. More
significantly, this study provides a template on which future experimental studies on idea generation can be
based, thereby increasing the potential for discovery and development of systematic guidelines to improve
conceptual design for novice engineers.