Function Representations in Morphological Charts: An Experimental Study on Variety and Novelty of Means Generated

Abstract

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.