Identification of Design Strategies and Their Effects on Performance Outcomes in Pair Parameter Design Tasks

Understanding design processes and behaviors is important for building more effective design outcomes. During design tasks, teams exhibit sequences of actions that form strategies. This article investigates patterns of design actions in a paired parameter design experiment to discover design strategies that influence outcomes. The analysis uses secondary data from a design experiment in which each pair completes a series of simplified cooperative parameter design tasks to minimize completion time. Analysis of 192 task observations uses exploratory factor analysis to identify design strategies and regression analysis to evaluate their impacts on performance outcomes. The article finds that large actions and high action size variability significantly increase completion times, leading to poor performance outcomes. However, results show that frequently changing input controllers within and among designers significantly reduces completion times, leading to higher performance outcomes. Discussion states that larger actions can introduce unexpected errors, while smaller and consistent actions enhance designers’ understanding of the effects of each action, aiding in better planning for subsequent steps. Frequent controller switching reflects effective communication and understanding within design teams, which is crucial for cooperative tasks.