Glossary
Benchmarking:
Research and information gathering. What is the current state of the technology? What similar products are available? Benchmarking is an important component in the exploration phase of design.
Body Storming:
Is a group interaction protocol that relies less on words than brain storming and tends to use the whole body, all sensory modes, to interact with product and service prototypes. It includes interpersonal interactions. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bodystorming
Brainstorming:
Is a group interaction protocol that invites participants to have as many ideas as possible without regard to judgement regarding idea efficacy or feasibility. It was popularized by Alex Osborne. http://wikipedia.org/wiki/Brainstorming
Computer Aided Design:
CAD
The use of computational tools to develop and visualize conceptual designs
Commonly used software for CAD include SolidWorks, OnShape, Fusion 360, COMSOL
Confirmation Bias:
the tendency to search for, interpret, favor, and recall information in a way that confirms or supports one's prior beliefs or values
See: Thinking, Fast and Slow by Danny Kahneman
Cradle-to-Cradle:
a biomimetic approach to the design of products and systems that models human industry on nature's processes, where materials are viewed as nutrients circulating in healthy, safe metabolisms. The term itself is a play on the popular corporate phrase "cradle to grave", implying that the C2C model is sustainable and considerate of life and future generations—from the birth, or "cradle", of one generation to the next generation, versus from birth to death, or "grave", within the same generation.
See: Cradle-to-Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things by Michael Braungart and William McDonough
Critical Experience Prototype:
CEP. A prototype designed to demonstrate one particularly important experience.
Critical Function Prototype:
CFP. A prototype designed to demonstrate one particularly important functionality.
Coach:
A consultant to your team. How your team makes use of your coach is up to you; your coach will have no hand in grading.
Convergent Thinking:
Solving a problem with known rules and reasoning to obtain a single solution. Solutions developed with convergent thinking are often similar to existing solutions.
Dark Horse
A prototyping exercise during the first week of Winter Quarter. The "Dark horse" prototype is a quick attempt to try an idea that you had previously rejected as being too outlandish, crazy or infeasible.
Design Requirements:
What should the system do?
Is there enough detail in the functional and physical requirements to be able to assess whether a particular solution will be satisfactory or not?
Are Functional and Physical requirements properly distinguished?
Are Internal and External requirements properly distinguished?
Is the team clear about the distinction between Requirements vs Constraints vs Opportunities?
Double-Loop Learning:
entails the modification of goals or decision-making rules in the light of experience. The first loop uses the goals or decision-making rules, the second loop enables their modification, hence "double-loop". Double-loop learning recognises that the way a problem is defined and solved can be a source of the problem.
See: Chris Argyris
Divergent Thinking:
a thought process or method used to generate creative ideas by exploring many possible solutions or approaches to a problem. Divergent thinking encourages exploring multiple solutions and possibilities, and encourages individuals to think outside of the box and challenge assumptions. It involves generating as many ideas as possible in a short amount of time, without evaluating their feasibility or quality.
EXPE:
The student design exposition at the end of Spring quarter, scheduled for Thursday June 7th, 2018 it is supposed to be an EXPErience for visitors to each of the booths.
Fidelity:
A prototype's closeness to the final product.
See What do Prototypes Prototype?" Houde and Hill
Foresight is a strategic thinking protocol that uses a suite of simple group interaction tools to explore feasible future scenarios by careful assessment of past trends in technology, society, and economics. We reference Foresight and Innovation at Stanford and wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foresight
Free-Body Diagram:
FBD.
An analytical, visual tool used to communicate assumptions and solve quantitatively for forces
Functional System Prototype:
Funky System Prototype:
A design in which multiple critical functions are integrated to achieve the desired function of the overall system. The specific implementation of each function is often a lower fidelity compared to the functional system prototype.
Geniuses:
An appropriate nickname given to the ME310 Teaching Assistants.
Email address for the Teaching Assistants: 310-geniuses@lists.stanford.edu
Gestalt:
a German word where the closest translations are form, shape, configuration, pattern, "organizational essence"
Gestalt psychologists hold that perception inherently acts as an active force that draws sensory imagery together into holistic patterns.
Borrowed from Bob McKim's book: Experiences in Visual Thinking
Growth Mindset:
the belief that one’s talents are able to be grown by hard work, practice, input from others, and good strategy, rather than set at birth by innate ability (“fixed” mindset).
See: Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol Dweck
Iteration:
One cycle of designing a prototype. This may be for a single critical function prototype or for a larger scale prototype. Multiple iterations are regular and to be expected.
Lateral Thinking:
a strategy for approaching problems in unusual and creative ways by forgoing “obvious” approaches and step-by-step logical processes (vertical thinking). Commonly referred to as “thinking outside the box”.
See: Lateral Thinking by Edward DeBono
Lawyer Solution:
Any game or contest has rules, which are imperfect in the sense that they try to create a closed universe of possibilities. So there is always the option to "get around the rules" or "game the system" with Lawyer Solutions. An example could be that if there is a challenge to build a "paper transportation device" one could simply glue pieces of paper to the soles of one's shoes and walk.
In real life, Lawyer Solutions don't come up because "gaming the system" is pointless. Either a design does or does not meet the requirements and satisfy users. If it does, and is surprisingly simple or unexpected, that is not a Lawyer Solution, it's design creativity!
Liaison:
Your primary means for communicating with your corporate; customer;
ME310ABC:
Mechanical Engineering, a graduate level course (numbered above 200) that is a core requirement to earn the ME Masters Degree with depth in design.
The ABC designation indicates that the course must be taken A=autumn, B=winter, and C=spring quarters for at least 4 graded units per quarter.
It is defined as a "LAB" course.
Involvement in hours outside those specified in the Axess definition may be required.
Mission:
A mission is an unbounded task to accomplish something without prescription of the path, methods, or performance requirements. It is often associated with the notion of "mission impossible". It is a goal without constraints. Think of it as a calling.
microController:
An electronic tool used for controls, signal processing, actuation control, etc.
Commonly used microControllers include Arduino, TiVa, PIC, Raspberry Pi, and Teensy
Needfinding:
the act of discovering people's explicit and implicit needs so that designers can create appropriate solutions
Paper Bike:
A human-powered vehicle made entirely of paper products. Not necessarily a bike at all!
Parallel Prototyping:
a process of rapid prototyping, but with multiple designs at a time (in parallel), usually done to generate comparative feedback from users
Part-X is Finished:
Pecha Kucha:
a presentation format that originated in Tokyo, Japan. The format is designed to encourage creativity and simplify presentations by restricting the amount of time and information that can be shared. he format’s focus on brevity and visual communication makes it a popular choice for networking events, conferences, and other public speaking opportunities.
Prototype:
Product Realization Lab:
PRL.
A Makerspace Facility found on Stanford's campus which includes a woodshop, machine shop, foundry, welding and sheet metal room, and rapid prototyping facility.
Rapid Prototyping:
a process where an idea is brought to the physical world with minimal resource expenditure, usually done to answer a critical question or address an issue that is critical for an intended design direction
Reflective Practitioner:
See: The Reflective Practitioner: How Professionals Think In Action by Donald Schon
Reframe:
Resolution:
See What do Prototypes Prototype?" Houde and Hill
Small Group Meetings:
SGMs. Weekly design review/critique meetings between individual teams and the teaching team to review progress. Run by the student teams; in some cases, you may want to invite others (such as coaches and liaisons) to attend.
Smart Product Design Lab:
SPDL.
Social-Technical System
STS
See * Clegg STS (2000) Clegg_STS_2000.pdf Δ
Slightly Unorganized Design Session:
SUDS. A community building gathering for ME310 students and Alum.
An opportunity to network, meet new people, and eat food.
Team-of-Teams:
See: Team of Teams: New Rules of Engagement for a Complex World by Stanley McChrystal
Three Letter Acronym:
TLA.
Total Accessible Market:
TAM. A metric indicating the potential revenue for a particular business model (revenue per customer x number of customers)
Teaching Team:
TTeam. Professors, Adjunct Professors, and Teaching Assistants.
User Persona:
a representation of a user group or customer. It is based on research and data about a particular target audience, and is designed to help designers, marketers, and product teams understand the needs, behaviors, motivations, and goals of their users. By creating user personas, teams can ensure that their products, services, and marketing efforts are tailored to meet the needs of real users, rather than making assumptions based on their own opinions or limited data.
Wicked Problem:
See: ''Horst Rittel..."
Wizard-of-Oz:
A prototype whose function from a user’s perspective is maintained via non-autonomous actions by the design team.