Critical chains composed of critical flows and functions have been demonstrated as an effective qualitative analogy retrieval approach based on performance metrics. In prior work, engineers used expert knowledge to transform functional models into critical chain models, which are abstractions of the functional model. Automating this transformation process is highly desirable so as to provide for a robust transformation method. Within this paper, two paradigms for functional modeling abstraction are compared. A series of pruning rules provide an automated transformation approach, and this is compared to the results generated previously through an expert knowledge approach. These two approaches are evaluated against a set of published functional models. The similarity of the resulting transformation of the functional models into critical chain models is evaluated using a functional chain similarity metric, developed in previous work. Once critical chain models are identified, additional model evaluation criteria are used to evaluate the utility of the critical chain models for design analogy identification. Since the functional vocabulary acts as a common language among designers and engineers to abstract and represent critical design artifact information, analogous matching can be made about the functional vocabulary. Thus, the transformation of functional models into critical chain models enables engineers to use functional abstraction as a mechanism to identify design analogies. The critical flow rule is the most effective first step when automatically transforming a functional model to a critical chain model. Further research into more complex critical chain model architectures and the interactions between criteria is merited.

Unaddressed cultural elements have prevented the adoption and diffusion of many humanitarian engineering and global development efforts. Design requirements act as the link between the designer and the target users. This pilot study looks at the perceptions of student designers when making design requirements, to understand what aspects of target user culture designers consider when making design requirements. This study also looks at how a formal method that encourages designers to use the culture of the target user to assess their design requirements affects the designers’ considerations when generating design requirements as well as the design requirements they generate. A quasi-experimental case study methodology was used for this study. Using a control group and an experimental group, student perceptions and design requirements were collected and compared to uncover the cultural considerations when making design requirements, their design requirements, and the effects on their cultural considerations and design requirements post-intervention. The study showed that the use of the formal method increased the designer’s consideration for target user culture when generating design requirements. However, the findings do not suggest that the intervention method alone altered the designer’s considerations and design requirements. This study acts as a pilot study to understand experimental design limitations that will be addressed in a larger study.

The purpose of this research is to develop an understanding of followership behaviors in engineering design team situations by studying leadership behaviors. While leadership in engineering design teams has been studied from role, function or behavior, and individual characteristic perspectives, no studies are found that examined follower (helping) behavior in the context of an engineering design team. Understanding this behavior can lead to intervention strategies that might be employed to improve team dynamics and performance. To this end, a theoretical framework of follower behavior is defined based on a review of “helping behavior” from the literature. Characteristics of follower helping behavior include exhibiting citizenship, voluntary, extra-role, and not upsetting the status-quo. Specifically, a follower-leader is one who exhibits voluntary, “extra-role” (beyond expectation) behaviors in a professional setting done without upsetting the status-quo in a formal leadership setting. A model is developed that links leadership style, follower mindset, leader-follower relationship, influence tactics, follower behavior, and follower performance. The key behavior studied is helping behavior. This literature-based framework is exclusively based on survey study data. No research is found that focuses on studying the behaviors of followers from observational studies. Therefore, data presented from a previous protocol study is further reviewed in search of patterns of conversions of followers to leaders through behavior modeling. In the previous study, eight teams of four graduate engineering students were tasked with generating a function model for a design prompt. These teams were video recorded, and their behaviors coded for seven leadership actions. Of the eight design teams previously studied, there were 325 total leadership behaviors coded. A follower-to-leader behavior pattern was defined where a follower in one behavior immediately exhibited leadership behavior in the next coded activity. Of the activities coded, 131 (40.3%) possible follower helping actions have been identified. These are examined further to determine whether there is a correlation between the initial leadership behavior type and the following leadership behavior type. Patterns are also sought to determine how often the initial leader also changes to a follower in the subsequent activity. This study shows that there are follower patterns that are found in design activities. Further, these patterns are related back to the follower (helping) behavior model that is derived from the literature, specifically the influence tactics that include: inspirational appeals, consultation, supplication, and exemplification as well as the social exchange relationships of leader-member exchange (LMX), team-member exchange (TMX). Finally, this study provides suggestive evidence of patterns to motivate future systematic study of followership in engineering design.