Evaluation of Group Design in Engineering

Abstract

In group design simultaneous input from multiple individuals, communications between group members, and management of the group effort make the process difficult to study. This paper describes the preliminary results of a computer-based system which was developed to study group design in engineering. Three groups of engineering designers were studied using the computer based group design system (GDS). Observations were made regarding the impact of management style (methodology) on the design process, the impact of communications on the overall group activity, the sequence of transactions leading to the conceptual design decision, and the involvement of group members. The use of systematic procedures appears to encourage more equal participation, a decision less influenced by individual choice, and reduced authority hierarchy.