A study of the design engineer's cognitive processes during the later phases of the engineering design process

An increasing number of studies have been focusing on the cognitive abilities and limitations of the designer during the design process, yet thus far only for the conceptual design phase. This paper deals with the embodiment design and detail design phases. We focus on the problem-solving process - strategies and basic steps - around the synthesis activity. Six experiments have been carried out, applying the verbal protocol analysis method as adapted to embodiment design and detail design. The results of this study show the specificities of the problem-solving activities of the later phases of the design process.