Aspects of wicked problems

Aspects of austere fusssIntroductionWhen facing a concept difficulty, material bodyers gather up to pass a wide range of factors to correspond that it is as harvest-homeive as possible. When a throw chore is ill-defined a foetid problem turn offs, which complicated the march more. Sustain faculty is a very master(prenominal) shape when boding. Its overly important that seeers understand the usance they argon playing, and hardly what their problem is. Ive looked at these things and related them to my own send off experiences when possible. so usaged ProblemsDefinition abominable designs sack be summarised as problems that argon difficult to solve, where there is no real taken for granted(predicate) resultant role that pass on full resolve the initial problem. This force out be callable to unclear, unspecific or changing requirements that wad own it hard for the causation to know exactly the situation they are invention for. Furthermore, as single a spect within the product is solved, former(a) problems may be unveiled leading to more problems. A usual example of a loathsome problem outside the area of design is politics whatever is d i there are still problems and not everyone is riant, addition completelyy as politicians solve issues more emerge. The term stark design has been defined by ten characteristics compiled by Rittel and Webber (1973) shown below.Number Characteristic on that transport is no definitive formulation of a wicked problemWicked problems incur no s pointping ruleSolutions to wicked problems are not true or false, further better or worse in that respect is no immediate and no ultimate test of a solution to a wicked problem both solution to a wicked problem is a one shot operation beca subprogram there is no opportunity to learn by trial and error every attack counts signifi chamferlyWicked problems do not cook an enumerable (or an good describable) grade of potential solutions, nor is there a wel l depict set of permissible operations that may be co-ordinatedd into the planEvery wicked problem is essentially uniqueEvery wicked problem lav be considered to be a symptom of an another(prenominal)(prenominal) problemThe existence of a discrepancy representing a wicked problem can be explained in numerous ways. The choice of explanation determines the temperament of the problems occlusionThe planner has no honest to be wrong (planners are apt(predicate) for the consequences of the actions the generate)Explaining the CharacteristicsThere is no definite formulation of a wicked problemModel3When faced with a wicked problem, it is often difficult to state exactly what this problem is, and what you are aiming to do. This can therefore lead to confusion as to whether or not the issue has been resolved, it is a continuous problem. In my design experiences, I have picked up on things that I didnt ab initio animadvert about whilst doing research and consulting single-valued func tionrs. For example whilst doing my product study on Speedo quick skin swimsuits, when I gave a questionnaire to a user it highlighted issues that I didnt initially consider such the users experience whilst development it, such as belief claustrophobic. This led me to look further into the research Speedo had withstand regarding comfort. The whole design help ends up being a teaching experience because you have to thoroughly look into all aspects necessary in order to filter out and solve the wicked problem. enroll 1 below shows that the design process is continuous it is a never ending circle.Wicked problems have no stopping storeyA wicked problem can arise when you are designing and there is no clear or obvious place to stop at they dont have an exhaustive end point. You can go on and on developing and altering the design tho the end point go forth never be clear because of the nature of the problem being solved. In my previous design experiences, the stopping point has always been when I have met all the identified required ask stated in the specification, when the cartridge clip limit prevents me from going any further, and when I have received positive feedback about the design, illustrating that potential users are happy with it. It is also important to en current that the design has been explored thoroughly from all perspectives. cartridge clip and deadlines are often the about contri notwithstandinging factor to determine the point you stop at. This may lead to the design not being fully explored. In a lot of my design experiences, especially at GCSE, I had to move on to the next part of the design process in front fully exploring everything as the opportunities were endless, it was a wicked problem design more or lessthing to be sold by the National Trust in their shopsSolutions to wicked problems pretense be described as true or false but good or badSolutions to design problems cant be described as true or false or function or wrong because it varies depending on whom is using the product. Designs are normally described using personal opinion by evaluating them from several(predicate) perspectives and considering various factors, for example, function, size, ease of use etc. A design cannot just be classed as even up or wrong, its not that simple, parts of it may be correct whereas others powerfulness not work. A design may be perfect for one specific group of people but not at all for others. Constructive criticism is a good thing to use when face at solutions, considering good points, bad points and ways to improve. For example, for AS direct I do a lamp intended for use by children, the aesthetics I came up with would suit children but wouldnt appeal to many others. Designers may be given the same brief to work from, yet the end results forget not all be the same. This doesnt mean that one person is right and the rest are wrong, the problem has just been solved in other ways depending on how t he causation has interpreted it.Every wicked problem can be considered a symptom of another problemA lot of designs can continuously be improved and developed due to reasons such as new technology and materials being developed. Wicked designs cant ever be fully solved they depend on trends, opinions, financial situations etc. So you may temporarily satisfy the design criteria but not in the long run. An example of this is mobile phones they are always changing and getting better to meet peoples ineluctably and to compete with hawkish brands. Figure 2 below suited the remove at the time it was designed you could phone off it. Now, figure 3 meets the needs of people, it is multi running(a) and does everything from browsing the internet to video calling. Every wicked problem can be considered a symptom of another problem. Products that seem out of picture now would have been designed to suit the target market at the time they were designed it is not because of a fault of the d esigner. Sustainability now has much(prenominal) more importance than previously so the way products are made has changed. Designers know that it is a current issue so strive to fashion products that are sustainable.industrial designers and engineersOften it is hard to distinguish between the role of the engineer and that of the industrial designer because the way they work is so alike(p) however there are some influencing differences. The engineer is more have-to doe with about the technological aspects of the design and the accuracy of it. There is often a right or wrong answer as it frequently involves maths and science. On the other hand, the industrial designer focuses more upon the aesthetics, production, social and environmental impact, sustainability and price. There is no definite answer to the initial brief it is a matter of opinion. Their aim is to make the product appeal to users so that they will buy it.The role of the industrial designer is to cr carry offe and ex ecute design solutions towards problems of form, usability, user ergonomics, marketing, brand development and sales http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Industrial_design Aug 2008 engineering science is the discipline, art and affair of acquiring and applying technical, scientific and mathematical knowledge to design and implement materials, structures, machines, devices.. http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Engineering Nov 2009.My experienceFor my AS project I designed a lamp enliven by the design movement pop art for young children. It was be a night light. For my A Level project, I designed something to win healthy eating for children and families to improve their lifestyle. I choose to do the product shown below, you place each persons photo in the frame on the box, and whenever you eat an item of fruit or vegetable (one of your five a day) you hurtle a counter in the slot to a higher place your photo. For both of these, some aspects of the design process were considered to be traditional i ndustrial design, and some considered to be the responsibility of the engineer. eccentric of industrial designer in my experienceIndustrial design was involved in my A level project because aesthetics was a very important factor to figure that children would want to use the product. This involved considering colour, shapes, finish and form. Cultural and social concerns played an important part in the designing. I did some research and found that moveive learning was one of the better ways to educate and influence children. I also found out that gentle competitiveness would encourage people to interact with the product. In this case it was done by competing to see who could eat the most fruit/vegetables in one day, recorded by determineting counters in the slot above your photo. It was important for me to consider cost and manufacture to ensure that the product would be accessible to people of as many backgrounds as possible. Safety was also an important factor in this design as its intended to be employ by children, the parts couldnt be likewise small and there couldnt be any sharp parts. The industrial designer also necessary to consider the materials to be use, and the surface finish needed.Role of engineer in my experienceThe role of the engineer was to make sure that the design provided the required function, and that performance was up to the right level. I had to make sure that the gap between the cardinal sheets for the counters to slot into was exactly the right size so that the counters didnt get stuck, but didnt move around besides much. I also had to make sure that the dimensions were correct so that the top black piece fitted into the base securely enough, yet it could be removed(p) to tip upside down to remove the counters. A lot of precision was needed to ensure that the pieces all fitted together correctly. For my lamp it was the role of the engineer to ensure that the electrical parts of the design functioned correctly and that they were held inside the casing safely. SustainabilitySustainability has travel a very important influence when designing due to societys change magnitude concern about it. Designers need to think about the product they are designing from cradle to grave, meaning they need to consider where the materials are obtained from whether they are readily available, renewable or non renewable and where they have to be shipped from. The manufacturing process then needs to be considered to ensure that it causes the most minimal solvent on the environment and that the conditions workers are in are gratifying. Packaging needs to be thought about to make sure that it is not in excess, and so that the shape is as efficient as possible for transportation. Figure 7 compares the cradle to gate method (just considering the products lifecycle until it is sold) and the cradle to grave idea, where you consider the products impact after its useful life has ended. Sustainability can be stinting rent int o three categories economic, social and environmental. The sustainability handbook defines them all, the economic one means considering economic implications of our actions including ensuring that there is an economic benefit both to the realm from which the product came and to the region in which it is marketed. The social one means ensuring that our own and other peoples prime(prenominal) of life and human rights are not compromised to fulfill our expectations or demands. And the environmental one can be defined as ensuring that our actions and lifestyles dont cause the planets resources to be used at unsustainable rates. When designing a product, as a designer you should consider each of these three categories and the potential impact your product will have on them.Defenitions of SustainabilityMeeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needsSustainability is all about preserving the worlds intrinsic resources for future generations. A fully sustainable industry would be one that has zero impact or a positive impact on the environment.My experience of sustainabilityMy experience of sustainability involved several factors. My material choice was an important factor. I had to find out how easily available various materials were, what is done with them after their useful life has ended and how they are processed. With my A level project, once the user has finished with the product, the different materials can easily be split into MDF and acrylic ready to be recycled. This concept reflects the idea that Papanek had (1994) of designing for disassembly designing products so that they are easy to take isolated and sort for recycling. He referred to the concept as assemble for disassembly. He proposed that different materials shouldnt be mixed unless its unavoidable in order to simplify the time interval process. When considering what wood to use, I decided that there was no need to use a rare wood that would likely have had to have been shipped into the boorish as this would cause unnecessary environmental damage. I also needed to consider how the material would be processed, for example metal needs a lot higher temperatures to work with than plastics so needs more dynamism to provide that initial heat which is often developd using fossil fuels.How I could improve my design experienceWith respect to my lamp project, I think that if I had worked more from the perspective of the engineer I may have farmd a more useful product. If I could do it again I would incorporate a dimmer switch so that the light emitted can be varied as its intended use was to be a nightlight. I think when I was doing the project I was mainly looking at it from the point of view of the industrial designer as I put a lot of consideration into the aesthetics and desirability. In order to make my A level design more sustainable, I could use another of Papaneks ideas (1994), which is to use scrap materi als that are left over from production to create other products. For example, the circles cut out to make the frame could be used as counters in a game, or they could possibly be used to make jewelry with. An option to make my design more sustainable would be to use recycled materials to create the product, this option was a bit trammel in school but a possibility would be to create the frame and counters out of recycled polymer.ConclusionI have looked into the concept of wicked designs and understand how they make it hard for designers to fully satisfy the need when addressing this fictitious character of problem. They involve many complications that often lead to more, and it makes it hard for designers to create acceptable solutions. To ensure that they do the best that they can designers should understand the nature of wicked problems and all that they entail. I have looked into the roles of the industrial designer and the engineer and have related them to my work to understan d the difference between the two, also how the tasks of the two sometimes overlap. I have seen how sustainability is an important factor that affects the way designers need to approach their tasks, and that they need to consider the products implications early on in the design rather than just at the end. I have examined all of the above factors and related them to my work where possible. I have also looked to see where I could improve what I have done in the past with what I have found out. ReferencesWicked Problems article. http//en-wikipedia.org/wiki/Wicked_problem (2009) Rittel and Webber accessed on 24.11.09Figure 1 Learn. http//learn.lboro.ac.uk/ bank line/view.php?id=1455 week 3, EWLN power point, slide 13. Accessed on 12.11.09Figure 2 http//jamesoff.net/ berth/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/dsc_4159.jpg accessed on 24.11.09Figure 3 http//myofferpal.files.wordpress.com/2009/01/apple-iphone.jpg accessed on 24.11.09The sustainability handbook. William Blackburn. Published 02.01.07 by environmental Law InstituteFigure 7 http//www.scienceinthebox.com/en_UK/programs/laundrydetergent_en.htmlIndustrial design article. http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Industrial_design (2008) Accessed on 25.11.09Engineering. http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Engineering (2009) Accessed on 25.11.09Eco Logic. Design for the Real World 1985. Victor Papanek.