Course syllabus

Course-PM for PPU091 Design Theory & Research 

Study period 1, 2023, 7.5 credits

Course aim and content:

The aim of this course is that the student should develop further knowledge of the theories, processes and methods that characterize product development work, as well as prepare the student for assimilating design science literature and research in future studies and work life.

The content of the course encompasses the following topics:

• the individual designer: the creative individual; the designer's different types of knowledge, skills and responsibilities; 
• the team, cross-disciplinary collaboration, cross-cultural collaboration, creativity in teams; 
• the organization, orientations in product development, organizational prerequisites for creativity; 
• research approaches in design and product development; past and current themes in design research;
• academic literacy, writing academic texts

Learning outcomes

After completion of the course the student should be able to:

• differentiate between different research approaches; specifically, research for, research on and research through design and product development
• reflect upon current research on the themes and topics addressed in the course 
• compare theories on design and product development work to own empirical findings, and to own and others practice
• review and extract relevant information from academic papers
• produce an academic paper comprising the relevant basic components
• discuss similarities and differences between different processes in design and product development
• discuss the preconditions produced by the organisation, for different types of design and product development work
• discuss which abilities and competencies that characterise design and product development work, as well as how to make the most of them
• reflect upon the role(s) of the individual in design and product development; including the roles in relation to sustainability and ethical aspects
• reflect on the problems and opportunities associated with collaboration and teamwork in product development work, especially in cross-disciplinary and cross-cultural product development work

Link to the syllabus on Studieportalen: Study plan

Schedule

See the course summary below. The rooms are listed in the schedule on TimeEdit.

Course literature

The literature consists of scientific papers and book extracts, which will either be made available here on Canvas or in e-book format via Chalmers library (lib.chalmers.se). The assignments also require students to find their own relevant literature. 

Examination form

Examination of the course is based on compulsory participation in seminars and the completion of 3 assignments comprising exercises, oral presentations and written essays. Assignment descriptions are available under Modules and contain the full details for each assignment including their connections to the learning outcomes, hand-in formats and grading criteria.

Assignments should be produced individually or within the assigned project group when relevant. No plagiarism of extant texts or copying of other student's work is allowed. AI tools are not allowed to be used to generate or synthesise text in the written assignments, however AI tools may be used to edit text produced by the student with the intent to improve language.    

To pass the course, all assignments must be passed. A failed assignment will need to be revised, with an initial deadline for revisions on October 29th, and a second on January 5th 2024. After that revisions will be assessed in conjunction with Chalmers' re-exam periods.

The final grade in the course (Fail, 3, 4 or 5) will be calculated based on the results of the assignments, where A1 counts for 25% of the final grade, A2 for 30% and A3 for 45%. 

Contact details

Course is offered by the department of Industrial and Materials Science. 

Examiner, Lecturer: Helena Strömberg, Ph.D., Design & Human Factors, Industrial and Materials Science, Chalmers, e-mail: helena.stromberg@chalmers.se, tel: 031 - 772 1047

Changes made since the last occasion

The course retains the structure and content of the previous years, but with minor updates to reflect development within the field. The grading criteria have been refined in order to make them more clearcut and less wordy.