Course syllabus

Course-PM for PPU091 Design Theory & Research

Study period 1, autumn 2024, 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 objectives

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
• critically 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 of 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 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
• outline strategies for creating an inclusive and gender-equal work environment in diverse project teams, organisations and stakeholder collaborations

Link to the syllabus on Studieportalen. Study plan

Contact details

The 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. Please use email as your primary form of contact.

Additional lecturers will be added

Schedule

See the course summary below for an overview of the course. 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 (see Modules) or in e-book format via Chalmers library (lib.chalmers.se). The assignments also require students to find their own relevant literature. 

Course design and Examination

The course is organised in three modules, each associated with lectures, workshops, reading, and a written or oral assignment. The course is built on active participation during lectures, but also requires the student to engage autonomously with the assignments. Feedback on assignments will be provided using Canvas, please check under Grades, and be sure to click the little checklist icon to access the full feedback. 

Examination of the course is based on compulsory participation in seminars, study visits, 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 November 1st, and a second on January 9th 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%. 

Changes made since the last occasion

Based on the feedback in last year's course evaluation, the organisation module has been revamped and some lingering adaptations from the pandemic years removed. The organisation module once again focuses on guest lectures/study visits to different types of organisations. The relation to assignment 3 has been clarified.