Cognitive processes in iterative design behavior

Iteration is considered to be an integral part of the design process and is believed to be a natural feature of a designer's competency. As an activity, iteration can be a goal-directed, nonlinear process that utilizes heuristic reasoning processes and strategies. These processes take place as designers attempt to gather and filter information about a design problem and result in the revision, improvement or modification of possible solutions. Although the utilization of a cyclic iterative design procedure is believed to increase the efficiency of the process and lead to better quality solutions, there is little research that identifies iterative behaviors in terms of design competencies. This paper presents a coding framework that was developed from a larger study on engineering design problem solving behavior. Verbal protocol data of freshmen and senior engineering students is used to empirically, analyze differences in iterative approaches and strategies in terms of experience and performance. Both the theoretical framework and coding categories are presented and discussed, with examples from verbal protocol transcripts. Opportunities for analyzing and measuring iterative behavior and testing hypotheses related to students' performance is reviewed. This research can contribute to our understanding of cognitive processes in design, the assessment of design ability, and help identify more effective instructional tools and pedagogical approaches to teach design.