Design Informatics: Supporting Engineering Design Processes with Information Technology

Engineering design is an information processing activity, in which designers access and create information at every stage of the design process, creating information models of the designed artefact and to assist in the evaluation of its performance. The importance of information in design has meant that design informatics-the use of computers as a means of generating, communicating and sharing data, information and knowledge in design-has been a central theme in the design research and practice for many years. This paper reviews the progress of research in design informatics, and makes suggestions for future research directions using as a basis for structuring the discussions Gero's function-behaviour-structure and Weber's characteristic-properties models of design activities. The review encompasses technologies of computer-aided design, computer-aided engineering, computer-supported collaborative work, design-for-X and knowledge and information management among others, with an emphasis on applications in mechanical engineering and related disciplines.