The elusive act of synthesis: Creativity in the conceptual design of complex engineering products

Claudia Eckert, David Wyatt, P. John Clarkson

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

13 Scopus citations

Abstract

In engineering design it is necessary not only to find creative solutions to problems, but to be able to do so without introducing unacceptable levels of risk into the process. This paper studies how engineering firms use creativity within a Business Process Excellence framework, through a case study of diesel engine design. Overall it appears that the emphasis on reliable and repeatable processes causes creativity to be displaced backwards into R&D and forwards into "emergency innovation" during integration.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationC and C 2009 - Proceedings of the 2009 ACM SIGCHI Conference on Creativity and Cognition
PublisherAssociation for Computing Machinery, Inc
Pages265-274
Number of pages10
ISBN (Electronic)9781605584034
DOIs
StatePublished - 26 Oct 2009
Externally publishedYes
Event7th ACM SIGCHI Conference on Creativity and Cognition, C and C 2009 - Berkeley, United States
Duration: 27 Oct 200930 Oct 2009

Publication series

NameC and C 2009 - Proceedings of the 2009 ACM SIGCHI Conference on Creativity and Cognition

Conference

Conference7th ACM SIGCHI Conference on Creativity and Cognition, C and C 2009
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CityBerkeley
Period27/10/0930/10/09

Keywords

  • Business Process Excellence
  • Case study
  • Creativity in engineering
  • Diesel engine
  • Engineering design

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