Preliminary studies using wikis for communication in early engineering design

Carolynn J Walthall, Purdue University

Abstract

Wikis, freely editable collections of web pages, are showing strong potential as a flexible documentation and communication tool for collaborative design tasks. They provide a medium that can be further transformed by properly understanding both the need for flexibility as well as support for design thinking early in the design process. The purpose of this work was to develop a foundation to analyze the different dimensions of a wiki from a communication perspective as applicable to design. With a focus on communication in design, the advantages and disadvantages of using wikis in student engineering design teams were explored. The ultimate goal is to better support the design process while exploiting the potential for increasing the shared understanding among teams using a wiki. A wiki was implemented on a large scale in a Machine Design course in Germany to explore the features and overall utility of the wiki in a relatively structured design scenario. Results showed the wiki to be an effective candidate as a flexible tool for early design; it can be improved with fewer syntax constraints and a reduced learning curve. The full functionality of the wiki remained largely unexplored by the co-located student teams, as they were able to easily meet to discuss ideas. By introducing a wiki among a globally distributed product development course at Purdue University, students gained hands-on experience in using wikis as a design tool. Feedback from students will be used to improve and transform the wiki as a support tool for communication during early design collaboration. The results from the exploratory studies presented in this thesis provide support for the continued development of additional features and functions to better enable the use of wikis as an early design tool.

Degree

M.S.M.E.

Advisors

Ramani, Purdue University.

Subject Area

Mechanical engineering

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