Planificación de rutas: problema de optimización

The concept of design as a discipline and the birth of design science are often viewed as being primarily based in engineering design, but developments in the fields of

Instructional Design, User Behavior, Cognitive Science, and Information Technology have all contributed. From a very broad perspective, these fields extend far into the past. For example, instructional design reaches back to when our early ancestors had to think about how to teach the use of fire and stone clubs. Information technology is sometimes viewed as beginning with the use of a reed stylus to write on clay tablets in 3500 B. C. (Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago, 2008). Information user behavior can be associated with cave paintings in 20,000 B.C. (Nunberg & Brownstein, 2002). However, the most common perspective on these areas is that they began to develop toward the fields as we know them today in the early-mid 20th _{century. This}

section provides a chronological outline of these fields.

The 1940s: The interdisciplinary nature of these fields becomes apparent during the

1940s. Information technology developed rapidly, spurred by World War II, and artificial intelligence research emerged in conjunction with development of first generation computers. Much of the foundation of the field of instructional design was based on efforts to develop instruction for rapid training of large numbers of military personnel to perform complex tasks, often with use of new audiovisual devices. Wartime training models were used in business and education, and user studies

expanded to include military training and organizational concepts of efficiency and performance (R. Reiser, 2007c). This was the first effort to perform organizational training on a huge scale, and although somewhat primitive compared to instruction today, at the time this was quite an accomplishment. Frustration with problems

encountered during this era led to many advances in instructional design over the next several decades. The discipline of technology, a phrase Admiral Rickover used to describe his approach to technological innovation and operation, and the precursor to the discipline of design, was developed by U.S. Navy Admiral Hyman G. Rickover to ensure improved nuclear training and safe design and operation of nuclear submarines (Duncan, 1990).

The 1950s: During the 1950s, the Space Race drove development in all of the fields. A

systems approach to instructional design and user studies became prevalent. During this era, and unfortunately often still today, user studies were observer-oriented with the researcher believed to have a privileged perspective on users’ needs, rather than obtaining user needs from users themselves. Although not user-based research, this era was still a step forward, considering users’ needs across broader contexts such as

scientific users and television-related behaviors (R. Reiser, 2007c).

An interesting but little-known development in the 1950s was Admiral Hymen G. Rickover’s development of a performance-oriented systematic approach to training for his U. S. Navy nuclear submarine program. This approach is applied in U.S. nuclear power plants today, and is a classic example of institutional constancy (Crawford, 1998). Although Rickover worked with Robert Gagne and other academic experts, his work

reflects one of the historic difficulties of instructional design. Many academic

researchers transition into military projects, but few military personnel transition to academia, resulting in some filtration of academic research results to the military, but little dissemination of military research results among academics (Ellis, 1986).

Increasing security issues have compounded this problem in both directions today (Hubbard, 2015a).

The 1960s: The 1960s reflect ongoing overlap and expansion of the fields. Robert

Glaser’s concept of instructional design as learner analysis, design, and development of instruction was a starting point for formal definition of the field of instructional design (1962). The area of Design Studies emerged as a new discipline during the 1960s. Although design discussions have been documented since the time of Aristotle, the emergence of Design Studies as an academic discipline as we know it today occurred in 1962 at The Conference on Design Methods in London, England. The conference was called to address concerns about the need for more scientific design methods, in parallel with overall emphasis on science because of the Space Race. The need for education on a science of design in universities became a concern, supported strongly by Herbert Simon (Cross, 2001). Many of the same educational and instructional issues that were brought up during the 1950s and 1960s, such as the need for innovation in instruction, appropriate presentation of information via automated (computerized) systems, appropriate feedback, effective instructional techniques, and the advantages and disadvantages of classroom instruction versus automated instruction are still issues of concern today (Ofiesh & Meierhenry, 2004).

The 1970s: The 1970s reflect growth and increasing maturity of the fields. The fields of

cognitive science and human-computer interaction were formally established (Driscoll, 2007). The need for instructional design, education, and user research increased as new computer technology was adopted by military, industry, and education. Information user behavior studies expanded beyond the library and military arena to include business and scientific settings (Case, 2002). A key development in user research was Brenda Dervin’s Sense-Making Approach, the beginning of a user-based approach to information seeking and use, and an important shift away from focus on systems and information sources (Tidline, 2006).

Design studies experienced a backlash against scientific design methods during this period. Some researchers began a trend toward viewing design as “wicked” problem solving, not amenable to scientific techniques (Cross, 2001). This perspective was based on research in cognitive psychology supporting a problem solving framework for studying and describing design (Eastman, 2001). A milestone in design research

occurred when Nam Suh published the first journal article on axiomatic design in 1978, a new design approach intended for use in all design disciplines (Suh, Bell, & Gossard, 1978). Refer to section 2.6.3.1 for more information on axiomatic design.

The 1980s: During the 1980s, computer technology became widely available in industry,

and spread into homes and educational institutions as technology prices dropped. With this came increased awareness of the massive amounts of information that could be made available to users, and interest in application of information technology to

of instructional design shifted focus from a systems approach to a constructivist focus, a more user-centered and cognitively oriented perspective. Cognitive science research was increasingly targeted toward development of applications and models to benefit users, such as expert systems and intelligent tutoring systems (Association for

Computing Machinery, 2007; Broderick, 2001; Carbonell; Case, 2002; Mantex, 2009; R. Reiser, 2007c; White, 2005b; M. Wilson, 2004).

User behavior research tended toward a more user-oriented approach with new models of information behavior (Taylor, 1984; T.D. Wilson, 1981; T. D. Wilson, 1984).

However, research remained largely focused on systems and application development and was performed largely without input from users. An exception to this was Nilan and Fletcher’s user study of information behaviors in preparation of research proposals. The proposal submission process was treated as a model for an information system, using a modified version of Dervin’s Sense-Making Approach to elicit and analyze data from users who had recently submitted proposals. Results provided a user-oriented set of criteria for information organization that could be applied to system design, a first in the field (Nilan & Fletcher, 1987).

Design Studies and Design Research began an evolution from discipline to an emerging cognitive science subfield of Design Science, establishing multiple scholarly journals on design research, theory, and methodology, such as Design Studies and Design Issues (Design Research Society, 2013; MIT Press Journals, 2015). Systematic approaches to engineering design were developed, leading to a proliferation of engineering design methods textbooks and increased emphasis on design education (Cross, 2001, 2006).

The 1990s: The 1990s saw an explosion in use of information technology due to the

Internet and the advent of large-scale online learning and e-commerce. Use of multimedia and wireless technologies is reflected in research, development, and practice of instructional design, and in user behavior studies. Information behavior modeling trended toward more general models, although there is still no

comprehensive single theory of information behavior (Case, 2002; Fisher, Erdelez, & McKechnie, 2006). The spread of information technology resulted in increasingly complex tasks for users, a corresponding interest in expertise research within the field of cognitive science, and a focus on complex learning and skills (Clark & Mayer, 2007; Driscoll, 2007). Some of the top experts in instructional design were involved in

development of large automated instructional design aid tools, primarily targeted at the military (Kasowitz, 1999). The field of design studies continued to grow, publishing additional journals such as Research in Engineering Design (Tel Aviv University, 2015)

The 2000s: Since 2000, user focus and complexity have increased across the fields, with,

emphasis on humans as integrated into information environments (Bates, 2006). Constructivism, holistic models of instruction, rich learning, and complex learning are key issues in instructional design (R. Reiser, 2007c), along with dealing with technology (Totten & Schuldt, 2009). There has been significant growth in online learning across industry, business, all levels of education, and the military and government, along with increased reliance on informal learning. Use of social media and informal methods is likely to result in a learning curve for many instructional designers to learn how to

support these new approaches, redefine roles, and better capture and enhance informal and social learning (R. Reiser, 2012; Rossett & Hoffman, 2012).

An increasing focus on social constructivist approaches to information behavior, collaboration, coordination, and humans as integrated into information environments can be seen in information user behavior research (Fisher, et al., 2006), but there still appears to be a lack of application of findings to technological development (Case, 2002). Flipped classrooms are everywhere, basically a new iteration of constructivism (Jonassen & Land, 2012).

The field of Design Science has continued to grow, with axiomatic design now being taught at some of the top engineering and other design schools. The concept of design as a discipline, now over 70 years old in the world of nuclear power, is beginning to gain recognition and acceptance in other design realms (Rothwell, 2013). This study will add to our understanding of the concept of design as a discipline by addressing an aspect of design that has received little attention; the existence of commonalities in question-asking behavior during design across multiple design disciplines. This is an important proof of concept for future research.

The following section discusses user behavior in more detail.