An information requirement strategy for capturing and analysisng design activity and behaviour

This paper forms part of the wider ongoing discussion on the issues and possible mitigating techniques present in empirical design research today. Indeed it is widely acknowledged that there are many diverse methods available to the empirical researcher. There are also a number of ways in which these can be compared or controlled. Ultimately, however, all of these techniques aim to develop some form of rigour, validity, replicability and understanding in the wider design research community. This paper brings these discussions together acknowledging their differences but also drawing out a number of fundamental similarities in order to identify and address the key barriers to success. Further it goes on to argue that these fall into an overarching theoretical frame from which common factors and issues can be identified and recognised. This is then used to structure the argument for a broader understanding and reporting of contextual and social factors while also offering a more focused discussion of empirical information gathering and experimental planning. This discussion is intended to act as an overview of the issues an empirical researcher must be aware of and to offer some guidance of how they can start to address these data collection and validity issues as part of their experimental design. The paper is also aimed at bringing together and moving forward the discussion on what constitutes good empirical research, what its influences are and how design research as a community can set about mitigating them. The paper focuses on the research and methodological aspects of design research. In this way design in industry is affected indirectly through improvements in design research quality.