Donald P. Grant

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THE 'HOW TO'OF DECISION MAKING
Guest Editor: Donald P. Grant

This issue is the second in a series of issues on the "how to" of various design methods. These "how to" issues of DESIGN METHODS AND THEORIES are intended for use as self-instruction manuals for practicing designers and for use as texts by teachers of design methods courses.

The first issue in this "how to" series was Volume 10 Number 4, October-December 1976, and included articles on decision-making with multiple objectives.

This second issue in the "how to" series deals with the morphological approach to idea generation.

One current analysis of the design process is as a constantly-repeated isomorphism made up of three types of activity. Rittel describes the three types of activity as problem definition, variety generation and variety reduction. Jones refers to the same three kinds of activities as transformation, divergence and convergence, respectively. The first issue in this "how to" series dealt chiefly with the activities of problem definition and variety reduction, that is, transformation and convergence. This issue, on the morphological approach, deals chiefly with the activi- ties of problem definition (transformation) and variety generation (divergence). Methods of idea production, variety generation, divergence, or creativity, to list several near synonyms for this aspect of designing activity, that are commonly taught in design methods courses and used by designers include the morphological approach, treated here, and the free-association approaches of brainstorming and Synectics. The morphological approach has been used in awide variety of design tasks. Future issues in this "how to" series will include material on the Issue-based Information System, or IBIS; on decision-making with multiple objectives and multiple clients; on space planning methods; and on image profiling in the manner of the semantic differential.

129 HOW TO CONSTRUCT AMORPHOLOGICAL BOX
Donald P. Grant

159 HOW TO CONSTRUCT AMORPHOLOGICAL TREE
Donald P. Grant

Publication Date

7-1977

Publisher

Design Methods Group / Design Research Society

City

San Luis Obispo

Keywords

drs, design research society, design methods group

Disciplines

Architecture | Arts and Humanities

DMG Journal Vol.11 No.3

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