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Session Description

Ticketed event: $15.00 advanced registration and $25.00 on site registration
• Notes from the DEED Program Chair:
DEED is willing to do a morning workshop slot, and we are willing to do a morning and afternoon workshop. This is 1 of 2 partnered proposals with **two different divisions**. This one is with the BED division. We are submitting to offer both, with priority to proposal 1 of 2 (this one), if only one can be accepted.

Collaboration
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The Biomedical Engineering Division (BED) division has agreed to partner with DEED on this workshop, collaboration with the ME division is still being sought at the time of submission. Workshop presenters are active members of three divisions.

Intended Audience
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Suitable for participants from any engineering discipline who engage in engineering design, whether it’s systems, products, devices, structures, software, or beyond! No prior experience
necessary in user-centered design or in design research methods. Suitable for students, educators, or engineering practitioners.

Workshop Description
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Engineering solutions are only as effective as the understanding of the people who use them. Engaging in user-centered design can produce a variety of qualitative data from activities like interviews, observations, and shadowing. Given engineers’ focus on quantitative analysis,
many students and practitioners may lack experience with structured methods for interpreting this qualitative data. Appropriate interpretation of data is critical to uncover user needs and values, contextual constraints so that the engineering challenge can be framed appropriately.

This hands-on workshop introduces methods used by industrial designers and user-centered design practitioners to make sense of qualitative research. Participants will learn and apply techniques for user-centered research methods and insight generation methods. Using sample data, small teams will practice sorting, clustering, and interpreting messy qualitative inputs into clear, actionable insights for design.

The workshop is ideal for engineering students and faculty who want to expand their design toolbox and better integrate human needs into their design process. Activities could be easily adapted to participants’ own curriculum and classrooms in order to further boost student engagement in user-centered design and insight generation. No prior experience in design research is required.
Applicable to any discipline that engages in engineering design.

Proposed Workshop Schedule
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• Timeline: 0:00–0:15
Topic: Welcome and Framing the Problem
Activities: Brief presentation on why engineers need qualitative methods. Overview of user-centered design and the nature of qualitative data.

• Timeline: 0:15–0:35
Topic: Intro to Interpreting Qualitative Data
Activities: Brief presentation introducing methods for processing design research that are standard in professional product design.

• Timeline: 0:35–1:05
Topic: Affinity Diagramming
Activities: Hands-on exercise in small groups using sample data with interview quotes and observations on cards. Short introduction to identifying needs, frustrations, behaviors, and workarounds. Groups sort notes and cluster them thematically while engaging in discussion.

• Timeline: 1:05–1:15
Topic: Debrief and Gallery Walk
Activities: Groups observe each other’s diagrams. Facilitators prompt discussion about clustering strategies and common themes.

• Timeline: 1:15–1:35
Topic: Empathy Mapping
Activities: Teams create empathy maps for one user in the categories “Says,” “Thinks,” “Does,” and “Feels,” with emphasis on understanding user context.

• Timeline: 1:35–1:45
Topic: Identifying Constraints
Activities: Teams identify relevant constraints that emerge from the empathy mapping and affinity diagramming exercises.

• Timeline: 1:45–2:00
Topic: From Observations to Insights
Activities: Mini-lecture and group work on generating design insights from patterns, with a focus on phrasing actionable and non-obvious insights.

• Timeline: 2:00–2:20
Topic: Group Share-Outs
Activities: Teams present one or two key insights and explain how they were derived from the raw data.

• Timeline: 2:20–2:30
Topic: Wrap-Up and Reflection
Activities: Q&A, recap of takeaways, and discussion of how this process integrates with engineering design methods.

Funding Source
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Offered under DEED, in partnership with BME, covered by DEED division funds.

Moderated by

1. Ms. Annie Abell, Dr. Tanya M. Nocera, Tahlia Altgold, Prof. Russell K. Marzette Jr., and Dr. Julian M Lippmann

Speakers

1. Ms. Annie Abell

   The Ohio State University

   Annie Abell
   Associate Professor of Practice
   Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Ohio State University
   ASEE Divisions: DEED, ME

2. Dr. Tanya M. Nocera

   The Ohio State University

   Professor of Practice
   Department of Biomedical Engineering, Ohio State University
   ASEE Divisions: BME

3. Tahlia Altgold

   The Ohio State University

   Graduate Research Associate, Department of Engineering Education
   Graduate Teaching Associate and PhD Student, Department of Biomedical Engineering Ohio State University

4. Prof. Russell K. Marzette Jr.

   The Ohio State University

   DEED Programs Chair

5. Dr. Julian M Lippmann

   University of Miami

   DEED Programs Chair-Elect