Supporting idea generation with design tools: nesting design heuristics within morphological analysis: Nesting design heuristics within morphological analysis

As some design problems are complex, generating concepts for a complete artefact may be overwhelming for designers, especially for novices. Students often learn to use morphological analysis (MA) to decompose a problem into subcomponents, allowing them to focus on designing for more specific functions. However, generating new ideas for subcomponents remains a challenge for novices. In this study, the authors investigated an educational method combining the morphological analysis approach with a tool designed to facilitate the generation of novel, differing ideas called design heuristics (DH). The results demonstrate that adding design heuristics within morphological analysis supported students in building upon their ideas to generate concepts. These findings contribute to the knowledge about how to facilitate idea generation through supporting tools in design pedagogy and practice.