Towards a Theoretical Framework of "Framing" in Engineering Design

Design problems are ill-structured, often featuring under-defined needs and specifications, competing goals, and conflicting requirements. Experienced engineers resolve ill-structured problems by “framing” them. Framing is a cognitive process that transforms an ill-structured “problematic situation” into a solvable design problem. Framing is a design skill that experienced designers have, but that students appear to lack. Despite its importance in design, framing is still an under-researched construct and its applicability in engineering pedagogy remains unexplored. This paper presents a theoretical framework of framing that can be used to inform and guide engineering education research and practice. The proposed framework is based on an integrative literature review and the application of basic principles of social science research.