Abduction to Argument: A Framework of Design Thinking

Allan W. ABSTRACT This paper presents a constructivist framework for design thinking based on the recognition that there are different kinds of generative propositions. Five different "What if . . . ?" questions are identified. It is offered that subsequent design development occurs in two ways. First, intensive development seeks an increasingly precise understanding of a proposed change by refining the generative proposition with respect to the initial "What if . . . ?" question. Second, extensive development seeks an increasingly comprehensive understanding of a proposed change by applying, adapting, and adjusting the generative proposition with respect to the other "What if . . . ?" questions. It is suggested that when both kinds of design development are performed successfully, the generative proposition of change becomes a reasoned argument for change. KEYWORDS Design methods, design education, logic of design, abduction, wicked problems ISSN 0277-2426 © 2015 by the Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System INTRODUCTION Herbert Simon famously wrote, "Everyone designs who devises courses of action aimed at changing existing situations into preferred ones" (Simon 1996, 111). But, does everyone think about making purposeful change in the same way? If not, how can individual designers become more self-aware about how they work to improve their practices? How can communities of designers compare approaches and learn from the ways others think to advance professions and collaborate across disciplines? How can design educators identify the ways different students think and therefore create curricula that help all students expand their creative and intellectual capabilities? This paper presents a framework of design thinking that evolved through teaching studios for architects, landscape architects, and urban designers. Its primary use is as a pedagogic tool to help students declare assumptions explicitly;...