The application of a prototyping support tool in a student design project

Prototyping is an inseparable part of product development in industrial and academic settings and a major theme of design education. However, it is still regarded as a design activity which is poorly implemented by students due to their limited prototyping scope; a challenge that is raising the need for the development of structured guidelines. Since distributed design projects are becoming popular in design education, research highlights the necessity for digital tools which ensure efficient collaboration and communication between globally dispersed students. The intention of this study is to explore students’ usage of the prototyping support tool (PST) which aims to assist with planning, documentation and evaluation of their prototyping activities. Insights show that the tool’s digital version (e-PST) enables students to communicate efficiently and present higher competency when documenting their design process, providing justification to their decisions and illustration as to how their outcomes have been informed through design iterations. Suggestions for further improvement of the e-PST are provided through surveys and interviews of participant students.