Testing Cycle

The following attached diagram illustrates the iterative testing stages of the divergent deck of cards designed to help overcome creative blocks in the early stage of the design process. The cards build upon previous divergent exercises developed by the researcher earlier in the PhD research.

The 4 stages within this diagram are:

  • Development
  • Testing
  • Review
  • Interpretation

Each cycle starts with the development of a new set of actions which become categorised through a taxonomy to understand their origin.

Following this the cards are tested on projects by architectural students, architectural designers and the researcher. The test are recorded using digital video which is the key ethnographic method for understanding how the divergent cards alter the design process. This process is about availability sampling and has been used by other architectural academics to explore creativity within the architectural design process.

The video is then reviewed by the researcher and topics are drawn out for discussion within an expert focus group. A topic might cover discussing the potential usefulness of the divergent deck for solving creative blocks within their design processes. The use of professionals within the focus group helps validate the research process and understand its potential wider impact for architectural designers.

At the end of each iteration a short film will be made from the collected videos which will draw together the findings from the cycle. It is planned that the cards will complete the iterative cycles 3 times. If data satuaration is not complete by this point then the cycle can be repeated a further 2 times within the research timeframe.