Simplifying Solution Space : Enabling Non-Expert Users to Innovate and Design with Toolkits

Hari Suman Naik takes the perspective of modular systems and investigates how to enable non-expert users to innovate and design, by simplifying toolkit solution space. New production technologies like digital fabrication and modular electronics along with appropriate toolkits can offer users a significant design flexibility to innovate solutions that meet their heterogeneous and sticky needs. The author contributes towards understanding and designing toolkit solution space, first using qualitative studies to explore mechanisms for simplifying the use and structure of toolkit solution space, and then using a design study of an innovative toolkit. The findings are relevant to innovation and product managers eager to incorporate user ideas with toolkits. Contents Exploring Users Simplifying Solution Space Exploring Structure of Toolkit Solution Space Designing a Toolkit to Generate and Recommend Solutions Simplifying Solution Space for User Innovation and Design Target Groups Researchers and students of information systems and innovation management Innovation managers, product managers and toolkit developers incorporating user ideas The Author Dr. Hari Suman Naik is a postdoctoral researcher at the Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nuremberg working with Prof. Dr. Kathrin M. Möslein, Chair of Information Systems I - Innovation & Value Creation Foreword 6 Preface 8 Overview of Contents 9 Table of Contents 11 List of Figures 16 List of Tables 18 List of Abbreviations 19 Part I Introduction: Solution Space for User Innovation and Design 20 1 The Challenge of Simplifying Solution Space 21 2 Framing for the Dissertation 29 2.1 Characteristics of Artifacts 29 2.2 Modularity in Products 30 2.3 Modularity in Organizations 31 2.4 Modularity for Simplifying Solution Space 33 3 Definitions of Significant Terms 35 4 Structure of the Dissertation 39 Part II Using Solution Space: Exploring Users Simplifying Solution Space 44 1 Needs and Objectives 45 2 Understanding the Context 48 2.1 User Innovation 48 2.1.1 User Firms as Innovators 48 2.1.2 End Users as Innovators 50 2.1.3 Sticky Information 51 2.2 Toolkits for User Innovation 52 2.3 Solution Space for Making 54 3 Theoretical Underpinning 56 3.1 Operations in Modularity 57 3.2 Interfaces in Modularity 58 4 Method and Data 60 4.1 Research Approach 60 4.2 Research Design 62 4.2.1 Research Design for Sub-study 1 64 4.2.1.1 Case Sampling 64 4.2.1.2 Data Collection and Analysis 65 4.2.2 Research Design for Sub-study 2 66 4.2.2.1 Case Sampling 66 4.2.2.2 Data Collection and Analysis 68 4.3 Case details 69 4.3.1 Case Details for Sub-study 1 69 4.3.2 Case Details for Sub-study 2 73 4.3.2.1 Case 1: Robohand Prosthetic Hand 73 4.3.2.2 Case 2: Koruza Wireless Communication System 75 4.3.2.3 Case 3: 3D Printed Smartphone Loudspeaker 76 4.3.2.4 Case 4: Wii Wheel Gaming Add-on 77 4.3.2.5 Case 5: Canedolly Time Lapse Camera Add-on 77 4.3.2.5 Case 6: 4Track Robotic Vehicle 78 5 Findings 80 5.1 Findings from Sub-study 1 80 5.1.1 Modular Organization 81 5.1.2 Modular Product Design 81 5.2 Findings from Sub-study 2 84 5.2.1 Modular Organization 84 5.2.1.1 Community Funding 85 5.2.1.2 Sharing user innovations 86 5.2.1.3 Modularity-in-production with 3D Printing 86 5.2.2 Modular Product Design 87 5.3 Cross Findings from Sub-studies 89 5.3.1 Stages of User Innovation 89 5.3.2 Dynamic Interfaces to Simplify Solution Space 91 6 Discussion 92 6.1 Solution Space for User Innovation 92 6.2 Conclusion 93 Part III Structuring Solution Space: Exploring Toolkits Simplifying Solution Space 94 1 Needs and Objectives 95 2 Understanding the Context 99 2.1 Expert toolkits 99 2.2 Basic toolkits 100 2.3 Solution Space Development 102 3 Theoretical Underpinning 104 3.1 Modularity-in-use 104 3.2 Modularity-in-design 106 4 Method and Data 108 4.1 Research Approach 108 4.2 Research Design 110 4.2.1 Keyword Search 111 4.2.2 Create Data Repository 111 4.2.3 Sampling Cases 111 4.2.4 Solution Space Attributes 112 4.2.5 Enrich cases 112 4.3 Data Sample 112 5 Findings: Simplifying Solution Space for Users 114 5.1 Analysis of Toolkit Solution Space 115 5.1.1 Solution Space Categorization based on Modularity-in-use 115 5.1.1.1 Horizontal Axis: Design Questions 115 5.1.1.2 Vertical Axis: Design Options 116 5.1.1.3 Quadrant Q1: Small Solution Space 117 5.1.1.4 Quadrant Q2: Medium Non-Iterating Solution Space 118 5.1.1.5 Quadrant Q3: Medium Iterating Solution Space 119 5.1.1.6 Quadrant Q4: Large Solution Space 121 5.1.2 Solution Space and Modularity-in-design 122 5.1.2.1 Toolkits developed from Scratch 122 5.1.2.2 Toolkits Developed by Users 123 5.2 Mechanisms for Simplifying Solution Space 124 6 Discussion 127 6.1 Meta-toolkit for User Created Toolkits 128 6.2 Conclusion 129 Part IV Generating Solution Space: Designing a Toolkit to Generate and Recommend Solutions 131 1 Needs and Objectives 132 2 Theoretical Foundations for Design 136 2.1 Need solution Pairs 136 2.2 Making Design Decisions 137 2.3 Focused Navigation in Toolkits 138 2.4 Recommender Systems 139 2.4.1 Knowledge-Based and Constraint-Based Recommender Systems 140 3 Method and Context 142 3.1 Research Approach 142 3.2 Research Design 143 3.2.1 Problem Identification and Motivation 145 3.2.2 Objectives of a Solution 145 3.2.3 Design & Development 145 3.2.4 Demonstration 146 3.2.5 Evaluation 146 3.2.6 Communication 147 4 Findings: Describing the Artifacts 148 4.1 Artifact 1: Web-based Interface (View) 149 4.2 Artifact 2: Algorithm for Solutions (Controller) 153 4.2.1 Explicit needs Validation 154 4.2.2 Solution Generation 154 4.2.3 Solution Reduction 155 4.3 Artifact 3: Ontology for Need-based Recommendations (Model) 155 4.3.1 Explicit Database 157 4.3.2 Implicit database 157 4.3.3 Input Reader 159 4.3.4 Solution Model 159 5 Findings: Evaluations 160 5.1 Observational Studies 160 5.2 Experiments 161 5.2.1 Method 161 5.2.1.1 Participants 161 5.2.1.2 Apparatus 162 5.2.1.3 Procedure 163 5.2.1.4 Test Design and Analysis 163 5.2.2 Results 164 5.2.2.1 Path Analysis 164 5.2.2.2 Survey 166 5.2.2.3 Workshop Discussion 167 6 Discussion 168 6.1 General Discussions 168 6.1.1 Reflections 168 6.1.2 Limitations and Future Research 169 6.2 Summary of Results 170 6.2.1 Designed Artifacts 170 6.2.2 Hypotheses Validation 170 6.3 Conclusion 171 Part V Discussion: Simplifying Solution Space 172 1 Summary of Studies 173 1.1 Summary of Part II 175 1.2 Summary of Part III 177 1.3 Summary of Part IV 179 2 Theoretical Contributions 181 2.1 Summarized Theoretical Contributions 181 2.1.1 Theoretical Contributions of Part II 181 2.1.2 Theoretical Contributions of Part III 183 2.1.3 Theoretical Contributions of Part IV 184 2.2 Cross Study Contributions 185 2.2.1 Mechanisms for Simplifying Solution Space 185 2.2.2 Bottom-up Modularity for User Innovation 186 2.2.3 Model for Simplifying Solution Space 187 3 Implications for Practice 189 4 Limitations and Future Research 193 4.1 Limitations of the Studies 193 4.2 Future Research 194 5 Conclusion 196 References 197 Annexes 210 Annex A: Questionnaire for user innovators 211 Annex B: Structure of Case Studies for Part II 212 Annex C: Survey Questions for Maker Event Participants 213 Annex D: Survey used in Experiment 214 Annex E: Glossary of Technologies and Organizations 215 Hari Suman Naik takes the perspective of modular systems and investigates how to enable non-expert users to innovate and design, by simplifying toolkit solution space. New production technologies like digital fabrication and modular electronics along with appropriate toolkits can offer users a significant design flexibility to innovate solutions that meet their heterogeneous and sticky needs. The author contributes towards understanding and designing toolkit solution space, first using qualitative studies to explore mechanisms for simplifying the use and structure of toolkit solution space, and then using a design study of an innovative toolkit. The findings are relevant to innovation and product managers eager to incorporate user ideas with toolkits. Contents Exploring Users Simplifying Solution Space Exploring Structure of Toolkit Solution Space Designing a Toolkit to Generate and Recommend Solutions Simplifying Solution Space for User Innovation and Design Target Groups Researchers and students of information systems and innovation management Innovation managers, product managers and toolkit developers incorporating user ideas The Author Dr. Hari Suman Naik is a postdoctoral researcher at the Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nuremberg working with Prof. Dr. Kathrin M. Möslein, Chair of Information Systems I - Innovation & Value Creation Front Matter....Pages I-XX Introduction: Solution Space for User Innovation and Design....Pages 1-24 Using Solution Space: Exploring Users Simplifying Solution Space....Pages 27-76 Structuring Solution Space: Exploring Toolkits Simplifying Solution Space....Pages 79-115 Generating Solution Space: Designing a Toolkit to Generate and Recommend Solutions....Pages 117-157 Discussion: Simplifying Solution Space....Pages 159-183 Back Matter....Pages 185-207