Information Access Diagrams: A Technique for Analyzing the Usage of Design Information

This paper presents the development and application of an information modelling technique-information access diagrams (IAD s ). This new technique attempts to represent the key information sources commonly accessed by engineering designers and to identify the most frequently undertaken access paths or routes for obtaining them. This modelling approach may therefore be used to gain an understanding of the methods that engineering designers use when accessing design information (either internal or external to their enterprise). Elements of the IAD s were derived, firstly, from observations of engineering designers in practice, and, secondly, from the use of the IDEFIX modelling technique. Using the key findings from 20 case studies, the IAD s are demonstrated in real design situations. In particular, the paper focuses on the access paths or routes undertaken during a number of different design activities and provides cross-references against: the size of enterprise, design complexity, design type, design age, design task and design selection.