Developing a computational framework to study the effects of use of analogy in design on team cohesion and team collaboration

This paper presents a framework for a computational model about analogizing during team interactions when dealing with design problems. The framework is based on prior empirical research about the use of two types of analogies and their effect on team cohesion and team collaboration. The framework is a step towards developing an agent based simulation tool that will be used for studies on the use of analogy in design and their effects on team cohesion and team collaboration. This paper describes the key parameters, independent and dependent variables, and assumptions. At the agent level the independent variables pertain to parameters such as level of multidisciplinarity (range) and expertise. At the team level, aspects such as team size and team composition are considered. At the concept level, parameters such as analogical distance (within-domain and between-domain) and analogical purpose (problem identification, function finding, explanation, and solution generation) are considered. Team cohesion and team collaboration are the dependent variables. This research aims to lay the computational foundation for a means of studying design team behaviour when using analogies.