Constraining and creating solutions - reflections on the analysis of early design

This research explores how an existing analytic framework (the cognitive dimensions framework) for interactive digital design reflects knowledge relevant to exploring the design space. The work examines this idea through the analysis of the transcripts of three digital design collaborative workshops run as part of "Studying Professional Software Design". Expert deliberation within these workshops is assessed and related to the analytic framework. The cognitive dimension framework has not been applied to observational data of this sort before. However, the approach described in this paper appears to provide a viable means of analysis. In conclusion we demonstrate that approaching observational data in this manner is not highly complex but is sufficient to provide useful insights. Reflections from the resulting analysis shed light on the interests and tensions evident in early stages of digital product design.