On some unique features of C–K theory of design

Concept–Knowledge theory (C–K theory) of design is a relatively new theory for describing reasoning and creative processes in engineering design. This paper describes some unique features of this theory. In particular, it is shown that C–K theory encompasses logical inferences that are more complex than classical abduction. A design process in C–K theory is rather motivation-driven and this motivation can be quantified by the concept called information content (entropy) measured under epistemic uncertainty. Since the Internet-driven information will play a major role in performing engineering design (building concept, acquiring domain knowledge, and alike) in the near future, the scope and limitation of building a C–K map by using the Internet is described. This provides some unexplored issues of engineering design.