This project will study the use and effect of design histories on the quality of artifact re-designs. In controlled experiments, designers will be given access to a "design history" and asked to perform a re-design task. Design histories, based on the protocol data gathered in a previous study and on a retrospective study of ten designs provided by FMC Corporation, will be formally represented in a computerized browsing tool. By comparing the performance of designers who use the history with a control group that does not use the history, the effects of using a design history on the quality of re-design will be evaluated.
