Abstract Empirical research in engineering design indicates procedural characteristics which improve solution quality: opportunistic strategy; combination of thinking by head with thinking by hand (sketching); question-based reflection of own results. They correspond with predictions of the generictheory of mental regulation of working activities(“action theory”).
Winfried Hacker, Piene Sachse, Annekatrin Wetzstein, Constance Winkelmann. Action theory — a generic approach to design activity. Chinese Journal of Engineering Design, 2006, 13(2): 125-128.
