A personal matter? An investigation of students' design process experiences when using a heuristic or a systematic method

• Quantitative study on method usage in conceptual design.
• 213 Students in a design theory and methodology course participated in the study.
• Comparison between systematic and heuristic methods focusing on process experience.
• General differences were found for time pressure, motivation and effort spent.
• Individual differences were found; 4 types of process experience are presented.

Methods are used to teach students how to design. However, what exactly students learn from method teaching has been placed into question. This challenges design educators to rethink the role that methods play. In this paper, we study how the use of systematic and heuristic methods shapes the process experiences of students. A total of 213 students participating in a master-level course on design theory and methodology were instructed to use either systematic or heuristic methods while designing a product concept. We find significant differences in how the methods influence students' perceived time pressure, motivation and effort spent. Moreover, based on a cluster analysis, we find support for the idea that the students' mindsets influence their experiences and task assessment.