Challenges for data-driven design in early physical product design: A scientific and industrial perspective

With the rapid development of digital technologies, complex products are becoming more connected. Alongside, the usage of data in the product development process keeps on increasing. Data is an essential means of monitoring the behaviour of the products and their users for optimisation purposes. It is in the digital sector that data is already commonly used to identify new opportunities, to support decision-making and to reduce development time. To replicate this process with physical products, novel design approaches based on data are emerging. Designers need to anticipate from the early stages of product design the right data to capture and analyse. However, research is still in its infancy and faces numerous challenges. Thus, the question addressed in this article is: “what are the challenges of data-driven design research in the early phases of the physical product development process?” A workshop involving 10 researchers was held to answer this question. In addition, a campaign of 12 interviews with connected products manufacturers completed this research. Through a literature review, the workshop and the campaign of interviews, this article synthesises both a scientific and an industrial outlook on the challenges of data driven design. It offers a first glimpse of future research leads.