A Preliminary Study: The Effects of Personal Motivation on Design Quality

The ultimate goal of most design projects or endeavors should be to create a product with high quality as it typically leads to higher customer satisfaction and brand retention. Product design teams are usually comprised of a group of engineers with varying backgrounds, personalities, and motivational drives. This paper presents an initial study on how motivation of individuals affects the quality of their resulting designs. The ultimate goal of this research is to identify factors — such as motivational factors — that may prove useful to forming the most effective design teams. Initial data for this study stems from a senior level capstone design course in a mechanical engineering program and takes the form of a design quality assessment; and one survey instrument that assesses the 6 distinguishing qualities of serious leisure, and in particular, its motivations and benefits. Design quality is measured by a group of engineering faculty and industry representatives utilizing a proposed design quality rubric which scrutinizes factors such as customer satisfaction, manufacturability, and product fit and finish. Motivational factors are measured using the Serious Leisure Inventory and Measure (SLIM) short form, a 9-point Likert style questionnaire. The goal of this research is to identify teaming strategies such that a group of designers will achieve the level of design quality desired of a specific product or project. Findings in this study indicate that teams, comprised of individuals largely motivated toward design-focused leisure, or conversely demotivated by personal aspects, tend to realize better design quality outcomes.