A Study Of Design-type Knowledge Work Efficiency Based On Cognitive Processes Analysis In Modern Manufacturing Context

In the modern manufacturing context, knowledge work becomes the main sources of enterprise value creation. The complex and changeable market, the diversification and personalization of customer demand make the main sources of product value creation from the middle stage of product value chain to product development and service phase. In the whole life cycle of product, R&D plays a decisive role and makes the design-type knowledge work more prominent than ever in manufacturing industry. The design-type knowledge work efficiency is essentially a design cognitive efficiency, the research of design cognitive process and its efficiency is still in the stage of exploration.For the study of the cognitive affecting factors and optimization problems of the design-type knowledge work efficiency in the modern manufacturing context, this paper firstly analyzed theoretically the cognitive processes of the design-type knowledge work, the connotation and nature of the efficiency, extracted the suitable dimensions of the efficiency through an empirical research, analyzed the characteristics between the dimensions, thus built a design-type knowledge work efficiency measurement model. Then put forward three theoretical hypotheses about the affect of the work mode, functional connections among the design knowledge units in mental images, and the cognitive failure on the efficiency indexes, and used experiments and protocol analysis to verify the hypotheses. Finally, several countermeasures and suggestions are put forward to improve the design-type knowledge work efficiency, and an optimization model of the design-type knowledge work efficiency is built. This paper gains the following achievements:â‘ Extracted by an empirical study the suitable dimensions of the design-type knowledge work efficiency, put forward the "unbalance" of the efficiency dimensions, and thus built a design-type knowledge work efficiency measurement model.â‘¡Protocol analysis is introduced to the design-type knowledge work efficiency research field, and draws the effecting relations of work mode, functional connections among the design knowledge units in mental images, and cognitive failure on the efficiency indexes (design time, design quality, and creativity of the design results).1) The efficiency performance of the design-type knowledge workers with the alternate mode is overall better than the design-type knowledge workers with sequential mode. But difference of the work modes has no significant influence on the efficiency in creativity index.2) The efficiency performance of the design-type knowledge workers with more functional connections in mental images is overall better than the design-type knowledge workers with less functional connections in design time, design quality, creativity of the design results.3) In the design cognition process, the efficiency performance of the design-type knowledge workers with less cognitive failures is overall better than the ones with more cognitive failures in design time. But this doesn't happen in design quality. It also shows effective use of CAD auxiliary tools, CAD auxiliary design system function, can avoid or eliminate possible errors, omissions and lack in the design process, and acquire stable quality.â‘¢Several countermeasures and suggestions are put forward to improve the design-type knowledge work efficiency, and an optimization model of the design-type knowledge work efficiency is built.