Toward Ontology of Designer-User Interaction in the Design Process: A Knowledge Management Foundation

In this study, we explore an ontology of designer-user interaction with a knowledge management foundation, because previous interdisciplinary design studies have not formalized the types of designer-user interaction. To address this research gap, we ask the following research question--What types of knowledge on designer-user interactions are associated with design function and approach in creating effective design outcomes in a collaborative design process? Based on ontology on a knowledge management foundation and ninety-nine design projects, we conceptualized the ontology of designer-user interaction, which considers design role, function, approach, and outcome as a knowledge of designer-user interaction in the design process. Based on this ontology, this study presents a case study of how this ontology could be applied into the actual projects.