Human-Centered Design / Concept
External representation
Definition
A concrete artifact, such as a sketch, model, concept map, or prototype, that makes design thinking visible so it can support reflection, communication, collaboration, and iteration.
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Open this concept in the glossary →Editorial explanation
External representations move design knowledge out of an individual designer's head and give a team something persistent to examine, discuss, and revise.
Related concepts
Sources and evidence
- Learning Engineering Design Decision Tracking — Review of Literature; external representations support reflection, iteration, communication, collaboration, and sharing design knowledge; TechTrends p. 818; PDF p. 3 (direct)