ABSTRACT
In 1984, that is, some 20 years ago, Cross edited a series of papers presenting a history of the Developments in Design Methodology, collecting texts written by the authors who had been involved in the underlying "movement" (Cross, 1984a). The collection covered the 20 preceding years, that is, the period from 1962 (when the first Conference on Design Methods marked the birth of design methodology) until 1982 (when the Design Policy Conference signified the coming of age of design methodology). The organization of Cross' book reflected the progression of the movement through four stages:
Prescription of an ideal design process (1962-1967: The period of "systematic design" proposed by the proponents of the movement concerned with "design methods" —in 1972 qualified by Rittel, 1972/1984, as the "first generation design methods").
Description of the intrinsic nature of design activity (1966-1973: When design problems were discovered to be not so amenable to systematization. Authors tried to understand their apparent complexity, attributing it in large part to the "ill-structuredness" of design problems).
Observation of the reality of design activity (late 1970s: Methodical collection of data on the actual design activity).
Reflection on the fundamental concepts of design (1972-1982: Emergence of a more fundamental and philosophical approach to design method).
