Experiments all the way in programmatic design research

Experiments take various forms, have various purposes, and generate variousknowledge; depending on how, when and why they are integrated in a designresearch study with a programmatic approach. This is what we will argue forthroughout this article using examples and experiences from our now finalizedPh.D. studies. Reviewing the prevailing literature on research through designthe overall argument is that design experiments play a core role both in conductingthe research, in theory construction and in knowledge generation across thedifferent design domains and methodological directions. However, we did not identifysources that explicitly discuss and operationalize roles and characteristics ofdesign experiments in different stages of programmatic design research. The aim ofthis article is therefore to outline a (tentative) systematic account of roles and characteristicsof design experiments. Building upon Schön’s definition of experimentsin practice we propose adding to the prevailing understanding of experiments inresearch through design understanding and operationalizing design experiments(1) as initiators or drivers framing a research programme, (2) as ways to reflecton and mature the research programme serving as vehicles for theory constructionand knowledge generation and finally (3) as a ‘designerly’ approach to the writtenknowledge dissemination and clarification of research contributions.