Inventory of design, engineering and analysis tool environments (IDEATE)

ABSTRACT: Digital design tools are omnipresent today, but which is right for the job? This study reviews previous approaches to categorise design tools revealing a lack of comprehensive catalogues. Given this gap, a set of requirements, classification schema and prototype catalogue (IDEATE) were developed. A survey explored selection factors, format preferences and evaluated the prototype with IDEATE scoring 6.44/10 compared to 5.28/10 for a table format. This evidenced interest in mapping the ecosystem though future iterations should prioritise refined navigation and enhanced searchability of tools.