Understanding design metrics: A theoretical model for application and evaluation

This article presented a theoretical study that aimed to identify applications of metrics in design. The study drew on established experiences from other fields that employed metric studies. It did so in order to propose an appropriate definition for the design discipline. The objective of this study was to conceptualize the phenomenon of design metrics. The scope was developed through a lexicographic analysis of international literature, using the OpenAlex database to map the range of possible metrics applicable to the design. Subsequently, we developed a theoretical framework based on a heuristic approach, employing artificial intelligence to initially identify relevant metric possibilities. Subsequently, clustering techniques were employed to map the associated disciplines and the contexts in which design was subject to quantification. The study identified three core application domains for design metrics. The initial aspect pertained to user experience, with concomitant extensions into the domain of customer behavior analysis. The second involved metrics applied to the development of systems and software, with a focus on improving the management of services and products. The third was directly connected to the second but emphasized the development of systems oriented toward physical objects or artifacts. The study proposed a theoretical model for design metrics, grounded in the tradition of graphic arts, which defined the key elements for its consolidation: the object of analysis, metric methodology, analytical variables, and mathematical application purposes.