Designing, generally, requires a team effort. Consequently, several variables affecting team performance have been studied, such as team composition, female/male ratio in the organization, and teamwork skills training. This study furthers this effort by investigating the effect of guided external research during the concept generation phase of the design process. The premise of the study is that as resources increase in number and complexity, and time constraints pressure an overcrowded curriculum, professors are challenged to find new methods to train students in the skills needed for the constantly changing workplace.

One technique to address this issue, a creative collaboration and its impact on design team performance, is discussed in the paper. First, the approach for incorporating guided research into curriculum is explained, and then the results of the study are presented, which indicate that a higher design performance can be achieved when guided research is added to design teaching.