A conceptual framework of how we come to understand a problem.
How did we get here? How do we get there?
When facing a design problem its critical we first understand. We understand by deconstructing what we already know (or what we think we already know). This is exemplified by the 5 Why’s. We start with a given or assumed premise and then work our way backwards until we arrive at a singular, pragmatic, agreed-upon understanding. This happens as a dialectic between two subjects, weaving truth as they converse, clarify, and contextualize, and conceptualize meaning into (not from) an idea. As things become deconstructed, as ideas being to be understood within their prior context, we are able to rework these ideas into something new and different. This is how we adapt to ever changing contexts. This is how we don’t ossify. This is how we avoid the tyranny of the old. This is how we improve. This is how we understand.
I should also mention that deconstruction doesn’t necessarily imply improvement or even reconceptualization. It may be a useful method to just understand how we arrived here. That being said, in order to produce something new or better we must fully explore how our old notions produced our current situation. What underlying paradigms or assumptions are responsible for the products and situations of today? Do the rules of yesterday still apply? Are they still useful? This is why I called it a pragmatic understanding because we strive towards knowledge as a means toward some end. Knowledge is driven by an urge, by motive, and thus, has to be looked at pragmatically rather than absolutely.