University of Exeter Business School

Dr Boyeun Lee

Dr Boyeun Lee

Lecturer in Design and Innovation

 B.L.Lee@exeter.ac.uk

 

Overview

Boyeun is a lecturer in Design and Innovation. She joined the Initiative for the Digital Economy (INDEX) in June 2022 as a Post-doctoral Research Fellow for DigitLab project and is based in their offices in South London. Prior to this, Boyeun was employed by Lancaster University as a Post-doctoral Research Associate in the Beyond Imagination Project.

Boyeun’s background is in Design with her research focusing how design contributes to digital innovation, particularly utilising big data and machine learning within the context of product service development. As a qualitative researcher, her research endeavours aim to critically examine the challenges and opportunities that arise from the application of machine learning and Big Data to design practice and process, translating them into effective design and business strategies.

Boyeun completed her Design PhD in May 2022 at Lancaster University under the supervision of Rachel Cooper OBE, Paul Coulton, and David Hands. Her PhD research, as part of EPSRC PETRAS project, titled "Understanding New Product Development and Value Creation for the Internet of Things," delves into the intricate IoT products services development process through which organisations generate value.

Before her academic career, she worked as a service design researcher for several years in South Korea, through which she gained a wide range of public and commercial experience across sectors and projects, such as service design policies, co-design workshops, service design strategy and user research.

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Research

Research interests

  • Data-driven design
  • Digital innovation
  • New Product Service Development
  • Service dominant logic
  • Design thinking
  • Service Design

Boyeun’s research is rooted in three core themes: data-driven design, Internet of Things development, and responsible innovation. These research themes underpin her overarching vision in design-led digital innovation and transformation, which aims to revolutionise conventional design and business paradigms, reshaping processes, and practices to align with the complex attributes of emerging technologies.

Methodologically, Boyeun employs qualitative methods to explore these topics and strives to discover and theorise novel and hidden design practices and processes. In particular, she utilises a practice and process theoretical lens, drawing on the literature of digital innovation, service dominant logic, service design, design thinking as well as information systems.  

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Publications

Books

Speed C, Lee BY, Hands D (eds)(2019). The Little Book of CREATING VALUE through DESIGN in the IoT. Lancaster University, Imagination Lancaster.

Journal articles

Lee B, Cooper R, Hands D, Coulton P (2022). Continuous cycles of data-enabled design: reimagining the IoT development process. AI EDAM-ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE FOR ENGINEERING DESIGN ANALYSIS AND MANUFACTURING, 36  Author URL.
Lee B, Hands D, Cooper R, Coulton P (2022). Emergent NPD process and development risks for IoT: an exploratory case study in agri-tech. International Journal of Business and Systems Research, 16(2), 183-183.

Chapters

Lee BY (2024). Design for a Post-Pandemic World: Embedding Business Resilience Through Design. In  (Ed) .
Lee BY (2023). Can designers and AI flourish together?. In Dunn N, Cruickshank L, Coupe G (Eds.) Flourish by Design, London: Routledge.

Conferences

Lee BY, Ahmed-Kristensen S (2023). Four Patterns of Data-Driven Design Activities in New Product Development. International Conference of Engineering Design. 24th - 28th Jul 2023.
Lee B, Gradinar A, Cooper R, Coulton P (2022). Designing trustworthy. IoT systems:. Critical challenges and approaches for generating value. Human Interaction & Emerging Technologies (IHIET 2022): Artificial Intelligence & Future Applications. Abstract.
Lee B, Cooper R, Hands D, Coulton P (2021). Exploring design implications for IoT products and services through comprehensive case studies. 28th IPDMC: Innovation and Product Development Management Conference. 6th - 8th Jun 2021.
Lee B, Cooper R, Hands D, Coulton P (2020). Designing for the Internet of Things: a critical interrogation of IoT processes and principles. Design Research Society Conference 2020.
Lee BY, Cooper R, Hands D, Coulton P (2019). Design Drivers: a critical enabler to mediate value over the NPD process within Internet of Things. 4D Conference: Designing Development Developing Design. 21st - 23rd Oct 2019.
Park J, Kim B, Lee B, Hands D, Rider TR (2019). Interdisciplinarity of Ph.D. students across the Atlantic. A Case of Interdisciplinary Research Team Building at the Student Level.  Author URL.
Boyeun Lee, Cooper R, Hands D, Coulton P (2019). Value creation for IoT: challenges and opportunities within the design and development process. Living in the Internet of Things (IoT 2019).
Lee B, Cooper R, Hands D (2018). Are Traditional NPD Processes Relevant to IoT Product and Service Development Activities? a Critical Examination. Design Research Society Conference 2018.
Boyeun Lee, Cooper R, Hands D, Coulton P (2018). [Re]-imagining vision and values: design as a driver for value creation in the Internet of Things. Living in the Internet of Things: Cybersecurity of the IoT - 2018.

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External Engagement and Impact

Awards and Honours

  • Postgraduate Research Support Award, RADMA, 2022
  • Finalist of Best Paper Award, 4D Conference, 2019
  • RADMA Doctoral Studies Awards, RADMA, 2018
  • PhD Scholarship, Lancaster University, 2017
  • The BT Innovative Design Prize, British Telecom, 2012
  • Faculty Award for Distinguished Achievement, Sookmyung Women’s University, 2002 & 2005 

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Teaching

Boyeun’s teaching experience includes roles as a co-lead of modules, teaching assistant, and guest lecturer for a variety of courses and levels (undergraduate, graduate). Boyeun’s teaching interests cover the domains of service design, design thinking, design-led innovation in the context of digital innovation.

Boyeun’s teaching is supported by her research into data-driven design, design for digital technologies, and her industrial experience into service design across a wide range of contexts.

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