A systematic or methodical way of working within Design Academy Eindhoven is not necessarily bound by rules that are placed upon the maker or researcher. Rather, it could also follow a set of rules that fit with a system or method developed by the maker himself, following a logic of its own.
A systematic approach, however, does entail a way of working in which a certain goal is set and a particular path is chosen. Especially in the field of design research, the objective and the path towards achieving it are related to a research question. In order for a design researcher to explore a particular question, the research has to be ordered in such a way that results are collected and documented, even if these findings are not used as part of the final result of the research. A rigorous mode of working enables the design researcher to analyse and categorise results in such a way that they can be reflected upon and shared with others (e.g. peers or external stakeholders).
Whereas an exploration in an intuitive research project can follow a crooked path, in methodical research it will follow a more straightforward route. This route, however, need not be linear, leading directly from a to b, on the contrary, in the design research field, thinking through making leans heavily on iteration as a principal way of achieving progress and results.