Engineering design process

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An engineering design process is a process used by engineers to help develop products. The Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology defines the engineering design as

… the process of devising a system, component or process to meet desired needs. It is a decision-making process (often iterative), in which the basic sciences, mathematics, and engineering sciences are applied to convert resources optimally to meet a stated objective. Among the fundamental elements of the design process are the establishment of objectives and criteria, synthesis, analysis, construction, testing, and evaluation.

This process can be divided up into a ten-step process, which includes identifying a need, defining the problem, conducting research, narrowing the research, analyzing set criteria, finding alternative solutions, analyzing possible solutions, making a decision, presenting the product, and communicating and selling the product. This process is not universal for all engineers or all processes. Individuals utilize their personal knowledge and experiences to follow the path to design success.

Contents

[edit] Identifying a Need

The engineers themselves often do not identify a need, but rather society discovers a need and then presents that need to the engineering firm. The term “need” is fairly vague, but often refers to desire or shortage of a good. This “need” can sometimes be considered a necessity to some people but a luxury for others (Eide). identification of the need is a basic engineering design process, without which engineering design is incomplete.

[edit] Defining the Problem

Engineers must appropriately define the problem first in order to improve it. Solving an insignificant problem can cost a firm millions in funding and precious time.

[edit] Conducting Research

Most of a productive engineer’s time will be spent on research, locating, applying, and transferring information (Eide). They first must be well acquainted with as much information possible, which in turn produce a better solution. Here the engineer asks many questions, such as, “What has been written about it? Is something already on the market that may solve the problem? What is wrong with the way it is being done? What is right with the way it is being done? Who manufactures the current ‘solution’? How much does it cost? Will people pay for a better one if it cost more? How much will they pay (or how bad is the problem)?” (Eide) All these questions will help the engineer get a better grasp on the problem at hand.

Another major part of this research step is determining the source of information. It is the engineers’ job to sift through all of the gathered research and decide what is relevant. One sources available is an already existing solution. Reverse engineering is an effective learning technique if other “solutions” are available on the market (Eide). Other effective sources of information include the Internet, local libraries, available government documents, personal organizations, trade journals, vendor catalogs and individual experts available (Eide). It is very important to record these findings in a bibliography that way it is easy to find the information at a later date.

[edit] Narrowing the Research

Up until now, the problem research and definition has been kept broad to allow for a large amount of possible solutions. Constraints are necessary because they eliminate any extreme solutions that would be inefficient, costly, and physically impossible to create.

[edit] Analyzing set criteria

Criteria, or “characteristics have to be established from experience, research, market studies, and customer preferences” (Eide) that are desired by the consumer. In this step, solutions are compared on a qualitative basis such as appearance, durability and cost. The importance of each characteristic must be agreed upon the team of engineers in order to find the top reasonable solutions to the problem.

[edit] Finding alternative solutions

In this step, a list of the possible solutions is made and the pros and cons of each solution are discussed. Engineers will sometimes create a checklist of characteristics of the possible solutions and decided what could be changed to better the final result. “Brainstorming” is a great way to decide what is good about the solution and what could be changed to better the solution.

[edit] Analyzing possible solutions

All possible alternative solutions have to be analyzed to determine their potential. At this point the engineer will again condense the possible solutions. Using mathematical and key engineering principles, the engineer analyzes the potential performance of the solution to determine if the solution is physically possible. During this analyzing process engineers review the laws of nature and determine whether the product is economically practical by using plain common sense (Eide).

[edit] Making a decision

Some decisions are easily made through analyzing and constraining from the previous steps, but at other times the decision on which solution to choice can be close to impossible. What makes decision making so tough is the trade offs of choosing one solution over the other. Often engineers can come up with impeccable solutions, detailing the strengths and weaknesses of all solutions, but in the end cannot make the decision of which is better on their own. One tool that can be helpful in the decision making process is to be organized. Having as much information possible about all the alternative solutions will make it easier to evaluate the product efficiently. Another crucial tool is to have the objective for the problem and important criteria clear in mind. Frequently when working on a problem, an engineer may get side tracked, so it’s important to remember the purpose of the solution.

[edit] Presenting the product

Details about the product can be given visually through sketches. It’s important to have accurate sketches in order to describe your ideas to technicians and drafters. Successful engineers will have to communicate accurately through “written, spoken and graphical languages in order to develop and interpret specifications” (Eide).

[edit] Communicating and selling the product

Here the engineer has to sell and explain the product in a persuading manner. Selling the product takes place all along the design process. Another way of communication is the written report, which may be read by both management and clients. These written reports can vary in formality, but usually contain an appropriate cover page, abstract, table of contents, body, conclusion and recommendation, and an appendix. Another common way of communicating the new product is through an oral presentation which presents the information convincently to the listener. The key to a good oral presentation is to be prepared, have good posture, good eye contact and project your voice loud and clearly. It’s important that the oral presentation gives enough information to get the idea across to the desired audience but not too much information to become overwhelming, and confusing.

“Design is the essence of engineer.” (Eide) The purpose of engineering design revolves around our natural instincts as human beings to always strive for more, and that is why engineering is one of the fastest growing careers. Society will always strive for more than what is available, pushing engineers, designers, and inventors to continuously produce more innovative ideas. Through the engineering design process, engineers are given the tools and guidelines needed to successfully create these innovative ideas.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

"abet, criteria for accrediting engineering programs, Engineering accrediting commission: Baltimore, MD 2003"

  • A.Eide, R.Jenison, L.Mashaw, L.Northup. Engineering: Fundamentals and Problem Solving. New York City: McGraw-Hill Companies Inc.,2002
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