Engineering design process

The Engineering Design Process can be described as a process engineers use when creating or designing a new product. The Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology define engineering 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 state objective. Among the fundamental elements of the design process are the establishment of objectives and criteria, synthesis, analysis, construction, testing, and evaluation." (ABET)

This process can be divided up into a ten-step process that is commonly called the engineering design process.

The first step of this process is the identification of a need. The engineers themselves often do not do this step of the process, 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). Let’s take our iPods, for example. At some point, society decided that holding the boom box to the ear just wasn’t cutting it anymore. As a result, technology released the portable CD player, but that, too, was not good enough. Society craved for something lightweight and that could hold thousands of songs, consequently creating a need.

The second step of the engineering design process is defining the problem. This sounds simple enough but can sometimes be the most difficult part of the process. Solving an insignificant problem can cost a firm millions in funding and precious time. For instance, it wouldn’t do us much good if we made a music player that could hold an infinite amount of songs but weighed as much as a car. In our example, the problem is fairly clear. Teenagers simply cannot hold that boom box to their ear anymore and they crave the convenience of having thousands of song at their disposal.

The third step in the design process is research. Most of a productive engineer’s time will be spent locating, applying, and transferring information (Eide). In order for an engineer to solve a problem, they first must be well acquainted with as much information possible, which in turn produce a better solution. First we have to look at the types of information available. Here the engineer asks himself 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. With the birth of the Internet, there is an enormous amount of information available and it’s the engineers’ job to sift through all of it and decide what is relevant. Some sources available (but not limited to) include already existing solutions. Reverse engineering is an effective learning technique if other “solutions” are available on the market (Eide). In the case of our iPod, we could purchase other similar products, such as other MP3 players, to help in our research. 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 also very important to record your findings in a bibliography that way it is easy to find the information at a later date.

The next step, step four, is to put limitations or constraints on the research. Up till 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. As in our iPod example, a constraint is necessary on the number of song it will hold in order to meet the desired size and weight.

Step five is to analyze the criteria, or “characteristics of the solution that are 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.

In the next step, step six, we look at the alternative solutions to the problem. In this step we simply make a list of the possible solutions and discuss the pros and cons of each solution. Create a checklist of characteristics of the possible solutions and decided what could be changed to better the final result. “Brainstorming” is also a really great way to decide what is good about the solution and what could be changed to better the solution.

At step seven, we are ready to analysis our possible solution. In order to find the best solution, one must analyze all possible alternative solutions to determine their potential. At this point we are once again allowed to condense our solutions. Using mathematical and key engineering principles, the engineer then analyzes the potential performance of the solution to determine if the solution is physically possible. During this analyzing process we review the laws of nature and whether it is economically practical by using plain common sense (Eide).

For step eight, it is time to make a decision. Some decisions have been made easy through the analyzing and constraining of 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 times, 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 organize. Have as much information possible about all the alternative solutions in order to evaluate them 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.

Step nine in the design process is to clearly specify the product to others. Here it is important to clearly define exactly what the solution is. This is not a time to use vague generalizations, but instead let others know exactly what the product is. Details about the product can be given visually through sketches. It’s important to have accurate sketches in order to describe to technicians and drafters your ideas. Successful engineers will have to accurately communicate through “written, spoken and graphical languages in order to develop and interpret specifications” (Eide).

Which leads right into step ten, communication. In the end, the engineer is going to have to sell the design of his or her 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 is meant to verbally present information and convince the listener. The key to a good oral presentation is to be prepared, have good posture, good eye contact and project your voice load 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.