3.1 Engineering Design Process 43
engineers generally work in a team environment where they consult each other to solve com-
plex problems. They divide up the task into smaller, manageable problems among themselves;
consequently, productive engineers must be good team players. Good interpersonal and com-
munication skills are increasingly important now because of the global market. You need to
make sure you clearly understand your portion of the problem and how it fits with the other
problems. For example, various parts of a product could be made by different companies located
in different states or countries. In order to ensure that all components fit and work well together,
cooperation and coordination are essential, which demands good teamwork and strong com-
munication skills. Make sure you understand the problem, and make sure that the problem is
well defined before you move on to the next step.This point cannot be emphasized enough. Good
problems solvers are those who first fully understand what the problem is.Step 3: Research and Preparation
Once you fully understand the problem, as a next step you need to collect useful information.
Generally speaking, a good place to start is by searching to determine if a product already exists
that closely meets the need of your client. Perhaps a product, or components of a product, already
has been developed by your company that you could modify to meet the need. You do not want
to “reinvent the wheel!” As mentioned earlier, depending on the scope, some projects require col-
laboration with other companies, so you need to find out what is available through these other
companies as well. Try to collect as much information as you can. This is where you spend lots
of time not only with the client but also with other engineers and technicians. Internet search
engines are becoming increasingly important tools to gather such information. Once you have
collected all pertinent information, you must then review it and organize it in a suitable manner.Step 4: Conceptualization
During this phase of design, you need to generate some ideas or concepts that could offer rea-
sonable solutions to your problem. In other words, without performing any detailed analysis,
you need to come up with some possible ways of solving the problem. You need to be creative
and perhaps develop several alternative solutions. At this stage of design, you do not need to rule
out any reasonable working concept. If the problem consists of a complex system, you need to
identify the components of the system. You do not need to look at details of each possible solu-
tion yet, but you need to perform enough analysis to see whether the concepts that you are
proposing have merit. Simply stated, you need to ask yourself the following question: Would
the concepts be likely to work if they were pursued further? Throughout the design process, you
must also learn to budget your time. Good engineers have time-management skills that enable
them to work productively and efficiently. You must learn to create a milestone chart detailing
your time plan for completing the project. You need to show the time periods and the corre-
sponding tasks that are to be performed during these time periods.Step 5: Synthesis
Recall from our discussion in Chapter 1 that good engineers have a firm grasp of the funda-
mental principles of engineering, which they can use to solve many different problems. Good
engineers are analytical, detailed oriented, and creative. During this stage of design, you begin
to consider details. You need to perform calculations, run computer models, narrow down the
type of materials to be used, size the components of the system, and answer questions about howCopyright 2010 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s).圀圀圀⸀夀䄀娀䐀䄀一倀刀䔀匀匀⸀䌀伀䴀圀圀圀⸀夀䄀娀䐀䄀一倀刀䔀匀匀⸀䌀伀䴀