10 Stages Of the Engineering Design Process Design

10 Stages Of the Engineering Design Process

Design (Definition) The process of originating and developing a plan for a new object. n Requires research, thought, modeling, interactive adjustment, and re-design. n

1. Identify the Problem Engineers are Problem Solvers n Understand the scope and the nature of the problem n Identify the correct issues and background of the problem n Ask “Why is this product needed? ”

2. Define Working Criteria and Goals Establish preliminary goals n Develop working criteria to compare possible solutions n Specifications n Constraints n Develop goals and possible solutions to problems.

3. Research and Gather Data Stay consistent with working criteria while researching n Use resources to help research including: Internet, Library, newspaper, etc. n Keep info found through all steps of the design process and add to it n Ask “Who would benefit from or buy this product”?

4. Brainstorm and Generate Creative Ideas n Develop as many creative ideas as possible No idea is a bad idea n Document all ideas n Combine ideas to create new ideas n Do not evaluate n If time permitted, hold a second session to give people time to consider additional options n Goal: Long list of ideas! n

5. Analyze Potential Solutions Eliminate duplicate ideas n Clarify ideas n Select ideas to analyze in more detail n Qualitative analysis n Quantitative analysis n Democratic analysis n Get rid of overlapping ideas or un-needed information.

6. Develop and Test Models n n Develop models for the selected solutions Types of models: descriptive, functional, mathematical, computer, and scale. Test each model against working criteria and goals Test for functionality and performance Build a model or mock-up of the product for evaluation.

7. Make the Decision Evaluate the results of testing to determine the solution to use n If none of the solutions are ideal, return to stage 4 or 5 n Once a solution is selected, continue to stage 8 n Evaluate the model and decide on the best solution.

8. Communicate and Specify Document the design’s specifications and measurements and communicate to all groups n Communication between groups is especially important in this stage n Meetings n Presentations n Reports n Drawings n Share all data with others involved in the process. Especially those who will build your product.

9. Implement & Commercialize Final design revisions n All groups should agree on the proposed project, including: Management, Technical, Business, and legal support representatives n Production n Build your product and get it to the consumers.

10. Post-Implementation Review and Assessment Review the product’s performance n Assess the product’s strength and weaknesses and document n Make suggestions for future improvements n Survey purchasers of your product to get their input.

Source Citation n Gomez, Alan. Oakes, William. Leone, Les. Engineering Your Future. Great Lake Press, Inc. 2004. p. 352363.