The Design Process

  • Starts with a customer need
    • Request for proposal (RFP)
    • Brief
  • Define the requirments
    • This is a two way process between the designer and the customer
    • Allows for a generation of a product requirments document (PRD)
      • Making the product to this ensures you have met your legal needs
  • Generate Ideas
  • Evaluate the ideas
    • Core of engineering
  • Decide
  • Restart the loop from idea generation
    • This could be done twice
    • Allows us to make sure we have the best solution
  • Final design definition
    • End with a complient product

Requirments

  • All products have a function or functions:
    • To provide thrust
    • To illuminate
    • To fly
    • To manipulate
  • All products have attributes
    • Mass
    • Size
    • Cost
    • Marketability
    • Operating Costs
    • Service Lifetime
    • Aesthetic Appeal

Defining Requirments

  • The Requirments definition process takes the customer’s needs and translateds them into product requirments

  • Requirmenrts state what is required of the component, system or process not how it should be designed.

  • Requirments should be defined as fully as possible before attempting to devise solutions. Not always possible.

Atributes

  • Some attributes are directly related to the products functions
    • For example, a Turbofan Engine has the following function-rekated attributes:
      • Thrust
      • Reverse Thrust