Engineering Your Future The Professional Practice of Engineering

by Walesh, Stuart G.

• ISBN13: 9780470900444
• ISBN10: 047090044X
• Edition: 3rd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2012-03-06
• Publisher: Wiley

Summary

Engineering Your Future focuses on the non-technical aspects of professional practice and is designed to be a valuable textbook for engineering and other technical program students, as well as a practical reference book for young technical professionals. With respect to students, this book supports the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET)s Engineering Criteria 2000, as well as ASCE's current BoK and ASME and AIChE's work on their own BoK's. This updated edition includes new coverage of presentation methods, marketing skills, team building exercises, business accounting, and quality control/quality assurance.

Author Biography

Stuart G. Walesh, PhD, PE, is an independent consultant who provides management, engineering, and education/training services to private, public, academic, and volunteer sector organizations. With over forty years of engineering, education, and management experience in the government, academic, and private sectors, Walesh has worked as a project manager, department head, discipline manager, author, marketer, sole proprietor, professor, and dean of an engineering college.

Table of Contents

Preface to the Third Edition	p. xix
Technical Competency: Necessary but Not Sufficient	p. xix
Audiences: Students and Practitioners	p. xx
Organization and Content	p. xx
Additions and Improvements	p. xxi
This Book and ABET Engineering Accreditation Criteria	p. xxii
This Book and the Body of Knowledge Movement	p. xxiii
Acknowledgments	p. xxvii
Cited Sources	p. xxviii
List of Abbreviations	p. xxix
Introduction: Engineering and the Engineer	p. 1
The Playing Field	p. 1
Definitions of Engineering	p. 3
Leading, Managing, and Producing: Deciding, Directing, and Doing	p. 4
Leading, Managing, and Producing Defined	p. 4
The Traditional Pyramidal, Segregated Organizational Model	p. 4
The Shared Responsibility Organizational Model	p. 6
The Focus of This Book: Managing and Leading	p. 7
Leading Misconceptions	p. 8
The Seven Qualities of Effective Leaders	p. 8
Honesty and Integrity	p. 9
Vision: Reach and Teach	p. 9
Strategies and Tactics to Achieve the Vision	p. 12
Always a Student	p. 13
Courageous	p. 15
Calm in a Crisis and Chaos	p. 17
Creative, Innovative, Collaborative, and Synergistic	p. 18
The Engineer as Builder	p. 19
Concluding Thoughts: Common Sense, Common Practice, and Good Habits	p. 20
Cited Sources	p. 22
Annotated Bibliography	p. 23
Exercises	p. 24
Leading and Managing: Getting Your Personal House in Order	p. 27
Start with You	p. 27
Time Management: But First Roles and Goals	p. 28
Time is a Resource	p. 28
Roles, Goals, and Then, and Only Then, Time Management	p. 28
Time Management: The Great Equalizer	p. 30
Time Management Tips: The ABCs	p. 31
A Time Management System	p. 45
Key Ideas about Time Management	p. 46
Employment or Graduate School?	p. 46
Full-Time Graduate Study	p. 47
Full-Time Employment	p. 48
Learn From Potential Employers	p. 48
The New Work Environment: Culture Shock?	p. 49
No Partial Credit	p. 49
Little Tolerance for Tardiness	p. 49
Assignments are Not Graded	p. 50
Schedules are More Complicated	p. 50
Higher Grooming and Dress Expectations	p. 50
Teamwork is Standard Operating Procedure	p. 51
Expect and Embrace Change	p. 51
The First Few Months of Practice: Make or Break Time	p. 51
Recognize and Draw on Generic Qualities	p. 52
Guard Your Reputation	p. 53
Learn and Respect Administrative Procedures and Structure	p. 53
Complete Assignments in Accordance with Expectations	p. 53
Get Things Done	p. 54
Trim Your Hedges	p. 54
Keep Your Supervisor Informed	p. 55
Speak Up and Speak Positively	p. 55
Dress Appropriately	p. 56
Hone Communication Ability	p. 57
Seize Opportunities for You and Your Organization	p. 57
Choose To Be a Winner	p. 57
Summing it Up	p. 59
Managing Personal Professional Assets: Building Individual Equity	p. 59
Personal Professional Assets	p. 59
Annual Accounting	p. 60
Careful Management of Personal Professional Equity	p. 60
Continuing Education	p. 61
Involvement in Professional Organizations: Taking and Giving	p. 61
Licensing	p. 64
Concluding Thoughts: Getting Your Personal House in Order	p. 67
Cited Sources	p. 68
Annotated Bibliography	p. 69
Exercises	p. 70
Communicating to Make Things Happen	p. 73
Five Forms of Communication	p. 73
Three Distinctions between Writing and Speaking	p. 75
Single-Channel versus Multi-Channel	p. 75
One-Directional versus Two-Directional	p. 76
Conveying versus Convincing	p. 76
Listening: Using Ears and Eyes	p. 77
Be Attentive	p. 77
The Value of Facts and Feelings	p. 78
Body Language: The Silent Messenger	p. 78
Verify Understanding	p. 80
Use What Is Learned	p. 80
Writing Tips: How to Write to Make Things Happen	p. 80
Define the Purpose	p. 80
Profile the Audience	p. 81
Structure the Document to Reflect the Audience Profile	p. 82
Ask About Document-Writing Guidelines	p. 84
Start Writing on "Day 1"	p. 84
Get Started: Overcome Writer's Block	p. 85
Avoid Tin Ear	p. 87
Retain Some of the Outline in the Document	p. 88
Write Major Documents in Third Person: Mostly	p. 88
Employ a Gender-Neutral Style	p. 89
Write in an Active, Direct Manner Rather Than a Passive, Indirect Manner	p. 89
Recognize that Less Is More	p. 90
Apply Rhetorical Techniques	p. 92
Adopt a Flexible Format for Identifying Tables, Figures, and Sources	p. 93
Use Lists	p. 94
Design a Standard Base Map or Diagram	p. 94
Compose Informative Titles	p. 94
Establish Milestones	p. 95
Produce an Attractive and Appealing Document	p. 95
Cite All Sources	p. 95
Read One More Time	p. 96
Speaking Tips: How to Speak to Make Things Happen	p. 97
Conquer Reluctance to Speak: Commit to Competence	p. 98
Prepare the Presentation	p. 99
Deliver the Presentation	p. 111
Follow-Up the Presentation	p. 116
Concluding Thoughts about Writing and Speaking	p. 118
Cited Sources	p. 118
Annotated Bibliography	p. 120
Exercises	p. 121
Developing Relationships	p. 123
Taking the Next Career Step	p. 123
Personality Profiles	p. 124
Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs	p. 125
The Hierarchy	p. 125
Application	p. 126
Theories X and Y	p. 127
Definitions	p. 127
Applications of Theory X and Theory Y Knowledge	p. 127
Dominance of Theory Ys	p. 128
Delegation: Why Put Off Until Tomorrow What Someone Else Can Do Today?	p. 129
Reasons to Delegate	p. 129
Reluctance to Delegate	p. 131
Delegation Isn't Always Down	p. 133
Delegation Tips	p. 133
Three Possible Outcomes	p. 134
Orchestrating Meetings	p. 135
Reasons to Meet	p. 135
When Not To Call a Meeting	p. 136
Tips for Successful Meetings	p. 136
Additional Meeting Thoughts	p. 145
Working with Technologists, Technicians, and Other Team Members	p. 145
Essential Members of the Organization	p. 146
Challenges Unique to Working with Varied Team Members	p. 147
A Dozen Tips for the Entry-Level Technical Person	p. 148
Selecting Co-Workers and "Managing Your Boss"	p. 150
Carefully Select Your "Boss" and Co-workers	p. 150
Seek a Mutually-Beneficial Relationship	p. 150
Avoid Being a "Yes" Man/Woman	p. 151
Caring Isn't Coddling	p. 151
Coaching	p. 152
Coaching Tips	p. 152
Concluding Thought	p. 153
Teamwork	p. 153
Three Teamwork Essentials	p. 154
Creating a Team	p. 155
The Forming-Storming-Norming-Performing Process	p. 157
Closing Thoughts about Teams	p. 157
Effective Professional Meeting and Conference Attendance	p. 158
Learning about the Conference	p. 158
Before the Conference	p. 158
At the Conference	p. 159
After the Conference	p. 162
Looking Ahead	p. 163
Concluding Thoughts about Developing Relationships	p. 163
Cited Sources	p. 164
Annotated Bibliography	p. 165
Exercises	p. 166
Project Management: Planning, Executing, and Closing	p. 167
Project Broadly Defined	p. 167
Project Management Defined	p. 168
The Centrality of Project Management	p. 169
Relevance of Project Management to the Student and Entry-Level Technical Person	p. 172
Planning the Project	p. 173
All Projects Are Done Twice	p. 173
The Project Plan:
Introduction	p. 174
Consequences of Poor or No Planning	p. 175
The Project Plan Avoidance Syndrome	p. 175
Preparing the Project Plan	p. 176
Principal Project Plan Elements	p. 177
Objectives - What Do We Want to Accomplish?	p. 178
Scope - How Are We Going to Do It?	p. 178
Risks - What Could Go Wrong?	p. 178
Deliverables - What Will We Provide to the Client/Owner/Customer?	p. 181
Milestones/Schedule - When Will We Provide the Deliverables?	p. 181
Tasks - What Tasks Need to be Done and in What Order to Provide the Deliverables?	p. 182
Resources/Budget - How Much Will the Project Cost?	p. 183
Directory - Who Will Participate?	p. 184
Communication Protocol - How Will We Collaborate?	p. 185
Monitoring and Control Procedure - How Will We Know How We Are Doing Relative to the Project Plan?	p. 185
Ten Possible Additional Project Plan Elements	p. 186
Project Planning Versus Project Doing	p. 187
Executing the Project	p. 188
Keep the Project Team on Track	p. 188
Interact With Client, Owner, or Customer	p. 188
Communicate With Stakeholders	p. 188
Monitor Project Progress and Take Appropriate Actions	p. 189
Closing the Project	p. 190
Seek External Input	p. 190
Conduct Project Team Meeting	p. 191
Leverage the Just-Completed Project	p. 191
Closure: Common Sense and Self Discipline	p. 192
Cited Sources	p. 192
Annotated Bibliography	p. 193
Exercises	p. 194
Project Management: Critical Path Method and Scope Creep	p. 195
This Chapter Relative to the Preceding Chapter	p. 195
The Critical Path Method	p. 196
Introduction: The Four Schedule Questions	p. 196
Alternative Scheduling Methods	p. 197
Network Fundamentals	p. 199
Critical Path Method Steps	p. 200
Example Application of the Critical Path Method	p. 201
Tips for Determining Tasks	p. 207
Some Observations about the Critical Path Method	p. 208
Review of Earlier Schedule Questions	p. 209
Closing Thoughts about the Critical Path Method	p. 210
Scope Creep	p. 210
Two Types of Scope Creep	p. 210
Consequences of Uncompensated Scope Creep	p. 212
Drivers of Uncompensated Scope Creep	p. 213
Doing Something Extra: The Platinum Rule	p. 215
Relevance to You as a Student	p. 215
Preventing Uncompensated Scope Creep	p. 216
Resolving Uncompensated Scope Creep	p. 223
Ideas for Clients, Owners, and Customers about Avoiding Uncompensated Scope Creep	p. 225
Closing Thoughts about Scope Creep	p. 227
Cited Sources	p. 227
Annotated Bibliography	p. 228
Exercises	p. 228
Quality: What Is It and How Do We Achieve It?	p. 231
Everyone Is for It!	p. 231
Quality Defined	p. 232
Quality as Opulence	p. 232
Quality as Excellence or Superiority	p. 233
Quality as Meeting All Requirements	p. 233
A Caution for Engineers and Other Technical Personnel	p. 235
Quality Control and Quality Assurance	p. 236
Suggestions for Developing a Quality Seeking Culture	p. 237
Strive to Understand Client, Owner, and Customer Wants and Needs	p. 238
Define the Other Project Requirements	p. 242
Assess and Manage Risk	p. 242
Think Upstream, Not Downstream	p. 242
Create, Use, and Continuously Improve Written Guidance for Repetitive Tasks and Processes	p. 243
Expect Each Person to Check His or Her Work	p. 248
Arrange for External Reviews	p. 249
Reduce Cycle Time	p. 249
Tools and Techniques for Stimulating Creative and Innovative Thinking	p. 250
The Need for and Value of Tools and Techniques	p. 250
Create and Innovate Defined	p. 250
Brainstorming	p. 251
Mulitvoting	p. 252
Strengths-Weaknesses-Opportunities-Threats	p. 252
Stakeholder Input	p. 253
Process Diagramming	p. 253
Fishbone Diagramming	p. 254
Pareto Analysis	p. 254
Problems-First Meetings	p. 256
Mind Mapping	p. 256
Ohno Circle	p. 258
Metrics	p. 259
Freehand Drawing	p. 260
Take a Break	p. 263
Closure: Commit to Quality	p. 264
Cited Sources	p. 264
Annotated Bibliography	p. 266
Exercises	p. 267
Design: To Engineer Is to Create	p. 269
The Root of Engineering	p. 269
This Chapter's Approach	p. 270
Design in the Context of Major Engineering Functions	p. 271
Four Engineering Functions	p. 271
Interaction	p. 271
"Back-of-the-Envelope" Sketches and Calculations	p. 272
Design Phases	p. 273
Hard and Soft Results	p. 274
The Disproportionate Impact of the Design Function	p. 274
Design in Terms of Deliverables	p. 274
Drawings	p. 275
Technical Specifications	p. 276
Non-Technical Provisions	p. 277
Design as Risky Business	p. 278
Design as a Personally-Satisfying and People-Serving Process	p. 279
More Than Applied Science	p. 279
Aspiring to Creativity and Innovation	p. 280
The Words "Engineer" and "Create"	p. 280
Closing Thoughts About Design	p. 281
Cited Sources	p. 281
Annotated Bibliography	p. 282
Exercises	p. 282
Building: Constructing and Manufacturing	p. 283
The Engineer as Builder	p. 283
Constructing	p. 285
Importance of Constructing	p. 285
What Gets Constructed and How?	p. 286
Roles of Engineers in Constructing	p. 287
Trends in Constructing	p. 289
Manufacturing	p. 290
Importance of Manufacturing	p. 290
What Gets Manufactured and How?	p. 291
Roles of Engineers in Manufacturing	p. 292
Trends in Manufacturing	p. 293
Differences between Constructing and Manufacturing	p. 294
Closing Thoughts about Constructing and Manufacturing	p. 294
Cited Sources	p. 295
Annotated Bibliography	p. 295
Exercises	p. 296
Basic Accounting: Tracking the Past and Planning the Future	p. 299
Relevance of Accounting to the Engineer	p. 299
The Balance Sheet: How Much Is It Worth?	p. 300
Personal Balance Sheet	p. 301
Business Balance Sheet	p. 302
The Income Statement: Inflow and Outflow	p. 304
Personal Income Statement	p. 305
Business Income Statement	p. 306
Relationship between the Balance Sheet and the Income Statement	p. 308
Accounting for Your Future	p. 309
Estimating the Necessary Net Worth at the End of Your Earning Phase	p. 309
Accumulating the Necessary Net Worth by the End of Your Earning Phase	p. 312
Is This Overkill?	p. 314
The Impact of Time Utilization Rate and Expense Ratio on Profitability in the Consulting Business	p. 314
Utilization Rate and Expense Ratio	p. 314
Analysis of a Consulting Firm's Income Statement	p. 315
Sensitivity of Profit to Time Utilization and Expense Ratio	p. 316
The Multiplier	p. 319
The Multiplier as an Indicator of Cost Competitiveness?	p. 319
Reducing the Multiplier	p. 320
Caveat about Cost and Consultant Selection	p. 320
The Income Statement as Part of the Business Plan for a Consulting Firm	p. 320
Project Overruns: Implications for Profitability and Personnel	p. 321
Concluding Thoughts about You and Accounting	p. 324
Cited Sources	p. 324
Annotated Bibliography	p. 325
Exercises	p. 325
Legal Framework	p. 329
Why Law for Engineers?	p. 329
Legal Terminology	p. 332
Changing Attitudes: Forewarned is Forearmed	p. 334
Liability: Incurring It	p. 334
Liability: Failures and Learning from Them	p. 336
Collapse of Hotel Walkway	p. 337
Other Failures	p. 338
Liability: Minimizing It	p. 339
Insurance: Financial Protection	p. 339
Organizational Preventive Practices	p. 339
Personal Preventive Practices	p. 340
Maintaining Perspective on Liability Minimization	p. 344
Legal Forms of Business Ownership	p. 344
Sole Proprietorship	p. 345
Partnership	p. 346
Corporation	p. 346
Closure	p. 347
Concluding Comments about the Legal Framework	p. 347
Cited Sources	p. 347
Annotated Bibliography	p. 349
Exercises	p. 349
Ethics: Dealing with Dilemmas	p. 353
Inevitable Ethical Dilemmas and Decisions	p. 353
Defining Ethics	p. 355
Definitions	p. 355
Distilling the Definitions	p. 356
Teaching and Learning Ethics	p. 356
Legal and Ethical Domain	p. 359
Codes of Ethics	p. 362
Introduction to Codes: What They Are	p. 362
Engineering Society Codes of Ethics	p. 363
Ethics Codes for Other Professions	p. 365
Business Codes of Ethics	p. 366
Government Codes of Ethics	p. 367
University Codes of Ethics	p. 369
Codes Cannot Anticipate All Circumstances	p. 370
Dealing with Ethical Dilemmas: Using Codes and Other Resources	p. 370
Ethics Codes	p. 371
Advice of Experienced Personnel	p. 371
A Nine-Step Individual or Group Process	p. 371
A Systematic Group Process	p. 372
Application of Moral Imagination	p. 373
Case Study: Discovering a Major Design Error after Construction Is Complete	p. 374
Design and Construction	p. 374
Post-Construction Discovery	p. 374
The Engineer's Actions	p. 375
What Happened to LeMessurier?	p. 376
Concluding Thoughts: Seeing Sermons	p. 376
Cited Sources	p. 377
Annotated Bibliography	p. 378
Exercises	p. 379
Role and Selection of Consultants	p. 381
Consultant Defined and Why You Should Care	p. 381
The Meanings of Consultant	p. 381
Why You Should Care	p. 382
Why Retain a Consultant? Let's Do It Ourselves!	p. 383
Characteristics of Successful Consultants	p. 385
Consultant Selection Process	p. 387
Cost Versus Quality	p. 387
Price-Based Selection	p. 388
The Ideal Selection Process	p. 389
Qualifications-Based Selection	p. 390
Steps in the Selection Process	p. 391
Welcome Exceptions	p. 396
Summing Up the Consultant Selection Process	p. 396
Price-Based Selection: Three Costs to the Consultant	p. 397
Offering Less Than We Could	p. 397
Further Reduction in Profit	p. 398
Damaged Reputation	p. 398
Closing Thoughts	p. 399
Conclusions about the Role and Selection of Consultants	p. 400
Cited Sources	p. 401
Annotated Bibliography	p. 401
Exercises	p. 402
Marketing: A Mutually-Beneficial Process	p. 403
Consider Your View of Marketing: Are You Carrying Some Baggage?	p. 403
Chapter's Scope	p. 404
The Economic Motivation for Marketing Professional Services	p. 405
Marketing and Selling: Different but Related	p. 406
A Simple, Powerful Marketing Model	p. 409
The Model	p. 409
Applying the Model	p. 410
Caution: Respect the Order and Invest Time Wisely	p. 411
Marketing Techniques and Tools	p. 412
Create a Personal Marketing Plan	p. 412
Learn the Marketing Language	p. 414
Schedule Marketing Tasks	p. 416
Find Common Ground	p. 416
Earn Trust	p. 418
Ask-Ask-Ask: The Power of Questions	p. 419
Talk to Strangers	p. 422
Stress Benefits, Not Features	p. 422
Focus on Existing Clients, Owners, and Customers	p. 423
Help to Establish Multiple-Level Links	p. 424
Proactively Establish the Next Step	p. 425
Selectively Share Data, Information, and Knowledge	p. 426
What Works and What Doesn't Work	p. 426
Marketing Concluding Comments	p. 427
Cited Sources	p. 428
Annotated Bibliography	p. 429
Exercises	p. 429
The Future and You	p. 431
What Does the Future Hold?	p. 431
The World You Will Work In: Same Role but New Stage	p. 432
After the Knowledge Age, the Conceptual Age?	p. 433
After The Knowledge Age, the Opportunity Age?	p. 434
After The Knowledge Age, the Solving Wicked Problems Age?	p. 435
Additional Views of the World Stage	p. 436
Implications for You	p. 437
How to Lead Change	p. 438
Encounter a Leadership Gap	p. 438
Move Beyond Being the Thermometer: Also be the Thermostat	p. 439
Define the Situation: What, Why, Who, How, and When?	p. 439
Recognize Widespread Resistance to Change	p. 440
Practice Paradigm Pliancy: Prevent Paradigm Paralysis	p. 442
Appreciate the Movers-Movables-Immovables Structure	p. 446
Work Effectively With theMovers,Movables, and Immovables	p. 447
Expect the Awareness-Understanding-Commitment-Action Cascade	p. 448
Test Drive Terminology	p. 449
Learn Why Change Efforts Fail	p. 450
Adopt Change Principles and a Change Process	p. 451
Concluding Thoughts about You and the Future	p. 451
Cited Sources	p. 452
Annotated Bibliography	p. 453
Exercises	p. 454
Engineering your Future Supports ABET Basic Level Criterion 3	p. 455
Engineering Your Future Supports ABET Program Criteria for Civil and Similarly-Named Engineering Programs	p. 457
Engineering Your Future Supports the Civil Engineering Body of Knowledge	p. 459
Index	p. 461
About the Author	p. 469
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