Engineering Design : A Project-Based Introduction

by Clive L. Dym; Patrick Little

• ISBN13: 9780471282969
• ISBN10: 0471282960
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2000-01-01
• Publisher: Wiley

Summary

Focus on the Methods and Techniques Needed for Conceptual Design Engineering Design: A Project-Based Introduction by Clive L. Dym and Patrick Little introduces conceptual design methods and project management tools in the context of a team working on a design project initiated by a client. Two design projects are consistently drawn upon to illustrate the design methods and management tools. The book also summarizes means of reporting the results of a design project and provides useful insights into team behaviors and dynamics. The Design Process This extended, five-stage, "linear" model of the design process is integrated throughout the text. Following the steps outlined in this model allows the reader to learn how to examine the problem at hand and develop an effective design solution. This includes developing an engineering statement of what the client wants, progressing through several design stages, and finally documenting the fabrication specifications and their justification.

Table of Contents

Engineering Design	1	(21)
Where and When Do Engineers Design?	1	(7)
Defining Engineering Design	8	(3)
More on Design and Engineering Design	11	(7)
Managing Engineering Design	18	(2)
The Illustrative Example Approach	20	(1)
Notes	21	(1)
Exercises	21	(1)
The Design Process	22	(32)
Can you give me some sort of an overview---a road map---of where this book (and this course) are going?
How a Design Process Unfolds	22	(5)
Ways of Describing the Design Process	27	(9)
A Simple Description of the Design Process	27	(1)
Describing Phases of the Design Process	28	(2)
Some Prescriptions for the Design Process	30	(2)
Feedback and Iteration in the Design Process	32	(2)
Further Remarks on and Terminology for the Design Process	34	(1)
On Opportunities and Limits	35	(1)
Strategies, Methods, and Means in the Design Process	36	(8)
Strategic Thinking in the Design Process	36	(1)
Some Formal Methods for the Design Process	37	(4)
Some Means for Acquiring and Processing Design Knowledge	41	(3)
Getting Started: Managing the Design Process	44	(7)
Organizing Design Teams	45	(4)
Constructive Conflict: Enjoying a Good Fight	49	(2)
Illustrative Examples: Introductions and Descriptions	51	(2)
Notes	53	(1)
Exercises	53	(1)
Understanding the Client's Problem	54	(29)
What does this client want?
Objectives Trees: Translating and Clarifying the Client's Wants	54	(11)
Object Attributes and Objectives Trees	55	(3)
Goals and Objectives, Constraints, Functions, and Implementations	58	(4)
How Deep is an Objectives Tree? What About Pruned Entries?	62	(1)
The Objectives Tree for the Beverage Container Design	62	(3)
Constraints: Identifying Limits, or What Can't the Client Have?	65	(1)
Ordering the Client's Wants: Dealing with Subjective Values	66	(7)
Pairwise Comparison Charts: One Way to Rank Order Things	66	(2)
Putting Subjective Rankings on a Scale	68	(3)
Weighted Objectives: What Does This Client Really Want?	71	(2)
Designing Chicken Coops for a Guatemalan Women's Cooperative	73	(6)
Some Nuts and Bolts of Defining the Problem	79	(2)
Questioning and Brainstorming	79	(1)
When and How Do We Build an Objectives Tree?	80	(1)
Problem Definition, Objectives Trees, and Revised Project Statements	81	(1)
Notes	81	(1)
Exercises	82	(1)
Managing the Design Process	83	(25)
You want it when?
Managing Design Activities	83	(2)
An Overview of Project Management Tools	85	(2)
Work Breakdown Structures: What Has to Be Done to Finish the Job	87	(5)
Linear Responsibility Charts: Keeping Track of Who's Doing What	92	(2)
Schedules and Other Time Management Tools: Keeping Track of Time	94	(6)
Team Calendars: When are Things Due?	94	(2)
Activity Networks: Which Tasks Must Be Done First?	96	(4)
Gantt Charts: Making the Timeline Easy to Read	100	(1)
Budgets: Keeping Track of the Money	100	(2)
Tools for Monitoring and Controlling: Measuring our Progress	102	(2)
Managing the Xela-Aid Chicken Coop Project	104	(3)
Notes	107	(1)
Exercises	107	(1)
Specifications	108	(27)
How can I express what the client wants in terms that help me as an engineer?
Functional Specifications: What Functions Must Be Performed to Realize the Objectives?	109	(10)
What Are Functions?	110	(1)
How Do We Identify and Specify Functions?	111	(7)
A Repeated Caution About Functions and Objectives	118	(1)
Performance Specifications: Can We Express These Functions in Terms of Things We Can Measure?	119	(7)
Putting Numbers on Prescriptive Performance Specifications	120	(3)
Setting Prescriptive Performance Specifications	123	(1)
Interface Performance Specifications	124	(1)
Detailed Design Performance Specifications	125	(1)
Metrics: How Do We Test Various Alternatives?	126	(3)
Steps for Developing Metrics	126	(2)
Characteristics of Good Metrics	128	(1)
On Metrics and Performance Specifications	129	(1)
Metrics and Specifications for the Xela-Aid Chicken Coop Design	129	(4)
Managing the Specifications Stage	133	(1)
Notes	134	(1)
Exercises	134	(1)
Finding Answers to the Problem	135	(37)
Which of these ten good ideas is the best answer?
What is a Design Space?	135	(3)
Complex Design Spaces and Decomposition	137	(1)
Expanding and Limiting the Size of the Design Space	138	(8)
Sources of Ideas for Expanding the Design Space	138	(7)
Limiting the Design Space to a Useful Size	145	(1)
Morphological Charts: Organizing Functions and Means to Generate Ideas That Really Work	146	(4)
Selecting the Best Alternatives: Connecting Alternatives to Weighted Objectives and Metrics	150	(5)
Prototypes, Models, and Proofs of Concept	155	(4)
Generating and Evaluating Ideas for the Xela-Aid Design Project	159	(7)
Managing the Generation and Selection of Design Alternatives	166	(4)
Task Management	167	(1)
Scheduling	168	(1)
Budgeting	169	(1)
Monitoring and Controlling Progress	169	(1)
Notes	170	(1)
Exercises	171	(1)
Reporting the Outcome	172	(28)
How do we let our client know about our solutions?
The Project Report: Writing for the Client, Not for History	172	(5)
The Rough Outline: The Structure of the Final Report	173	(2)
The Topic Sentence Outline: Each Entry is a Paragraph	175	(1)
The First Draft: Turning Several Voices Into One	176	(1)
The Final Version of the Final Report: Ready for Prime Time	177	(1)
Oral Presentations: Telling a Crowd What's Been Done	177	(6)
Presentations to Clients and Users	178	(4)
Design Reviews	182	(1)
Design Drawings and Fabrication Specifications: Others Will Build What You Design	183	(8)
Design Drawings	184	(4)
Fabrication Specifications	188	(2)
Philosophical Notes on Specifications and Drawings and Pictures	190	(1)
Final Report Elements for the Xela-Aid Design Project	191	(5)
Rough Outlines of Two Project Reports	192	(1)
Expanding the Outline for the Xela-Aid Project	193	(2)
The Final Outcome: A Chicken Coop in San Martin Chiquito	195	(1)
Managing the Project Endgame	196	(3)
Team Writing is a Dynamic Event	196	(1)
Project Post-Audits: Next Time We Will...	197	(2)
Notes	199	(1)
Exercises	199	(1)
Design for...	200	(17)
What are some of the consequences of our technical choices?
Design for Manufacturing and Assembly: Can This Thing be Made?	201	(3)
Design for Manufacturing (DFM)	201	(1)
Design for Assembly (DFA)	202	(2)
The Bill of Materials (BOM)	204	(1)
Design for Affordability: How Much Does This Thing Cost?	204	(7)
The Time Value of Money	205	(2)
The Time Value of Money Affects Design Choices	207	(1)
Estimating Costs	208	(2)
Costing and Pricing	210	(1)
Design for Reliability: How Long Will this Thing Work?	211	(4)
Reliability	211	(3)
Maintainability	214	(1)
Notes	215	(1)
Exercises	216	(1)
Ethics in Design	217	(16)
Isn't design really just a technical matter?
Ethics: Reconciling Conflicting Obligations	217	(6)
Obligations May Start with the Client...	223	(2)
...But What About the Public and the Profession?	225	(5)
Is It OK for Me to be Working on This Project?	230	(1)
Notes	231	(1)
Exercises	232	(1)
The City Square Transportation Hub: A Design Case Study	233	(31)
Can you show me an example from engineering practice?
The History and Evolution of the City Square Project	234	(19)
1948-62: Engineers First Think About City Square	235	(10)
1962-74: Engineers Rethink City Square	245	(4)
1974-81: ``An honorable place to live...''	249	(4)
Formal Design Methods Leading to a Successful Outcome	253	(9)
Objective Elicited and Articulated	253	(1)
Functions that Realize Articulated Objectives	253	(1)
Metrics that Measure Articulated Objectives	254	(4)
Alternative Means for Realizing the Functions	258	(2)
Evaluating Alternatives and Choosing a Design	260	(2)
1998: City Square as Engineers See It Now	262	(1)
Notes	263	(1)
Exercises	263	(1)
Bibliography	264	(7)
Index	271