Creative Engineering Design
The Engineering Design Process remains an important part of an engineering project
Students learn about the cycle of product design through six activities that follow the seven steps of a simplified engineering design process. The activity topics are: 1) identify the need and define the problem; 2) conduct background research, such as an idea web, internet patent search, standards and codes search, reverse engineering, and user interviews; 3) brainstorm and develop ideas and possible solutions; 4) evaluate alternatives and select the most promising solution using engineering analysis; 5) construct and test prototypes; and 6) improve and redesign as well as manufacture final products.
Copyright 2009 Megan Schroeder, ITL Program, College of Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder
The field of engineering is all encompassing in its subject matter and real-world challenges. Yet, engineers of all disciplines have in common certain approaches—teamwork, brainstorming, problem defining with requirements and constraints, the iterative steps of the design process, testing and analysis, prototyping, production and communication. All engineers use some form of the steps of the engineering design process to organize their ideas, and test and refine potential solutions to real-life challenges. Engineers must gain an understanding of all the contextual factors of a particular design challenge—need for the project, relevant social, ethical, environmental and economic conditions of the target population, system integration, and project needs and limitations. Working through all the technical and non-technical issues helps engineers generate useful, appropriate and successful design solutions.
- Creative Engineering Design