Effective Design Process in Problem Solving | Logical Steps for Project Success

1. Chapter 2 The Process of Design

2. Introduction • Design • Process of planned change • Logical problem-solving technique • Design goals • Achieve desired effects • Minimize undesired effects • Control risk

3. Polya’s Four Steps to Effective Problem Solving • Understand the problem • Make a plan • Carry out the plan • Look back on the plan • How could it have been better?

4. Planning • Design process is a plan • List, order, and prioritize items • Plans can vary from simple to complex • Design what you are going to wear today • Design a space station and place into orbit

6. Order • Design steps placed into a sequential process • Polya’s steps are carried out in same order every time • Nonsequential process • Designers jump backward and forward between steps: • To more effectively develop a solution

7. Iteration • Repetition • Goal: to improve • May repeat entire design process or subsets of the process steps • Iteration should lead to convergence • Shows project is getting close to its goals

8. Iteration (cont’d.) • Design examples • Surgical robot • Seat for a commercial airliner

9. Managing a Project • All projects contain risk • Low risk challenge is easy to accomplish • High risk is difficult to accomplish • Keys to managing project risk • Identifying roadblocks • Work on what removes the most risk first

10. Design Process • 12-step model • Figure 2-7 (see text) shows recommended order for the steps • Some steps loop back to other steps

11. Defining the Problem • Identify and define the problem • Try to understand it as completely as possible • Understand the limitations of the problem • Example: FIRST robot competition • Choice to design an autonomous robot • Calculate potential scoring advantage • Determine if team has necessary expertise

12. Brainstorming • Each team member contributes ideas to generate solutions • Important to remain nonjudgmental of ideas • Encourage all ideas • Do not overanalyze ideas • Team leader (facilitator) runs the meeting

13. Researching and Generating Ideas • Find previously used concepts • Apply and modify to new situation • Reverse engineering • Sources of information • Library, Internet, previous project documents

14. Researching and Generating Ideas (cont’d.) • Separate needs into four categories • Must have • Strongly desired • Marginally desired • Not desired

16. Identifying Criteria and Specifying Constraints • Detail what you intend to do • Identify imposed limitations • Example: new SUV features • Study information and make key decisions • Write a design brief

18. Exploring Possibilities • Explore all possible solutions • Consider: • Technologies • Materials • Design • Fabrication processes • Work out alternative solutions

19. Exploring Possibilities (cont’d.) • Engineering notebook • Used to record ideas, calculations, results • Serves as clear evidence of patentable ideas • Focus on the critical areas • Example: SUV design • How to achieve both 45 mpg and four-wheel drive criteria

20. Selecting an Approach • Down-select from the available options • Assess • Choose design path • Or more than one design path if resources allow • Strategies for choosing an approach • List good and bad attributes • Prepare a decision matrix • Scoring (weighting) system

21. Developing a Design Proposal • Prepare documents suitable for creating a prototype • Can include drawings, text, and other items • Must be clear and legible • Specify materials, dimensions, and processes • Example: FIRST robot • Need to select which type of aluminum to use

22. Making a Model or Prototype • Construct model or prototype • Model is less advanced than a prototype • Prototype closer to form, fit, function of final design • Example: FIRST robotics design team • Wooden model of the main robot frame • Helped determine how components will fit

23. Testing and Evaluating • Use the model to evaluate how design meets criteria • Choose test conditions • Determine what aspects to test • Prepare test plan • Gather test data • Summarize results

24. Refining the Design • Identify areas not meeting criteria • Redesign or “tweak” design to improve • Redesign step often included in the design schedule • Determine which steps in design process to repeat

25. Creating or Making • Fabrication of the design • May require specialized tools and materials • Mass production • Rapid fabrication of multiple copies of a product • Custom manufacturing • Much smaller quantities than mass production

26. Communicating Process and Results • Final design document can include: • Slide presentation • Technical reports • Detailed design drawings • Sketches • Charts, graphs, calculations

27. Communicating Process and Results (cont’d.) • Additional design communication • Pertains to marketing, distribution, and sale of the product • Patents

28. Creativity and Innovation in the Design Process • Design takes substantial time and resources • Five of the 12 steps call for innovation • The rest keep the design team focused on the problem

29. Design Limitations • Clearly defining limitations • Accurately describes problems • Known as criteria, constraints, specifications, or requirements • Example: Robot competition entry fee and travel costs neglected