756 Chapter 14 Design and Material Selection

these existing products are constantly being modified to take advantage of new tech-
nologies. For example, cars and home appliances are constantly being redesigned to
incorporate new technologies. In addition to the products and services already in use,
new products are being developed every day for the purpose of making our lives more
comfortable, more pleasurable, and less laborious. There is also that old saying that
every time someone complains about a situation, or about a task, or curses a product,
right there is an opportunity for a product or a service. As you can tell , the need for
products and services exists; what one needs to do is to identify them. The need may
be identified by you, the company that you may eventually (or already) work for, or
by a third-party client that needs a solution to a problem or a new product to make
what they do easier and more efficient.
Step 2. Defining and understanding fhe problem. One of the first things you need to do
as a design engineer is to fully understand the problem. This is the most important step
in any design process. If you do not have a good grasp of what the problem is or of what
the client wants, you will not come up with a solution that is relevant to the need of the
client. The best way to fully understand a problem is by asking many questions. You
may ask the client questions such as

How much money are you willing to spend on this project?

Are there restrictions on the size or the type of materials that can be used?
When do you need the product or the service?
How many of these products do you need?

Questions often lead to more questions that will better define the problem. Moreover,
keep in mind that engineers generally work in a team environment where they consult
each other to solve complex problems. They divide up the task into smaller, manageable
problems among themselves; consequently, productive engineers must be good team
players. Good interpersonal and communication skills are increasingly important now
because of the global market. You need to make sure you clearly understand yom por-
tion of the problem and how it fits with the other problems. For example, various parts
of a product could be made by different companies located in different states or coun-
tries. In order to assure that all components fit and work well together, cooperation and
coordination are essential, which demands good teamwork and strong communication
skills. Make sme you understand the problem, and make sure that the problem is well
defined before you move on to the next step. This point cannot be emphasized enough.
Good problem solvers are those who first fully understand what the problem is.
Step 3. Doing preliminary research and preparation. Once you fully understand the
problem , as a next step you need to collect useful information. Generally speaking, a
good place to start is by searching to determine if a product already exists that closely
meets the need of your client. Perhaps a product, or components of a product, already
have been developed by yom company that you could modify to meet the need. You do
not want to reinvent the wheel! As mentioned earlier, depending on the scope of project,
some projects require collaboration with other companies, so you need to find out what
is available through these other companies as well. Try to collect as much information