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Chapter 3 Engineering Design 43
The engineering design process can be very
linear as engineers work through the steps, but it
will often require backtracking and repeating steps
along the way because engineering design prob-
lems are often very open-ended and have many
possible solutions. Engineers must follow the steps
of the design process without skipping any, but they
can go back and complete steps again if necessary.
For example, if a design fails in the testing/analy-
sis stage, it cannot continue through the process.
The engineer will have to go back and generate
new ideas and solutions. Sometimes information is
uncovered during the design process that actually
forces engineers to redefi ne the problem, requiring
them to start over. In the fi nal step, engineers may
discover that there was a better way to solve the
problem and they have to go back to a previous step.
The engineering design process can be used
to solve a wide variety of problems, from creat-
ing a more fuel-effi cient propulsion system for a
space vehicle to helping you manage your home-
work and study time more effi ciently so you can
earn better grades in school. See Figure 3-4.
Problem Defi nition
Defi ning the problem can be the most impor-
tant step in the design process. Once the real prob-
lem has been identifi ed, the problem is well on its
way to being solved. People often try to solve a
symptom of the problem rather than the problem
itself. It is important to get to the real problem.
For example, imagine you bake cookies at home.
You follow a recipe that says you should bake the
cookies at 350° for 10 minutes, but the cookies keep
burning to the cookie sheet. You go to the store and
purchase a much more expensive cookie sheet with a
thicker bottom that is advertised to cook more evenly,
but the cookies continue to burn on the bottom.
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Figure 3-3. 
These six steps are common to the engineering design process.
Engineering Design Process
6. Design Improvement
5. Final Solution or Output
4. Testing/Analysis
3. Solution Creation
2. Idea Generation
1. Problem Defi nition
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Figure 3-4. 
The design process can be used in solving complex
problems, but it can also be used to help you manage
your homework more efficiently.