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Chapter 3 Engineering Design 55
The notebook should serve as a written
record of everything that happened with regard
to a given project. It should include every idea,
sketch, thought, group activity, observation,
success, and failure. These records can be of great
help throughout a project and even long after the
project is over. Information gained solving one
problem could help to solve other problems in
the future.
It is important to think of the engineering
notebook as a legal document. No pages should
ever be added or removed. Most engineers date
their books each day so they have an exact record
of when everything happened. There should be
no blank pages. If there is a blank section, a large
X should be drawn over it. No work should be
covered up with correction fl uid or scratched
out so much that it is no longer legible. If some-
thing must be crossed out, it should be done with
a single line so it can still be read. All writing
should be neat enough for others to read so they
can verify the work. Enough detail must be given
so that others can understand the concepts.
As long as it is maintained properly, your
notebook can help prove the exact moment you
discovered that your idea would solve the prob-
lem, the exact moment you verifi ed that your
solution would work through testing, how to
build and use your solution, and your due dili-
gence in working to solve the problem.
Figure 3-16. 
Sketches can be made
easily on graph paper in
an engineering notebook.
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