Effective design and manufacturing, both of which are necessary to produce high-quality products, are closely related. However, effective design is a prerequisite for effective manufacturing. This new book explores the status of engineering design practice, education, and research in the United States and recommends ways to improve design to increase U.S. industry's competitiveness in world markets.

vi The process is important! I learned this lesson the hard way during my previous existence working as a design engineer with PA Consulting Group's Cambridge Technology Centre. One of my earliest assignments involved the development of a piece of labo- tory automation equipment for a major European pharmaceutical manufacturer.Two things stick in my mind from those early days – first, that the equipment was always to be ready for delivery in three weeks and,second,that being able to write well structured Pascal was not sufficient to deliver reliable software performance. Delivery was ultimately six months late,the project ran some sixty percent over budget and I gained my first promotion to Senior Engineer. At the time it puzzled me that I had been unable to predict the John Clarkson real effort required to complete the automation project – I had Reader in Engineering Design, genuinely believed that the project would be finished in three Director, Cambridge Engineering weeks.It was some years later that I discovered Kenneth Cooper's Design Centre papers describing the Rework Cycle and realised that I had been the victim of “undiscovered rework”.I quickly learned that project plans were not just inaccurate,as most project managers would attest,but often grossly misleading,bearing little resemblance to actual development practice.

A guide to using the power of design flexibility to improve the performance of complex technological projects, for designers, managers, users, and analysts. Project teams can improve results by recognizing that the future is inevitably uncertain and that by creating flexible designs they can adapt to eventualities. This approach enables them to take advantage of new opportunities and avoid harmful losses. Designers of complex, long-lasting projects—such as communication networks, power plants, or hospitals—must learn to abandon fixed specifications and narrow forecasts. They need to avoid the “flaw of averages,” the conceptual pitfall that traps so many designs in underperformance. Failure to allow for changing circumstances risks leaving significant value untapped. This book is a guide for creating and implementing value-enhancing flexibility in design. It will be an essential resource for all participants in the development and operation of technological systems: designers, managers, financial analysts, investors, regulators, and academics. The book provides a high-level overview of why flexibility in design is needed to deliver significantly increased value. It describes in detail methods to identify, select, and implement useful flexibility. The book is unique in that it explicitly recognizes that future outcomes are uncertain. It thus presents forecasting, analysis, and evaluation tools especially suited to this reality. Appendixes provide expanded explanations of concepts and analytic tools.

Features include: jargon-free language with well-tried, real-world examples; useful tips for managers at the end of each chapter; a comprehensive bibliography at the end of the book. It is also highly informative for graduate and undergraduate engineering students and ideally suited for establishing a web-based design management system for geographically dispersed teams. Changes in the second edition: New case studies. Expanded text in each chapter (about 50 new pages worth) including a wholly new chapter on the analysis of the design process as a whole.

"This book introduces the reader to models, frameworks, methodologies, and algorithms that have been applied with great success in industry. These approaches have significantly reduced product development cycle time and improved product and process quality and reliability. Engineering design impacts a wide range of tasks, beginning with the recognition of customer needs and ending with the disposal of the designed artifact. Engineering Design: Products, Processes, and Systems is unique in presenting a process view that allows for uniform treatment of problems and issues over the entire product life cycle. The reader will acquire a complete understanding of process modeling methodologies, process reengineering, the organization of design teams, design for manufacturing, and problem solving from tolerance design to product modularity and negotiation among members of the design team. Key features: * Reduce time in the product development cycle, * Improve quality, productivity, and reliability of products and processes, * Effectively manage the design process, * Solve practical design problems, * Design modular products, * Design products and systems for a manufacturing environment, * Form multidisciplinary design teams, * Develop a virtual design environment"--Publisher description.

Engineering Design, Planning and Management, Second Edition represents a compilation of essential resources, methods, materials and knowledge developed by the author and used over two decades. The book covers engineering design methodology through an interdisciplinary approach, with concise discussions and a visual format. It explores project management and creative design in the context of both established companies and entrepreneurial start-ups. Readers will discover the usefulness of the design process model through practical examples and applications from across engineering disciplines. Sections explain useful design techniques, including concept mapping and weighted decision matrices that are supported with extensive graphics, flowcharts and accompanying interactive templates. Discussions are organized around 12 chapters dealing with topics such design concepts and embodiments, decision-making, finance, budgets, purchasing, bidding, communication, meetings and presentations, reliability and system design, manufacturing design and mechanical design. Covers all steps in the design process Includes several chapters on project management, budgeting and teamwork, providing sufficient background to help readers effectively work with time and budget constraints Provides flowcharts, checklists and other templates that are useful for implementing successful design methods Presents examples and applications from several different engineering fields to show the general usefulness of the design process model