|
|
Educate the Customer to What CAN be Done Let the customer know what you can do for him. Sometimes the client needs to be "educated" to where the "state of the art" is today. Often they express their needs and their desired solutions from their level of understanding, which can vary greatly. Bringing the customer "up-to-speed" on the state of the art, has the potential for great benefit, both in the design decision making and in the quality of the final product design; which can improve revenues--for the product, and you! A word of Warning!
He may be the Customer, and you the Engineer, but remember, you are both people. We as engineers often get a bad rap for not being "sensitive guys," not having people-skills. Relating successfully, in an interpersonal way, is never easy, but when
you combine that with the imperative of completing a successful design,
on schedule, with finite resources it's doubly difficult.
It is a safe bet that each of you see the need and the solution differently.
It is a fine line between giving the customer what he thinks he wants,
and what you, the designer, think is required.
|
|||
Determine the NEED Determining the NEED is a "toughie." Inevitably, there will be more than one NEED to be satisfied. It is a matter of perception, that is, what the customer thinks they need and what, you, the engineer believes is the need. Be very careful that you don't ignore what the customer tells you. He has been with this a lot longer than you have and more than likely has not spelled it out or articulated it to you so that you, "know where he's coming from." Until you truly understand his view, you should listen and ask questions--and don't argue with him--yet! If you believe that "all this is obvious," and that I'm over stating this: be careful, you are about to make an assumption-that is the mother of all assumptions! To underestimate the importance of "Determine the NEED" can cost your company, and you, a bunch! On paper, it may seem like a fine line between giving the customer what he thinks he wants, and what you, the designer, thinks is required. The subtleties and vagaries of the marketplace can be as complex to a designer as the design process is to the marketer. You may have noticed that the "Determine the
NEED" box has feedback paths from all throughout the "Process."
This at least gives you the opportunity of "mid-course" correction.
|
|||
NEED to PROBLEM Conversion I have a NEED: I don't have enough Clean Drinking Water, I Need Water to Drink! There are several ways to fulfill that NEED for Enough Clean Drinking Water. Some of the Solutions are to, Dig a Well; build a Cistern to catch rain Water; if there is a river, build a Water Purification Plant; Desalinization in the case of salt water... You get the idea. Now to implement any of the above Solutions, we first have to have a Definition of the Problem; e.g., digging a well will require a drilling rig, pipe, skilled well diggers... Again, you get the idea. NEED to PROBLEM Conversion, is exactly that: you, and the customer, take your consensus view and start putting numbers, colors, feathers, descriptions, i.e., Specifications to the NEED. This process gives "Flesh and Blood" to the NEED, and the resulting "spec" is the quantitative target that you will be shooting for and measuring your progress against. Henceforth known as the "PROBLEM," to which you find and fit the appropriate Solution. And--you guessed it--this is as important as "Determine
the NEED", in fact it may be the most hazardous to you as an
engineer. This is a little like "carving it in stone," or a better way
of thinking about it is writing it in fresh--slow drying cement. The older
this spec gets and the more committed to it you become, the harder and
more costly it is to go back and change it! So, stay attentive to the need
to revisit the PROBLEM, as described by the spec, OFTEN!
|
|||
PROBLEM
Definition
"Determine the NEED," "NEED to PROBLEM Conversion," "PROBLEM Definition,""Understand the PROBLEM," all this may seem like the same thing, so why spread it out like this? Well, it is, and it's not: it is important to delineate the steps because when you are re-thinking any part of the project, it will have a ripple effect on all parts of the project with varying degrees of impact. And, without some separation and delineation it can quickly become confusing; and it's down-hill from there!. Remember the WIN/LOSE balance sheet: ask yourself, what do I have to
lose if I do or don't do something, and what's to be gained... It is seldom,
that the best answer is to do nothing. Yes yes, I can hear the exceptions
as I write this, but I have found more often than not, if the decision
is hard and requires work--it's probably the right course of action--Bummer!
This is a lesson I learn repeatedly!
|
|||
Understand the PROBLEM If this block seems redundant, it is. There needs to be a formal step that reminds us to Understand the PROBLEM, because, as with so many steps in the design process, it is a continuous and ongoing process. The implication in all this is that no one ever totally Understands the Problem! However, for all intents and purposes, there is a utilitarian level of understanding that allows one to progress, to "get-on-with-the-job." I know about now you're starting to feel that I'm playing with semantics. I'm not! My telling someone who has never done this sort of thing, all of this is confusing gibberish with no seeming logical thread. Ah ha, now you know why I have developed, and you are studying the "Design Flow Chart." There is a school of thought that anybody can design--that it can be
taught. The opposing school of thought is that it is an inherent gift--and
cannot be taught. I have no Idea. I hope that maybe with some order brought
to the subject that it can be Learned--there is a difference.
|
|||
ASK the Customer You need to talk with your CLIENT to try and understand their wants and needs. Not what you imagine they want or need: but truly what the CLIENT wants.
|
|||
Sit Under an AppleTree The design process is whatever you make it: you can make the crowning mistake of researching how others solved similar problems--the "cookbook solution," or you can find a tree under which to sit (don't sit under an apple tree, that's already been tried) and "Blue Sky It." Using only the knowledge you have at this particular time in your life, ask yourself: how would I do this? If you were on the proverbial desert island, and had no sources of information but what was between your ears, how would you solve the problem?
|
|||
Bluesky It The more innovative designers in this world have a secret. Their secret Is they don't mine looking foolish! When they ask, "What If," and follow that with Free Flow/stream of conscienceness, not bothering with trying to make sense of it, or its logic. If you are working within a group, it is rare--if ever-- to fine a group
coming up with new ideas. At best groups stimulate and help define the
problem, and get innovative people thinking; and at it's worst, it strong-arms
thinking and the chosen approach is--what groups do--a compromise. Compromise,
is not a bad word, that is, in fact, what Engineering is; but it has no
place in the Innovative Process.
|
|||
No Cookbooks The non cookbook approach is very powerful. It may not end up as the final design, but it will allow you to really understand the problem (no easy feat!), which after all, is the only way to a good solution--dumb luck aside.
|
|||
Data Sheets OK Data sheets in and of themselves, are a necessity: after all, you do need to know the limitations and caveats of any part or parts you envision using in your solution. Of course, avoid looking at the application notes that accompany the
data sheets, or are part of the data sheet's "suggested circuits." That
doesn't mean you will never use this resource, it means if you want to
get a clearer understanding of the problem, the last thing you need is
somebody else's "solution" to a problem you don't yet fully understand.
|
|||
Use Only What You now Know The worst thing in the world--early on--is to be prejudiced by knowledge of how others have done it. All original thought is out the window, or your head. Also, it's important to think of several ways of doing the same "thing." Beware of "falling-in-love" with any approach to early: it is the kiss-of-death; it's like a tune you can't get out of your head: you cannot think of another way of doing...
|
|||
Try Several Approaches It's important to think of several ways of doing the same "thing." Beware of "falling-in-love" with any single approach to early: it is the kiss-of-death; it's like a tune you can't get out of your head: you cannot think of another way of doing...
|
|||
.
. . .
Do
a Paper Design On Each
A paper design can be anything from pastels on a brown paper bag to an annotated CAD layout/formal flowchart and commented code. However you do it, Do It! The quicker you can get several different views spread out in front of you, the better. Remember,
|
|||
Research Other's Designs NOW! You can start to use "Cook Books." Now that you have some handle on what it is you are "About," the way others have attacked the same kind of problems will be less apt to prejudice you.
|
|||
Evaluate YOUR Designs
Evaluating your approach(s) against others, is a kind of CHECK on your powers of observation, analysis and synthesis--Design. It can be a source of the "Warm & Fuzzies." Who knows, you may have come up with an even better way... Or, it can be a rude awakening: "Good grief, I forgot about the speed of light." Or: "Oh... yea, that's right, gravity does pull things down, not up!" And, this is/can be a blessing in disguise. The Challenger disaster
might have been avoided if there had been more "mistakes," not less.
|
|||
.
. .
.Modify Designs
In comparing the several ways of doing something, several things happen, the problem may become clearer to you and you have reached the point of fine tuning your design. Or, yes the old Or, word: you need to go back to square one, and do it again. Believe me, Square One is a very popular place, lots of engineers go there, repeatedly! NOBODY is PERFECT! Whatever the Hell that means. Part of sharpening your skills or for that matter, "becoming one with your art" is making mistakes. The best Servos make mistakes, they always overshoot in response to
a stimulus input, thus giving the error signal that allows diminishing
error and near equilibrium. Notice I said near, equilibrium, true equilibrium
is never ever reached.
|
|||
.
. .
.Rank Each Design
Rank each approach on their:
Don't rank them, looking for the least effort on your part. Or, if you
do, at least weight those easiest to do as the least desirable to
pursue--which is usually the case!
|
|||
Pick the Best Design From the Rankings, GO with the Design that appears to have the most going for it.
|
|||
Keep Remaining Designs Active Don't throw away the remaining designs! Often , after pursuing the chosen approach, flaws are revealed and the designer must go back to "square one." Good designers have other approaches waiting in the wings, and they carry on with little lost time. So periodically revisit and rethink all of your initial designs, using your recently gained insights on the problem at hand.. A word or two of Caution:
If it turns out that you gave up on, what later proves to be the BEST
approach, that can be very damaging to one's self-image and reputation
as an Engineer.
|
|||
Initial Design Review "Boy, am I Satisfied with That Design!" At the design stage: when you have a design that you are satisfied with, you stop thinking about it in a critical or adversarial way. In fact, you become blind to its faults, and defensive if anyone scrutinizes it with a critical eye. Hence: Design Reviews. You have to have them, to find the land mines that the designer invariably overlooks--before he steps on them!
|
|||
DESIGN ! --Don't Just Stand There: GO FOR IT!
|
|||
Design Review Yes, another Design Review! There are those who believe that after the Initial Design
Review, little can be gained by more of the same.
If looking at it on a purely "Win/Loss basis," you have only a little Time to loose, and possibly Everything to gain--like keeping your Job. A Note:
The reason for this is, in order to convey to others what you
have done, and are doing, you will have to revisit your completed work
and your project's remaining goals. This is an opportunity for YOU to take
a 'fresh look' at your work, detailing every aspect. Who knows, it may
help you catch a mistake or two before presenting them to all the World--and
your Mom--to See!
|
|||
Simulation in its purest form is your breadboarded circuit. Of course with very large and complex circuits, Computer Simulation has the potential of speeding up design time enormously. A word of Caution: At this stage of the game, not everything can be faithfully Simulated. Take care that you don't blindly believe everything your Simulator tells you! It's a little like using a calculator correctly, do the problem in your head first to at least know where the decimal point should go! As a wise friend of mine once observed:
|
|||
Keep an Engineering Notebook That means, Write EVERYTHING Down, even include a dentist appointment; that's what helps make it a believable Legal Document. So keep the notebook up to date and have it Witnessed often by those whom you trust, and understand your work. This can mean the difference between Owning the Patent Rights to your Work, or NOT! Also, it can jog the old memory and reduce the number of times you do the same tests. "...gee, have I already done that..."Of course, It Don't Hurt when Final Reports are Due! |
|||
Document!
Document! Document!
|
|||
Build Prototype(s) When it's time to build/prototype this thing, you should have already learned how to solder; wire wrap; layout; routing; bypassing, decoupling & shielding. You will learn the real difference between a "Voltage Source," and a "Current Source."
|
|||
Buy Parts When it's time to order parts for this thing; you will learn the toughest part of designing & developing a thing: getting the right parts when you need them; you will also learn not to trust the the vendor, the distributor, or the horse they rode in on!!
|
|||
Debug & Test Prototype You will test and debug this thing. If you are lucky, you will learn humility: good designs--almost bug free-- come from about four percent of all designers; however about 90 percent of all designers believe they are in that four percent.
|
|||
"Take it On the Road" ....Vroommm! ....Vroommm! Taking your project "Out-of-the-LAB," this truly separates the Men from the Boys! Almost anybody can get "it" to work on the LAB bench, but having it
work in the Outside/Real World, now that is a feat of 'Real Engineering.'
|
|||
Ask the Customer As you are are revising and modifying your design--based on your Test & Debug experience--it is a good Idea to, once again, TALK with your CLIENT. Remind me about Dealing with the Customer
|
|||
Design Review Yes, still another Design Review! Why more Design Reviews? I forgot, Remind Me!
|
|||
Design Review It's that Time Again! Why more Design Reviews? I forgot again, Remind
Me!
|
|||
Debug & Test
|
|||
"...oh, I like it" Design Review
|
|||
|
|||
Ask the Customer Have you talked with your Client lately? Remind me about Dealing with the Customer
|
|||
Design Review You Know the Drill! Why more Design Reviews? I can't seem to remember, Remind
Me!
|
|||
Design Review Your LAST Design Review! --Big Boy! What were those Rules again? Remind Me!
|
|