APS111 Terms

Disciplines

Engineering fields, each of which has particular training and methods (civil, mineral).

Engineering design process

A systematic method to help engineers develop design solutions that have the best chance of being effective from multiple perspectives.

Documentation

Essential part of the design process that generally forms the bulk of the work that is produced (written, graphic, recorded oral).

Requirements

Describe the functions that possible solutions must have to be considered a solution. Includes objectives and constraints. Also describes context; environment, users and operators, other influential factors.

Creativity methods

Systematic techniques to generate imaginative, and unconventional solutions.

Iterative

A set of processes repeated over and over in a loop. Used to enhance understanding of problem, improve the design, increase quality and quantity of generated information.

Project requirements

Definition of the design problem including the problem statement, functions, objectives, constraints, service environment, and important information that has been gathered. Also called the problem definition, scope or scoping document, or specification document.

Decision-making methods

Methods used to try to remove bias to ground decisions firmly in engineering reasoning. Assist in developing the justification for decisions.

Open-ended problems

Problem with many possible solutions, none are perfect. Some solutions are better and some are worse in terms of meeting the problem criteria. Design problems are typically open-ended.

Reality checks

Assessment of ideas taking into account practical concerns (principles of physics, economics, existing technologies, environmental, and/or social impacts). A reality check asks, "Will this idea, solution, or proposal work in the real world?"

Conceptual design alternatives

A primary set of ideas for possible solutions.

Problem statement

A restatement of the client statement or design brief that describes the gap in technology that the design will fill. Key to a successful problem statement is a clear definition of the client's need. The problem statement serves as an introduction to the project requirements and is solution independent.

Product

A physical or virtual thing that is the result of a design process. There are consumer products, such cell phones, shampoo, and software packages; commercial products, such as oil drilling equipment or supercomputers; energy products, such as electricity or natural gas; and digital products, such as network services or online financial services. There are also agricultural products such as corn, beef, or wheat, which are the result of a natural process that has been engineered to enhance the production of a desired product.

System

A set of organized components or elements that operate together as a unit. There are natural systems, such as the solar system, and engineered systems, such as a subway system or a communication network. The elements in an engineered system are designed and arranged to perform a specified set of functions.

Process

The sequence of operations needed to transform mate- rial, information, or energy from one form to another. Process design generally involves not only the design of the operational steps of information, material, or energy transformation, but also consideration of the timing and scheduling, logistics, supply chain, and quality control aspects of the process.

5 whys

Repeatedly questioning "why" things are the way they are allows you to get at the root cause of a problem, or uncover hidden assumptions. The "why, why, why" method is a creativity technique that is also used to generate new, original ideas.

Active voice

A sentence in which the subject (or agent) precedes the verb (or action).

Adjourning

The fifth and last stage in the Tuckman team model. Adjourning involves the dissolution of the team, generally at the end of a completed project. However, adjourning may also occur with a permanent team if a member leaves or there is significant change in the team structure or purpose.

Affordance

Originally any function of a design, both intended and unintended. The more current definition of affordance recognizes that the way people use things is generally based not on what is possible to do, but the usage implied by the design. Thus affordance is the function of a design that is intuitively obvious: A button suggests pushing, a handle suggest pulling, and an arrow suggests directionality or pointing.

Anthropometric data

Information on human physical characteristics. This includes data such as the range of physical size, shape, and characteristics present in a population; for example, how much weight people can lift, the size and shape of a human foot, or how large a hand is when the user is wearing mittens.

Benchmarking

The analysis of an existing technology. This pro- cess enables the designer to identify requirements, learn about existing systems, and compare design ideas to currently available technology.

Bias

The tendency to judge things in a certain way due to the values and pre-existing ideas a person brings to the situation rather than to the details of the situation itself.

Bid

An estimate of the cost of a job submitted by contractors in response to a Request for Proposal or other form of call for proposals. A ___ may also include information about the amount of time, materials, or other resources needed. It may also include a preliminary design plan to show the client that the bidder has the expertise to undertake the job. A ___ must match exactly the specifications in the Request for Proposals (in terms of formatting, length, content, etc.) and must arrive before the deadline to be accepted.

Black box method

A method used to discover (uncover) functions of a design by connecting the components going into a design to the components that result from the design.

Blue sky thinking

A creativity method. In this method people imagine what is possible with no constraints. In blue sky thinking, any preconceived notions about what is possible or impossible are ignored and ideal solutions are imagined as if there were no limits.

Brainstorming

A term usually used to describe the process in which a group of people have an intensive session of idea generation. The concept of brainstorming was developed by Alex Osborn and is used to generate ideas to address a specific question or defined problem. The main focus of this technique is to generate a large quantity of ideas without worrying about their quality. See also Structured brainstorming and Free brainstorming.

Citation information

(also called bibliographic information) The details of ownership and publication or distribution of ideas, documents, articles, images, and books. Such information includes (but is not limited to) the name(s) of the author(s), the name of the book, website or article in question, the name of the journal, collection or larger body that the article belongs to, the date and place of original publication or distribution, any company (such as a publisher) responsible for the distribution. Specific details of citation or bibliographic information necessary for ethical documentation of information sources are given in style guides or handbooks associated with the organization to whom you are submitting your work.

Claim

1. An assertion that requires supporting explanation and evidence to be persuasive. A credible statement includes a claim, an explanation of the claim, and evidence to support the truth and validity of the claim. 2. The most important part of a utility patent. The claims define the intellectual property (IP) being claimed for protection in the patent in very specific legal terms.

Client

An individual, a company, or some other organization that commissions the design. The client gives the task of designing the system to the design team, and the client also typically funds the project.

Client statement

An initial written statement from the client that describes a design problem. The statement may be short, only a paragraph or two, and vague, or it may be very long. Some requests for proposal (RFPs) are thousands of pages long and describe the design problem in detail. See also Design brief.

Code

A set of requirements that follow from government regulations. Typical codes include building codes, fire codes, and health codes. A code is a set of rules intended to ensure minimum levels of safety and performance. Codes may be defined by governments or by professional associations and may be enforced by government agencies or by the professions involved. Therefore, codes will vary between jurisdictions and a design must adhere to the local code requirements.

Commission

To sponsor, authorize, or support ( fund) a project.

Complex

1. A system in which a variety of parameters interact to create events that are not perfectly predictable or may not be fully anticipated. Chaotic systems, such as weather, are one example of this system, as well as sociopolitical or economic systems that behave in ways that are not fully predictable.

Compound-complex sentence

A sentence that has clauses connected with the word "and" (as in a compound sentence) as well as clauses in relation to one another, connected with such words as "but," "because," or "if...then" (as in complex sentences).

Computer Aided Design

A process in which a software package is used to create a detailed two- or three-dimensional representation of a physical structure. In a modern CAD program, each physical part in a full assembly is represented by a detailed description of its mass, volume, and composition in a virtual 3D space. A 3D CAD model serves the role of a virtual prototype and can be easily modified.

Consensus

A team decision-making strategy that requires group assent to a decision formed through discussion. Some members of the team may disagree with a choice, but agree to go along with, and support, the choice.

Constraints

Absolute limits of a design. If a potential solution violates a constraint, then it must be dismissed.

Conceptual design specification

A document that describes the alternative design solutions considered and recommends a design for further detailing. It may include documentation of decision making, information that has been gathered that informs the project, and results of prototype testing, modelling, or simulation activities. The document should give the reader (supervisor, client, or instructor) confidence that the team has explored the solution domain and that the team's recommendation for a design solution is sound.

Consulting company

A type of engineering company that works exclusively through collaborative projects or contracts. A consulting company usually takes on numerous projects for a wide variety of clients. They do not necessarily get involved in the full design process or in the full implementation of the design. They are contracted to provide a specific outcome or set of deliverables.

Criteria

Qualities or characteristics defined in order to evaluate something

Critical thinking

The ability to analyze a situation, idea, or problem to come up with unique ideas. Critical thinking emphasizes objectivity, the importance of recognizing bias, and other factors that affect the validity of information. Critical thinking involves judgment based on evaluation of multiple perspectives and evidence weighed against criteria.

Cross-functional team

A team whose members come from various disciplines and bring varied skill sets. For example, a cross-functional team may have members from civil, mechanical, electrical, and other engineering disciplines, financial personnel, and architects or industrial designers.

Decomposition

Breaking the design or design problem into smaller parts. Decomposition is a method used for generating requirements, such as secondary functions. It is also used for generating solutions to a design problem. See also Morphological charts, Functional decomposition, and Structural decomposition.

Deliverable

A piece of documentation or other tangible result from the design process (e.g., a set of drawings, a working model of the design, a report, a cost estimate, a set of operating instructions, or construction of one part of the project). In a course, the deliverables are submitted to the course staff (e.g., the instructor or teaching assistant). For an actual industrial project, the deliverables would generally go to the client. Deliverables are usually specified in the agreement (contract) between the company performing the design work and the client or customer.

Design brief

The initial written statement from the client that describes the design problem. As an engineering student, this design brief (or client statement) will often come from your instructor in the form of project instructions. The design brief may be short, only a paragraph or two, and vague. Or it may be very long. See also Client statement and Request for proposals.

Design space

An abstract concept of a space that encompasses all of the design solution ideas that are being considered at any point in time during a project. Developing requirements defines the boundaries of the design space. Expanding the scope of the project expands the space. Discarding ideas, i.e., removing solution ideas from consideration or reducing the scope of the project, shrinks the design space. Building and testing prototypes or models explores (investigates) the design space.

Diagrammatic communication

Using diagrams, schematics, flowcharts, graphs, charts, and other pictorial elements to communicate ideas. These are common elements in engineering documents and presentations.

Design for X (DFX)

Design for a specific consideration (X) that is of particular importance to the project you are working on. Some common DFX considerations are:
- Design for assembly
- Design for accessibility
- Design for human factors
- Design for durability
- Design for flexibility
- Design for the environment
- Design for testing and maintenance
- Design for disassembly
- Design for safety
- Design for intellectual property
- Design for aesthetics

Due diligence

Conscientious work practices; taking reasonable care to ensure that all relevant standards, codes, and statutes are adhered to, including pertinent engineering ethical codes. Also, making sure calculations have been checked and that you are following the current, modern practices in your discipline.

Diagram

A visual depiction of a concept or model that captures the essential features or characteristics of the system from an engineering perspective while generally not trying to depict realistically the actual visual look of the system. For example, a vehicle may be shown simply as a moving mass: a rectangle labeled "m" in a diagram. Diagrams are used in problem solving to help engineers think through a problem. They are also used in documents and presentations to communicate ideas to others.

Emotive language

Language that is used to excite emotions. It is often used in advertising.

Enablers

One type of worker behavior that can create problems with teamwork. Enablers want to help everyone out, at the expense of their own time, health, well-being, and other work. At the extreme, enablers will promise to do too much and will be unable to deliver. As a result, a team that relies on the enabler to do the work for them will fail.

Engineering notebook

A common method for keeping track of design work. Each person on a team will keep his or her own notebook to be used as a journal to record work as it progresses. Starting an engineering notebook is the first step to beginning a new design project. The information documented in a notebook is important to claiming the intellectual property developed during a project.s

Entrepreneur

A person who starts up a new company to market and sell a product or service.

Ergonomics

The applied science of design in relation to the human user. It is intended to reduce operator fatigue and discomfort. Ergonomics is also referred to as biotechnology, human engineering, and human factors engineering. Originally focused on designing efficient effective workplaces, ergonomics now includes all types of human-technology interaction design.

Evidence

Part of making a credible statement. Evidence is information that supports a claim or statement. It may be a scientific method or principle or data generated through rigorous experimentation or gathered from research of previously published work.

Explanation

Part of making a credible statement: information that defines terms and fills out the details of the ideas in statements to enable others to understand them.

Fallacy

An invalid argument. While the conditions may be true, their relationship or consequences have not been logically proven.

Figurative language

Language that uses figures of speech such as similes and metaphors. These are inexact and poetic comparisons intended to allow readers or the audience to bring their own subjective experience into understanding an idea. These should be avoided in engineering communication and should serve as a warn- ing to use caution when they are found in an information source.

Executive decision

A decision made by one person, usually the team leader, project manager, or other type of leader. The person making the executive decision may use discussion and consultation to get other people's opinions and ideas, but ultimately the decision is made by a single person.

Figure

A type of diagrammatic communication. A figure is a picture (illustration), a diagram, a photo or a graph, or any other type of visual element in a document or presentation. Figures are typically identified in a document by a number and a caption below the figure.

Explicit meaning

The literal or dictionary definition of a word. For example, the explicit meaning of the word "smart" is "intelligent." However, depending on the tone a person uses, the word can take on an implied meaning that is just the opposite. When someone says, "Oh, yeah, that's a smart idea" with a sarcastic tone, the person is implying that the idea is actually stupid.

Fact

Statement accepted as "truth," including well-proven scientific laws or axioms or statements supported by tangible evidence.

Final design specification

This report deals with the details of the design solution, usually including detailed drawings, or schematics and the embodiment of the design (sketches or renderings of the technology). It may include economic, environmental, or other types of analysis of the design solution. This type of report is usually developed near or at the end of a design project. Along with the detailed drawings, it may be the last deliverable for the client.

Flowchart

A type of diagrammatic communication that depicts the flow of information in a system. Flowcharts are a common way to visually represent the logic pathways in computer code, but can also be used to represent protocols, procedures, and other information processes.

Flow

Refers to mass, energy, and/or information. The mass, energy, or information does not need to be actually moving to be called a flow. Flow simply refers to the presence of these components, which are operated on by a technology.

Form

(also called embodiment) The physical manifestation of a design idea. For example, all pens serve the same essential purpose of enabling a person to translate thoughts into writing. However, pens take many different forms: long, short, ballpoint, fountain pens, permanent markers, etc. The form, or embodiment, of a design should align with the function (i.e., form follows function).

Forming

The first stage in the Tuckman team model. In this stage, the team is coming together but still operating as a set of individuals. This stage is dominated by individual team members thinking more about themselves than about the team.

Functional basis

A powerful technique for dissecting an engineering design problem and understanding it from a functional perspective. Functional basis identifies a few fundamental types of operations ( i.e., functions) that a technology can perform on a set of components ( flows). Virtually all technologies that exist can be characterized by their functional basis.

Functional decomposition

Splitting up the functions of a design into a set of sub-functions in order to analyze each separately. This can include identifying several primary functions or identifying a set of secondary functions that together enable a primary function. Functional decomposition can be used to identify requirements, such as secondary functions, or it can be used to generate solution ideas for a design. Related topic: Morphological chart method. See also Decomposition and Structural decomposition.

Functions

What the technology must do. The functions are part of the project requirements. A function describes what the design must do in order to work, i.e., in order to be functional. Basically, any idea that meets the functional requirements could conceivably be a possible design solution for the problem.

Gantt chart

A project management tool that shows the project schedule visually as a list of tasks illustrated as a bar graph on a calendar.

Frame of reference

A person's perspective; it will affect that person's observations and perception of reality.

Goals

The particular characteristics of the design solution. In the framework for requirements, goals include functions (what the design will do) the design will perform and objectives (what the design should be).

Graph

The visual depiction of data, typically on two or more axes (e.g., Cartesian coordinates, polar coordinates). There are many different types of graphs: for example, scatter plots, line graphs, bubble plots.

High-performance team

A group of people who come together to work in an interrelated manner toward a common goal; they operate in a highly communicating, cooperative, and synergistic manner that fully actualizes the potential of every team member. Their performance together goes well beyond the capability of the individual members.

Histogram

A type of bar chart used for depicting statistical data.

Hitchhikers

A type of behaviour that can create problems with team- work. A hitchhiker is a person who contributes significantly less to a project than everyone else for no legitimate reason.

How-why tree

A graph that organizes information from high- level global objectives down to measurable local objectives. The how arrow points down the tree: How will the general objective be realized? (i.e., by one or more measurable local objectives) The why arrow points up the tree: Why is the sub-objective required? (i.e., to fulfill the high-level global objective) How-why trees are used to organize and operationalize objectives in many fields including design, business, education, and government. They are used when high-level objectives (e.g., maximize profit for the business) need to be translated into specific executable objectives (e.g., increase individual customer sales).

Human factors

The physical, psychological, social and political circumstances that affect the successful operation of a design.

Idea generation

The stage of the design process when the design team generates possible solutions to the design problem. This stage is characterized by use of creativity methods to develop as broad a set of solutions as possible.

Hijacking

A type of behaviour that can create problems with team- work. A hijacker takes over control of the team. This may not be the team leader, but is often a person who wants to be the team leader. Hijackers have very little trust in other people's work and will often redo it themselves. This behaviour is corrosive to collaborative team- work and often results in a dysfunctional situation.

In-house design teams

A design team that works for and designs technology for the company that employs it.

Indeterminate problems

Problems that do not have enough information to be solved uniquely, e.g., the area of a triangle where the base length and height are unknown.

Interaction design

A design approach that considers the interaction of the user with the technology as a key focus of the design process. Interaction design stems from user-centered design and has evolved into experience design.

Inventor

An inventor is an individual, or sometimes a team of people, who acts as both the client and the designer for a technology. Inventors are people who identify a need for a new technology and create it. See also Entrepreneur.

Implied meaning

Messages that are carried in words, independently of, or in contrast to, the words' explicit meaning. For example, the word "crippled" explicitly means having an inability. However, over time the word "cripple" has taken on an insulting sense, as if a physical challenge reduces a person's overall worth. When writ- ing an engineering document, it is important to be aware of both the explicit and implied meanings of the words chosen to transmit information accurately and respectfully.

Isolationists

A type of behaviour that can create problems with teamwork. An isolationist is a team member who works competently, but does not interact well with other team members. The work delivered, while generally acceptable, may not fit very well with the rest of the project because the isolationist has not adequately communicated with the rest of the team. Isolationists are not involved in team decisions and do not want to take the time to listen to other teammates.

Lessons learned

Analysis of past activity to determine what parts of it were successful and what parts need improvement. Les- sons learned activities may be undertaken individually (e.g., analyze the results of an exam to see what you did right or wrong) or as a team (e.g., the team may run a debriefing session after a project to analyze the experience and the results).

Logic

A structured means for developing new, valid ideas from preexisting facts.

Managing

Guiding the work and collaboration between team members to make sure everyone is working effectively together toward shared goals.

Interest

1. Stakeholder interest: An aspect of an organization or person's ongoing welfare that might be affected by a design. An interest implies that there may be benefit or loss due to the implementation of the design. The kinds of interests that the stakeholders have in a design project generally fall into categories related to economics, ethics or morality, legality, human factors, social impact, and environmental impact. 2. Interest as used in economics: The cost of borrowing money, generally assessed as a percentage of the amount borrowed (which is called the capital). Also, if a customer "lends" his or her money to a bank by putting it in a savings account, then the bank will pay the customer interest. Similarly, investments will pay interest to the person who has invested the money. Interest is usually paid daily, monthly, or annually depending on the type of loan or investment.

Means

A specific solution idea, or a means of solving a design problem, is called a means statement. Means can also refer to how a solution is implemented. For example, if the design requirements call for a system that heats food, then means could include a micro- wave oven, an electrical resistance heating element, or an infrared heat source.

Means statement

A specific solution idea or a means of solving the design problem. Means can also refer to the how a solution is implemented. See also Means and Solution driven.

Micro-managing

A style of managing that is highly and specifically directive. Being very controlling or directive rarely works well, particularly if you are managing highly competent and creative people. See also Hijacker.

Minutes

Notes taken during a meeting. Like notes taken during a lecture, these are not an exact reproduction of everything said at the meeting; instead they record major discussion points, what deci- sions were made, and the action items coming out of the meeting, e.g., who will do what by when.

Non-governmental organization (NGO)

An organization that is neither a companies nor a government agency, but that may have an interest in the design problem (i.e., may be a stakeholder). NGOs are typically not-for-profit organizations with political, social, humanitarian, or environmental missions.

Numbered headings

Headings in a document that are numbered sequentially, as in this text. Section 1, for example, would have a sub- section 1.1. Numbered headings impose a hierarchy on the information and identify main ideas and the supporting ideas that belong to them.

Means analysis

One variation of decomposition methods. Means analysis can be used to discover or generate additional functions, objectives, or constraints to add to a requirements list. To perform a means analysis, decompose the design problem into sub-functions or sub-structures, then generate as many potential solution ideas as possible for each of the sub-functions or sub-structures. These design solutions are "means" for solving the problem. Examine the solution ideas to identify commonalities. Functions, objectives, or constraints that all of the solutions have in common are prob- ably integral to the design problem and should be included in the requirements.

Objective goals

The minimum target level for an objective. Objective goals are not absolute constraints but are meant to motivate the improvement of the design toward a goal set; they set an approximate threshold for acceptable levels of performance or characteristics of the design solution.