Designing Engineers First Edition is written in short modules, where each module is built around a specific learning outcome and is cross-referenced to the other modules that should be read as pre-requisites, and could be read in tandem with or following that module. The book begins with a brief orientation to the design process, followed by coverage of the design process in a series of short modules. The rest of the book contains a set of modules organized in several major categories: Communication & Critical Thinking, Teamwork & Project Management, and Design for Specific Factors (e.g. environmental, human factors, intellectual property). A resource section provides brief reference material on economics, failure and risk, probability and statistics, principles & problem solving, and estimation.

Table of Contents:
Preface v Part 1 How Engineers Design 0 Introduction 1 Design Process Overview 5 Project Phases 10 Communicating throughout the Process 14 What Engineers Design 18 How Engineering Projects Are Initiated 22 Navigating the Engineering Design Process 27 Engineering School Projects 32 Part 2 Design Process 34 Requirements Introduction to Requirements 35 Functions 43 Objectives 50 Constraints 56 Documenting the Context 61 Describing Stakeholders 69 Describing Users, Operators, and Clients 76 Characteristics of Good Requirements 83 Summary: Putting It All Together 92 Functional Basis 96 Multi-use Design Tools Black Box Method 101 Decomposition 104 Information Gathering 108 Benchmarking 115 Pairwise Comparison 122 Idea Generation Introduction to Idea Generation 125 Brainstorming 128 Creativity Methods 134 Morphological Charts, Analogy, and TRIZ 140 Decision-making Design Evaluation and Selection 144 Selecting a Design Solutiona 150 Decision Methods for Teams 160 Iterating Stages in Iteration: Generate, Select, Reflect 163 Suggested Iteration Process 167 Reflection Considerations for Iteration 173 Investigating Ideas Using Metrics 177 Investigating Ideas through Models and Prototypes 180 Feasibility Checking 185 Routine Design 189 Post-Conceptual Design Intermediate Design 194 Final Design 202 Post-Final Design Engineering 213 Part 3 Implementing a Project 218 Working in Teams Introduction to Teamwork 219 Organizing 225 Tools for Organizing 230 Producing 237 Managing Teams 240 Management Strategies 247 Sample Team Documents 253 Project Management Introduction to Project Management 261 Project Management Concepts 267 Creating a Project Plan 273 Estimating Cost and Time 279 Project Cycle (see www.wiley.com/college/mccahan) Monitoring a Project (see www.wiley.com/college/mccahan) Project Analysis (see www.wiley.com/college/mccahan) Advanced Tools and Methods (see www.wiley.com/college/mccahan) Personal Management (see www.wiley.com/college/mccahan) MS Project Instructions 284 Client Interaction Client Meetings (see www.wiley.com/college/mccahan) Asking Questions and Listening (see www.wiley.com/college/mccahan) Critical Thinking Basic Concepts 293 Critical Thinking in Design Documents 300 Making and Supporting Statements Effectively 306 Skeptical Thinking 313 Communication Engineering Communication 318 Organizing Communication 323 Putting Together an Engineering Report (see www.wiley.com/college/mccahan) Diagrammatic Elements 330 Using Pictures and Photographs 339 Influencers of Communication 344 Organizing Presentations 349 Effective Slides 354 Part 4 Design for X 360 Durability Design for Durability 361 The Environment Design for the Environment: Introduction 365 Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) 369 LCA Goal Definition and Scoping 375 LCA Inventory Analysis 382 LCA Impact and Improvement 388 Sustainability 396 Flexibility Design for Flexibility: Introduction 401 Managing Flexibility 408 Human Factors Design for Human Factors: Introduction 413 Task Analysis 420 Use Case Method 426 Concept of Operations 433 Intellectual Property Design for Intellectual Property: Introduction 438 Principles of Patentability 444 Intellectual Property in the Design Process 449 Frisbee Patents 454 Manufacture Design for Manufacture: Introduction 460 Manufacturing Process Choices 468 Safety Design for Safety: Introduction 475 Identifying Hazards 481 Safety in the Design Process 486 Workplace Safety 495 Testing & Maintenance Design for Testing and Maintenance (see www.wiley.com/college/mccahan) Part 5 Resources 498 Principles and Problem Solving Problem Spectrum: Open, Constrained, and Closed (see www.wiley.com/college/mccahan) Solving Closed Problems (see www.wiley.com/college/mccahan) Writing up a Problem Solution (see www.wiley.com/college/mccahan) Significant Figures (see www.wiley.com/college/mccahan) Conservation of Mass and Energy (see www.wiley.com/college/mccahan) Estimation Introduction to Estimation 499 Estimation Techniques 504 Estimating Cost and Labor 515 Estimation Confidence 518 Probability & Statistics Introduction to Probability and Statistics (see www.wiley.com/college/mccahan) Discrete Distributions (see www.wiley.com/college/mccahan) Continuous Distributions (see www.wiley.com/college/mccahan) Fitting a Line (see www.wiley.com/college/mccahan) Uses (see www.wiley.com/college/mccahan) Economics Introduction to Economics 523 Time and Money Calculations 528 Project Decisions 532 Types of Costs and Revenues 540 Payback 546 Failure & Risk Introduction to Failure and Risk 550 Handling Risk 555 Why Things Fail 563 Part 6 Case Studies 570 Aerial Photography 571 The Razor Sole Skate (see www.wiley.com/college/mccahan) A Video Titler for Sewer Inspection (see www.wiley.com/college/mccahan) The Steam Whistle Brewery (see www.wiley.com/college/mccahan) Selling Flowers (see www.wiley.com/college/mccahan) Sample Design Briefs (see www.wiley.com/college/mccahan) Historic Design Failures (see www.wiley.com/college/mccahan) Glossary 577 Index 601