Name: ______________________________
Reading Assignment #1
Reading: F&C: Chapter 2 & 3 & Appendix B
1. List the steps that Ulrich and Eppinger propose for obtaining the “voice of the customer”
2. What questions should you answer with a research survey?
3. Describe the characteristics of a good Problem Statement (or a “Needs and Objectives Statement” as it is also
called by the text).
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4. Draft a problem statement for your chosen project that meets these criteria.
5. List the properties of an engineering requirement (we will also call this an “engineering characteristic” in this
course). Explain each property with a single sentence
6. Define “constraint”
7. Define “standard”
8. Find a standard that is relevant (however tangentially) to your project. List the name and summarize what the
standard covers.
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9. The marketing specifications for an app that allows a smart phone user to protect private information with a
biometric feature (such as their iris pattern or fingerprint) are as follows:
a. The app should be easy to use.
b. The app should accurately distinguish the user from others.
c. The app should not use a lot of power.
d. The app should be easy to install.
Come up with 3 engineering requirements for this system.
10. Review section B.1 of the text, particularly Step 2 where it describes the pairwise comparison process. Use this
process to determine relative rankings for the objectives for a new home workout machine, using the table
below. (Use your own judgment to assign the importance for each pairing).
Safe
Affordable
Effective
Safe
Affordable
Effective
Compact
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Compact
Geometric
Mean
Weight