Introduction to EngineeringCentered Design
William Oakes, P.E.
Learning Objectives
 At the end of this session, you will be
able to:
1. Describe design
2. List at least three steps in the EPICS
design process
3. Identify resources to help with design
4. Describe how users are important to the
design process
Design is…
One of the activities of engineering.
 Design
 Development
 Research
 Test
 Analysis
 Production
 Sales
 Technical Support
 Other
Source: Oakes, Leone, and Gunn (2004). Engineering
Your Future. Okemos, MI: Great Lakes Press.
Many definitions of design…
Design is art
Design as problem solving
Design activity as applying scientific
knowledge
Design is a social process in which
individual object worlds interact, and
design parameters are negotiated.
Source: Dr. Robin Adams ENE 696G course
notes
Crismond (2007) draws from many sources
in his definition of design as “’goaldirected problem-solving activity’ (Archer, 1965)
that initiates change in human-made
things (Jones, 1992), and involves optimizing
parameters (Matchett, 1968) and the balancing of
trade-offs (AAAS, 2001) to meet targeted users
needs (Gregory, 1966).”
Source: Crismond, D. (2007). Contrasting strategies of beginning and
informed designers: One representation of learning progressions in
engineering design.
The Design Process
Few
Specifications
=====>
Many
Specifications
Design Process
Infinite Variety
of Designs
Most -----Least
Influential
Choices
One Design
Design is done by many disciplines
The Design Process
 Many formal models for the design process
 ME uses Ullman’s Model for Design
o The Mechanical Design Process, McGraw
Hill, 1997, 2003
o 6 steps
 Engineering Your Future
o 10 steps
 Different Companies use different models
o They use a process
 EPICS teaches a model that fits our
community-based design
Multiple Valid Solutions
Examples:
•Cars
•Cell phones
•Computers
Good/Bad Design - Activity
Think of 1 thing you think was welldesigned. Think of 1 thing you think
was poorly designed.
For each item:
o Item
o Why you think it was well/poorly designed
o What did the designer understand/not
understand in the design that made it
good/bad.
EPICS Balance
Service-learning is a balance of the
learning of design and the service we
contribute the communities through
completed designs and support
Service
Learning
•To our partners,
meeting needs in
the community
•Becoming good
designers, professionals
& active citizens
Complimentary goals that enhance each other
From IDEO
HCD
Toolkit
What is
technically and
organizationally
feasible?
What do people
desire?
What can be
financially viable?
EPICS Design Process
Six Phases
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Problem Identification
Specification Development
Conceptual Design
Detailed Design
Production
Service/Maintenance
Redesign or retirement
The EPICS Design Cycle
Problem Identification
Specification
Development
Redesign
Retirement
Conceptual
Design
Disposal
Detailed
Design
Service
Maintenance
Production
Human-centered Design: Basic Principles
Early focus on users
Designing for and with users
Empirical measurement and
evaluation
Iteration
Human Centered Design
 Formal/Informal Interviews
o Focus groups– interviews with multiple people
 Persona
o Prototypical user, described in detail
 Scenarios
o “before and after” stories of your persona using
your product
• Focus on the user’s need and how their life might be
improved
 Role-playing: put yourself in the user’s
shoes, chair, and/or space
o Empathic modeling: Simulating the
sensory/motor/cognitive constraints
Human-Centered Design
•Interactions with Stakeholders
•Prototypes/communications at all stages
EPICS Design Process
Six Phases
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Problem Identification
Specification Development
Conceptual Design
Detailed Design
Production
Service/Maintenance
Redesign or retirement
Common tasks
Project Identification Phase: Goal is to identify a specific, compelling need
to be addressed
 Conduct needs assessment (if need not already defined)
 Identify stakeholders (customer, users, person maintaining project,
etc.)
 Define basic stakeholder requirements (objectives or goals of projects
and constraints)
 What will be the deliverable?
 Determine time constraints of the project
 How long will it take?
Gate 1: Continue if have identified appropriate EPICS project that meets a
compelling need
Example….Project Identification Phase
One of the deliverables is the Project
Charter
o Description – Describe and summarize
what you or your team will be doing.
• E.g., What is the problem that you will be solving
and for whom?
o Objectives- List the project objectives.
• E.g., Why are you doing the project (i.e., what is
the motivation or desired need for the project?)
Project Charter, continued
o Outcomes or deliverables
• E.g., What are going to be the project
results?
o Duration
• E.g., When will the project be started, and
when will it meet the objectives and deliver
the outcomes?
o Community Partners
• E.g., With whom are you serving on this
project?
o Stakeholders
• E.g., Who will be affected by your project
other than your customer?
Specification Development Phase: Goal is to understand “what” is needed
by understanding the context, stakeholders, requirements of the project, and
why current solutions don’t meet need, and to develop measurable criteria in
which design concepts can be evaluated.
 Understand and describe context (current situation and environment)
 Create stakeholder profiles
 Create mock-ups and simple prototypes: quick, low-cost, multiple
cycles incorporating feedback
 Develop a task analysis and define how users will interact with project
(user scenarios)
 Compare to benchmark products (prior art)
 Develop customer specifications and evaluation criteria; get project
partner approval
Gate 2: Continue if project partner and advisor agree that have identified
the “right” need, and if no existing commercial products meet design
specifications.
Specification Phase
Tasks:
• Basic functional decomposition
Primary Function
Sub-function
Sub-function
Sub-function
Sub-function
• User interaction – crude prototypes as
communication devices
• Benchmark research
• Customer specifications development
• Develop Design Specifications - MEASURABLE
Specification Development
Deliverableso Project Specification Document
• Measureable specifications
o Mock-ups or rough prototypes to help
narrow the specifications
Interacting with the community partner
o User-centered, human-centered
Spec or
Requirement
Origin
1. Sound audible Project Partner
in classroom
Requirement
How will you
know if you
achieved it?
Test in
classroom
1.1 Sound range Project Partner
between 15 dB
Requirement of
and 85 dB
audible sound
1.2 Variable
output
2. Project should Project Partner
be educational
Requirement
Pre-, post-test?
Interview
students?
Completed?
Conceptual Design Phase: Goal is to expand the design space to include as
many solutions as possible. Evaluate different approaches and selecting “best”
one to move forward. Exploring “how”.
 Conduct Functional Decomposition
 Brainstorm several possible solutions
 Create prototypes of multiple concepts, get feedback from users, refine
specifications
 Evaluate feasibility of potential solutions (proof-of-concept prototypes);
select one to move forward
 Interaction with users
Gate 3: Continue if project partner and advisor agree that solution space has
been appropriately explored and the best solution has been chosen.
• Take functional decomposition and brainstorm on
each of the functions
• How can we ______ ?
• Capture the best of each idea
• Rebuild the system as combinations
Primary Function
Sub-function
Sub-function
Sub-function
Sub-function
Conceptual Design
Deliverableso Project Conceptual Design Report
o Systems level design
• Details need to be designed
o Sketch/mock-up/prototype demonstrates
concept
Common tasks
Detailed Design Phase: Goal is to design working prototype which meets
functional specifications.
 Design/analysis/evaluation of project, sub-modules and/or
components (freeze interfaces)
 Complete DFMEA analysis of project
 Prototyping of project, sub-modules and/or components
 Field test prototype/usability testing
Gate 4: Continue if can demonstrate feasibility of solution (is there a
working prototype?). Project Partner and advisor approval required.
Detailed Design
 Deliverables
o Project Detailed Design Report
• Full details of all parts
• Dimensions, sizes, all details
• Documentation of all parts
o Full prototype version of project
Delivery Phase Tasks: Goal is to refine detailed design so as to produce a
product that is ready to be delivered! In addition, the goal is to develop user
manuals and training materials.
Common tasks: Complete project
Complete user manuals/training material
Complete usability and reliability testing
Complete delivery review
Gate 5: Continue if Project Partner, Advisor and EPICS Admin agree that
project is ready for delivery!
Service/Maintenance Phase Tasks
Common tasks:
•Evaluate performance of fielded project
•Determine what resources are necessary to support and maintain
the project
Gate 6: Project Partner and Advisor approve continued fielding of project.
If not, retire or redesign.
Retirement or Redesign
Fielded projects are evaluated
with partners for repair,
retirement or redesign
The EPICS Design Cycle
Problem Identification
Specification
Development
Redesign
Retirement
Conceptual
Design
Disposal
Detailed
Design
Service
Maintenance
Production
Iterations in the Design Process
Problem Identification
Specification
Development
Redesign
Retirement
Conceptual
Design
Disposal
Detailed
Design
Service
Maintenance
Production
Iteration and Test
Back to previous phase
Go to next phase
Test
(Users)
Implement
Generate
Ideas
Define
Measurable
Specifications
Iteration and testing
Prob
ID
Spec
Dev
Con
Des
•Document
•Why advanced
•Why interated
Det
Des
Prod
Main
and
serv.
Human-Centered Design
•Tests are often done with stakeholders
during the design process
Curriculum Diagram
Exit 2: Specification Development Ave Road
Exit 4: Detailed Design St.
Exit 1: Problem Identification Rd.
Exit 7: Retirement Rd.
Figure 1 (DRAFT skeleton): EPICS Design Model
Seeking and Selecting
Converge
Narrow Choices
Converge
Narrow Choices
Converge
Narrow Choices
Problem
Identification
Specification
Development
Conceptual
Design
Diverge
Seek Possibilities
Diverge
Seek Possibilities
Diverge
Seek Possibilities
Each phase of the design process requires creative solutions
and has a divergent component where ideas are sought and
a convergent component where options are selected
Why is design difficult?
Engages different types of thinking
Requires designers to manage so many
ideas and aspects
Addresses different types of problems
Good design…
 Good designs involve diverse perspectives
and expertise
 IDEO – industry leader in design and
innovation
o Design thinking is a crucial business asset—one
that can, indeed, move a company forward and
improve the bottom line. To optimize this impact,
(we) advise thoughtfully structuring the innovation
process. They stress working on projects that
improve people’s lives..
- Ryan Jacoby and Diego Rodriguez, Innovation, Growth, and Getting to
Where You Want to Go, Design Management Review Vol. 18 No. 1
Human Centered Design
 Formal/Informal Interviews
o Focus groups– interviews with multiple people
 Persona
o Prototypical user, described in detail
 Scenarios
o “before and after” stories of your persona using
your product
• Focus on the user’s need and how their life might be
improved
 Role-playing: put yourself in the user’s
shoes, chair, and/or space
o Empathic modeling: Simulating the
sensory/motor/cognitive constraints
Caution!
These tools should not replace getting
feedback and information from the
users and stakeholders themselves!
Just because you have “pretended” to
have a disability or in a certain
situation, doesn’t mean you understand
what it really like for those users and
stakeholders.
Prototypes
Prototyping….rough, quick, very
iterative
o IDEO working with Gyrus ACMI to
design new apparatus for operating
on delicate nasal tissues
o Prototype: whiteboard
marker, 35 mm film
canister and clothespin
Prototypes
Prototyping….rough, quick, very
iterative
o Mouse for Apple
o Prototype: roller ball from
tube of Ban Roll-on deodorant and
the base of plastic butter dish
Personas
 Fictional character with all the characteristics of the
user
 Created after the field research (observations,
interviews)
 Members of the primary stakeholders (users)
 Depicts the "typical" or "average" individual in the
primary stakeholder group
 Include a name and picture, demographics, roles and
responsibilities, goals and tasks, motivations and
needs, environment and context, and a quote that
can represent the character's personality.
Personas
 May be several personas for the same group to
reflect diversity of that group
 Secondary personas, their needs should be met and
problems solved if possible.
 Create a common shared understanding of the user
group
 Prioritize the design considerations by providing a
context of the user needs
 Provide a human face and existence to a diverse
user group
Your Design Projects
1. Problem Identification
o
Using personas and role playing
2. Specification Development
o
List of specifications, early prototypes
3. Conceptual Design
o
4.
5.
6.
7.
Early prototype and proof of concept
Detailed Design
Production
Service/Maintenance
Redesign or retirement