Engineering Perspectives
What you didn’t learn in school.
David A. Durfee
+ Partner in a design engineering firm
+ Adjunct Professor teaching EN1580
Copyright David A. Durfee 2009
Why Me?
I’m an engineer (CS and EE).
 My partner and I run an electronics and software
contract design firm.
 Our customers range from individuals to Fortune
500 companies.
 I’m able to convey all that I learned in 23 years in
only one semester.
 What do you mean I only have ½ hour?

Copyright David A. Durfee 2009
Are you an engineer?
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Do you have “the nack”? (Its ok if you haven’t found your inner nack yet.)
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Dilbert's "Salary Theorem" states, "Engineers and scientists can never earn as much as business
executives and sales people.“
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This theorem can now be supported by a mathematical equation based on the following two
postulates:
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Postulate 1: Knowledge is Power.
Postulate 2: Time is Money.
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And, as every engineer knows: Power = Work / Time
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Therefore: Knowledge = Work / Money
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Solving for Money, you get
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Thus, as Knowledge approaches zero, Money approaches infinity, regardless of the amount of
work done.
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Conclusion: The less you know, the more you make. (This brings some people to “the dark side”.
Finance/Sales)
(www.dilbert.com)
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Money = Work / Knowledge
Copyright David A. Durfee 2009
Reality ,you are not an “engineer”.
• Diploma will say you are.
• You feel uncomfortable cause you can’t even fix
your table lamp.
• Engineering is like an M.D. program. You
graduate with enough knowledge to intern and
later become an “engineer”.
• Therefore your “best” initial offer might not be for
the most compensation (Best may not imply the
most money)
• Your company isn’t likely to be making any
money on you for some time.
Copyright David A. Durfee 2009
Work Environments
Startup
Big Company
No documentation
Huge budget swings
Bogged down in
documentation
Fairly constant budget
Over-optimistic schedule
Huge schedule required
Lots of hours, lots of travel More predictable hours(but
could require lots of travel)
Vacillates based on
potential funding sources
Inflexible in feature
changes
High stakes (customers
Usually not job threatening
likely to want to cut
Copyright David A. Durfee 2009
corners)
OK now what – General stuff
• Need a work ethic -- (Why? Your boss knows tt’s a world economy
– not just lazy Americans to compete against.)
• Web surfing/cell phones/Texting
• Lunch hour?
• Early in, late out - (yeah, I know some of the old guys leave at
4:59pm)
• Do some homework on your own.
• Be willing to do extraordinary things to hit deadlines when required.
• Be careful when around customers.
• Get involved.
• You learn more from listening than talking
• Realize there is plenty you DON’T know
• Be a sponge. Learn from those who have gone before.
Copyright David A. Durfee 2009
Half Life of Engineering Knowledge.
They say the half life of engineering knowledge is 2 years
Your engineering knowledge decays by 50% every 2 years
After 10 years you are down to 3% of retained knowledge.
Think back to where the state of engineering and technology was even
10 years ago.
Think where it is now. Do you think the folks that graduated 10 years
ago, where trained in the current technology??
Now envision where both maybe 10 years from now.
Moral of the story? You should be a person that
enjoys learning new things.
http://www.ensys.net/eit-half-life.htm#The_half-life_of_engineering_knowledge_is_2_years
Copyright David A. Durfee 2009
Customer Relations
 Recognize that even if “they would be stupid not to
do XXX”, that does not preclude them from doing
YYY.
 Customers are not always right. Give your opinion
once. If you feel VERY strongly about it, then give
your opinion twice. In either case, after you give your
opinion do what you’re told without whining.
• Very few people have a clue about what you are
doing (even your boss) so you must set expectations
properly or else they will create their own
expectations. Perception can become reality.
• Stay sober and don’t tell dirty jokes if your group
takes the customer out to dinner when they come to
Copyright David A. Durfee 2009
visit.
What is engineering
• Definition: “Engineering is doing the best design
you can with the time and money you’ve been
given.”
• Engineers often want to make things “perfect”
and have difficulty applying money and time into
the equation and don’t like people looking over
their shoulders (Famous Phrase 90% done
with 90% to Go)
• This is why there are people called “engineering
managers”.
Copyright David A. Durfee 2009
Two Hardest Skills for New
Engineers
• Must master the delicate balance between
figuring things out for yourself and
“bugging” your mentor.
• Recognizing obstacles that you can have
some ability to remove rather than using
them to explain your inability to proceed.
Copyright David A. Durfee 2009
How to be better?
• Empathy would help – see things from
other perspectives.
• Not that you have to change yourself but
need to understand other perspectives
• Let’s just look at some stereotypes ===
Copyright David A. Durfee 2009
Customer/salesman vs. Engineer
Non-technical customer
Engineer
Undefined requirements
Defined
Iteration (show me)
Design process
Loves to make changes
Inflexible – change is bad
Ship immediately
Infinite testing
Likes to discuss options
Likes to prove they are right
Everything is simple
Finds complexity
Likes “pushing the
envelope”
Perfectionist – avoids risk
of failure near the envelope
Copyright David A. Durfee 2009
Manager vs. Engineer
Manager
Engineer
Lives and dies by Budget
Money is no object
Lives and dies by Schedule
Can’t possibly tell you when
Worries that product satisfies
customer needs
Thinks up “cool” feature to add
Wants black/white answers
Equivocates constantly
Wants vendor interaction
Won’t dial the phone
Wants you to get help when possible
Wants to do everything himself
Copyright David A. Durfee 2009
Is there a lesson in this?
A man in a hot air balloon realized he was lost. He reduced altitude and
spotted a woman below. He descended a bit more and
shouted...."Excuse me, can you help me?.....I promised a friend that I would
meet him an hour ago, but I don't know where I am."
The woman below replied...."You're in a hot air balloon hovering
approximately
thirty feet above the ground. You're between 40 and 41
degrees north latitude and between 59 and 60 degrees west longitude."
...."You must be an Engineer," said the balloonist.
"I am" replied the woman "how did you know?'
..."well,' answered the balloonist "everything you have told me is
technically correct, but I have no idea what to make of your
information, and the fact is I'm still lost. Frankly, you've not been
much help at all. If anything you have delayed my trip!'
The woman responded..."You must be in management."
"I am," replied the balloonist..."but how did you know?'
..."Well" said the woman..."you don't know where you are or where you
are going. You have risen to where you are due to a large
quantity of hot air. You made a promise, which you've no idea how to
keep, and you expect people beneath you to solve your
problems. The fact is you are in exactly the same position you were in
before we met, but now, somehow, it's my fault!"
Copyright David A. Durfee 2009
Career
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Only you can manage your career growth.
It is not the responsibility of your “manager”
Actively seek input from many sources.
There is no one right or wrong answer for everybody.
No job or function has a lifetime guarantee.
The only constant is “change”.
“Rainy days” can and most likely will come.
Most good managers, started as good engineers first. If
they sucked they went into Marketing – The Dark
Side…(just kidding).
Copyright David A. Durfee 2009
Debugging field problems
• Reproduce it
• Devise tests to prove/disprove hypothesis
to get to “root cause”
• Solve based on cause
• Why experience might “show up” IQ?
• Prioritize hypothesized causes base on
probability of occurrence (which you don’t
know when you just get out of school)
Copyright David A. Durfee 2009
Engineering process
• Fundamentally, a methodology to try to avoid
making mistakes.
• New engineers don’t believe in it
• They circumvent it and cost their employer
thousands of dollars (maybe tens or hundreds).
• They then get to experience the visibility,
stress, and pressure that this creates.
• Then, the smart ones, become believers.
• Some folks have to “feel the heat” more than
once.
Copyright David A. Durfee 2009
Beginning of project
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From Concept to Requirements
Risk analysis?
Should, Shall, May
Iteration? (design test to answer unanswered
questions)
• True Prototype or Production
• Prototype or Production attitude (if you think it’s
a prototype you’ll get a lot of “add wires”.)
• Cost for changes at the beginning are smaller.
Copyright David A. Durfee 2009
More process
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Requirement -- review
Design – review
Construct/code/fabricate – review
Test plan – review
Test execution – review
• Don’t be afraid of reviews. They might
save you!
Copyright David A. Durfee 2009