The Engineering Process

An engineering process is a set of steps that engineers often follow to solve problems. It is highly iterative and certain aspects of the process can be repeated many times within one project. The specific framing and articulation of the steps iterated will vary.

Research is the first step. This includes identifying requirements while locating data and understanding constraints. It is a crucial element of the engineering process, which allows engineers to come up with the most effective solution to a problem.

Once researchers have enough information, they can begin to brainstorm ideas to solve the issue. This can be done a variety of ways, and is where engineering creativity truly thrives. This is the point at which possible solutions are evaluated and then analyzed. This could include simulation studies, developing decision matrixes, and creating prototypes to compare.

In this phase, students choose one of their top ideas http://emjay-eng.com/generated-post and create a plan to create it. They build the prototype using the specified materials and then test it against their performance criteria. Students may have to retest and tweak their prototypes to ensure that it performs as intended.

This is a great way to teach the importance of problem-solving and iteration. Engineers are known to come up with a solution, test the solution and later, they discover a new problem. The process continues until the engineer can come up with the solution that is in line with their expectations.