The engineering design process, also known as the engineering method, is a common series of steps

that engineers use in creating functional products and processes. The process is highly iterative –
parts of the process often need to be repeated many times before another can be entered – though
the part(s) that get iterated and the number of such cycles in any given project may vary.

It is a decision making process (often iterative) in which the engineering sciences, basic sciences and
mathematics are applied to convert resources optimally to meet a stated objective. Among the
fundamental elements of the design process are the establishment of objectives and criteria,
synthesis, analysis, construction, testing and evaluation.[1]

Common stages

It's important to understand that there are various framings/articulations of the engineering design
process. Different terminology employed may have varying degrees of overlap, which affects what
steps get stated explicitly or deemed "high level" versus subordinate in any given model. This, of
course, applies as much to any particular example steps/sequences given here.

One example framing of the engineering design process delineates the following stages: research,
conceptualization, feasibility assessment, establishing design requirements, preliminary design,
detailed design, production planning and tool design, and production.[2] Others, noting that
"different authors (in both research literature and in textbooks) define different phases of the design
process with varying activities occurring within them," have suggested more simplified/generalized
models – such as problem definition, conceptual design, preliminary design, detailed design, and
design communication.[3] Another summary of the process, from European engineering design
literature, includes clarification of the task, conceptual design, embodiment design, detail design.[4]
(NOTE: In these examples, other key aspects – such as concept evaluation and prototyping – are
subsets and/or extensions of one or more of the listed steps.)

Research

Various stages of the design process (and even earlier) can involve a significant amount of time spent
on locating information and research.[5] Consideration should be given to the existing applicable
literature, problems and successes associated with existing solutions, costs, and marketplace needs.
[5]

The source of information should be relevant. Reverse engineering can be an effective technique if
other solutions are available on the market.[5] Other sources of information include the Internet,
local libraries, available government documents, personal organizations, trade journals, vendor
catalogs and individual experts available.[5]

Design requirements
Establishing design requirements and conducting requirement analysis, sometimes termed problem
definition (or deemed a related activity), is one of the most important elements in the design
process[6] in certain industries, and this task is often performed at the same time as a feasibility
analysis. The design requirements control the design of the product or process being developed,
throughout the engineering design process. These include basic things like the functions, attributes,
and specifications – determined after assessing user needs. Some design requirements include
hardware and software parameters, maintainability, availability, and testability.[2]

Feasibility

In some cases, a feasibility study is carried out after which schedules, resource plans and estimates
for the next phase are developed. The feasibility study is an evaluation and analysis of the potential
of a proposed project to support the process of decision making. It outlines and analyses alternatives
or methods of achieving the desired outcome. The feasibility study helps to narrow the scope of the
project to identify the best scenario. A feasibility report is generated following which Post Feasibility
Review is performed.

The purpose of a feasibility assessment is to determine whether the engineer's project can proceed
into the design phase. This is based on two criteria: the project needs to be based on an achievable
idea, and it needs to be within cost constraints. It is important to have engineers with experience
and good judgment to be involved in this portion of the feasibility study.[2]

Concept generation

A concept study (conceptualization, conceptual design) is often a phase of project planning that
includes producing ideas and taking into account the pros and cons of implementing those ideas.
This stage of a project is done to minimize the likelihood of error, manage costs, assess risks, and
evaluate the potential success of the intended project. In any event, once an engineering issue or
problem is defined, potential solutions must be identified. These solutions can be found by using
ideation, the mental process by which ideas are generated. In fact, this step is often termed Ideation
or "Concept Generation." The following are widely used techniques:[2]

trigger word – a word or phrase associated with the issue at hand is stated, and subsequent words
and phrases are evoked.

morphological analysis – independent design characteristics are listed in a chart, and different
engineering solutions are proposed for each solution. Normally, a preliminary sketch and short
report accompany the morphological chart.

synectics – the engineer imagines him or herself as the item and asks, "What would I do if I were the
system?" This unconventional method of thinking may find a solution to the problem at hand. The
vital aspects of the conceptualization step is synthesis. Synthesis is the process of taking the element
of the concept and arranging them in the proper way. Synthesis creative process is present in every
design.
brainstorming – this popular method involves thinking of different ideas, typically as part of a small
group, and adopting these ideas in some form as a solution to the problem

Various generated ideas must then undergo a concept evaluation step, which utilizes various tools to
compare and contrast the relative strengths and weakness of possible alternatives.

Preliminary design

The preliminary design, or high-level design includes (also called FEED or Basic design), often bridges
a gap between design conception and detailed design, particularly in cases where the level of
conceptualization achieved during ideation is not sufficient for full evaluation. So in this task, the
overall system configuration is defined, and schematics, diagrams, and layouts of the project may
provide early project configuration. (This notably varies a lot by field, industry, and product.) During
detailed design and optimization, the parameters of the part being created will change, but the
preliminary design focuses on creating the general framework to build the project on.[2]

S. Blanchard and J. Fabrycky describe it as: “The ‘whats’ initiating conceptual design produce ‘hows’
from the conceptual design evaluation effort applied to feasible conceptual design concepts. Next,
the ‘hows’ are taken into preliminary design through the means of allocated requirements. There
they become ‘whats’ and drive preliminary design to address ‘hows’ at this lower level.”

Detailed design

Following FEED is the Detailed Design (Detailed Engineering) phase, which may consist of
procurement of materials as well. This phase further elaborates each aspect of the project/product
by complete description through solid modeling, drawings as well as specifications.

Computer-aided design (CAD) programs have made the detailed design phase more efficient. For
example, a CAD program can provide optimization to reduce volume without hindering a part's
quality. It can also calculate stress and displacement using the finite element method to determine
stresses throughout the part.[7]

Production planning

The production planning and tool design consists of planning how to mass-produce the product and
which tools should be used in the manufacturing process. Tasks to complete in this step include
selecting materials, selection of the production processes, determination of the sequence of
operations, and selection of tools such as jigs, fixtures, metal cutting and metal or plastics forming
tools. This task also involves additional prototype testing iterations to ensure the mass-produced
version meets qualification testing standards.[2]

Comparison with the scientific method

Engineering is formulating a problem that can be solved through design. Science is formulating a
question that can be solved through investigation. The engineering design process bears some
similarity to the scientific method.[8] Both processes begin with existing knowledge, and gradually
become more specific in the search for knowledge (in the case of "pure" or basic science) or a
solution (in the case of "applied" science, such as engineering). The key difference between the
engineering process and the scientific process is that the engineering process focuses on design,
creativity and innovation while the scientific process emphasizes explanation, prediction and
discovery (observation).