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Importance of engineering design process
"The earlier you fix a problem, the cheaper it is to fix."

● The engineering design process can be used to achieve
2
several different outcomes.
Outcome-1 Outcome-2 Outcome-3

3
● The design process should be conducted so as to develop quality,

cost-competitive products in the shortest time possible.
Product
Produc Produc cycle
t cost t time
quality
4
Product cost
● Only a small fraction of the cost to produce a product (5 percent) is involved with
the design process, while the other 95 percent of cost is consumed by the materials,
capital,and labour to manufacture the product.
Design
Capital Labour Material & Mfg
5%
Importance of the Engineering Design Process
● The design process consists of the accumulation of many

decisions that result in design commitments that affect about
70 to 80 percent of the manufactured cost of the product.
● In other words, the decisions made beyond the design phase
can influence only about 25 percent of the total cost.
EXample:Developing new smartphone
Market Development:
Activity: Researching market needs, customer preferences, and competitor

analysis.
Cost Commitment: Minimal, but decisions are being made about features, like
whether to include a foldable screen or improve the camera.
Real-life Insight: If the company decides to include a foldable screen at this
stage, it increases future costs for materials and production.
Conceptual Design
Activity: Brainstorming and creating initial concepts, such as screen size,

processor type, battery life, and materials.
Cost Commitment: Decisions about features and hardware commit
significant costs (50-60% of total).
Real-life Insight: Choosing a powerful processor (e.g., Snapdragon 8
Gen 3) or a unique material (like titanium for the frame) will increase
manufacturing costs later, even though the actual expenses now are low.
Product Design
Activity: Detailed design is finalized, including software development and

prototypes.
Cost Commitment: Nearly 80-90% of the costs are committed, as changes
now would require rework.
Cost Incurred: Prototyping costs and testing expenses increase.
Real-life Insight: At this stage, testing reveals issues, such as overheating.
Fixing these may require redesigning internal components, leading to
additional costs if done late.
Manufacturing
Activity: Mass production begins.

Cost Commitment: Already at 100% since all design decisions are
finalized.
Cost Incurred: High, due to material procurement, production setup, and
labor.
Real-life Insight: Producing millions of smartphones incurs significant
costs, especially if defects occur because of earlier overlooked design
flaws.
Product Use
Activity: The product is used by customers, and companies

incur costs for repairs, warranty claims, and customer
service.
Real-life Insight: If battery performance or durability

issues emerge, the company faces high service costs, which
could have been minimized with better planning during
Ex: Building a house
Design stage: Deciding where to

place rooms or windows is
inexpensive on paper but hard and
costly to fix later.
Construction stage: Changing a

window's position after walls are
built costs significantly more in
money, time, and effort.
Example: Planning a trip.
● If you plan well in advance, it's cheaper (budget flights, early

bookings).
● If you decide last minute, costs soar (premium flights, rush
purchases).
2.Product quality:
● If the design proves to be faulty just before the product goes to
market, it will cost a great deal of money to correct the problem.
Ex: A car manufacturer designs a vehicle
with poorly positioned brake
components.
● Manufacturing Implication:
○ During manufacturing, engineers cannot fix
this issue without altering the entire car’s
● Design Flaw: The brake assembly layout.
○ This results in recalls or expensive
overheats during long drives
modifications to the existing design.
because of inadequate ventilation. ● A flawed design leads to safety concerns, loss of
customer trust, and costly recalls.
● Proper simulation and testing during the design
phase could have ensured adequate brake
ventilation.
Ex:Smartphone Development
A smartphone is designed with

insufficient cooling mechanisms for its
high-performance processor.
● Design Flaw: The processor generates
excessive heat during operation,
leading to overheating and reduced
performance.
○ The product would either need a
● Manufacturing Implication:
redesign or might fail in the market.
○ The manufacturing team can’t
● Outcome: The company incurs massive
simply add cooling features (like
larger heat sinks or better thermal
losses due to returns, rework, or bad
paste) at this stage because the reputation.
phone’s internal design and
dimensions are already fixed.
3.Product cycle time
● The third area where engineering design determines product

competitiveness is product cycle time.
● Cycle time refers to the development time required to bring a new
product to market.
Example: Imagine a company wants to develop a new smartwatch. Here's how the
cycle time might break down:
Idea and Planning (1 month): The company decides to create a smartwatch
with unique features, like longer battery life and health tracking.
Design and Prototyping (2 months): Engineers design the product, create a
prototype, and test the design.
Production (3 months): The company starts manufacturing the smartwatches in

Product cycle time
Testing and Quality Control (1 month): They test the watches for performance and fix
any issues that arise.
Marketing and Launch (1 month): The company markets the smartwatch and releases it
for sale.
Total Cycle Time = 1 month (idea) + 2 months (design) + 3 months (production) + 1

month (testing) + 1 month (launch) = 8 months.
Why is Product Cycle Time Important?
● Speed to Market: The shorter the cycle time, the faster the company can
introduce new products
● Cost Efficiency: Reducing cycle time can help a company save money, as a
longer development process typically means higher costs.
● Competitive Advantage: Companies that can reduce their cycle time and
bring products to market quickly are often able to stay ahead of competitors.
● In conclusion, cycle time is a key metric in product development, as it
directly affects how quickly a company can create and launch new products
Example 1: Boeing 787 Dreamliner

Poor decisions during early stages of design led to massive delays
and higher costs later.
Example 2: Apple iPhone (Good Design)

Careful consideration of materials and design in the initial stages
contributed to profitability and ease of manufacturing.
● Cost: Critical areas, such as the
number of lifeboats, were
compromised to reduce costs and
maintain the ship's aesthetic appeal.
● Design and Quality:The Titanic's hull
design used rivets and steel that,
while considered standard at the time,
were not strong enough for the icy
waters of the North Atlantic.
● Design and Cycle Time:The Titanic The Titanic’s tragedy illustrates how cutting
was built in a relatively short time corners in design decisions can lead to massive
(about three years) for a vessel of its consequences, affecting lives, reputation, and
complexity. To meet deadlines, financial losses.
design iterations and testing were
limited.

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Importance of engineering design process

"The earlier you fix a problem, the cheaper it is to fix."

several different outcomes.

Outcome-1 Outcome-2 Outcome-3

● The design process should be conducted so as to develop quality,

● The design process consists of the accumulation of many

Activity: Researching market needs, customer preferences, and competitor

Activity: Brainstorming and creating initial concepts, such as screen size,

Activity: Detailed design is finalized, including software development and

Activity: Mass production begins.

Activity: The product is used by customers, and companies

Real-life Insight: If battery performance or durability

Design stage: Deciding where to

Construction stage: Changing a

Example: Planning a trip.

● If you plan well in advance, it's cheaper (budget flights, early

A smartphone is designed with

● The third area where engineering design determines product

Idea and Planning (1 month): The company decides to create a smartwatch

Design and Prototyping (2 months): Engineers design the product, create a

prototype, and test the design.

Production (3 months): The company starts manufacturing the smartwatches in

any issues that arise.

Total Cycle Time = 1 month (idea) + 2 months (design) + 3 months (production) + 1

Example 1: Boeing 787 Dreamliner

Example 2: Apple iPhone (Good Design)

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