Exercise: The problem formulation phase

In this video Ammar explained that the first stage in the engineering design process involves clarifying the design problem and elaborating the design requirements. In this activity, you will clarify the problem and set out, to the best of your knowledge, the requirements of the wave-powered pump problem.

Remember that during the requirements elaboration phase, designers should talk to three groups of people:

• those who will use the product (the customers and/or the domain experts )
• those who will make it (the manufacturers)
• those who will sell it (the marketers).

To make this more interesting (and a little easier), you will be representing or playing the role of these three different groups of people.

Design brief

The design brief of the wave-powered pump problem is as follows:

Boats which are kept afloat throughout the year suffer from the ingress of water due to rain, high waves and the possible infiltration of water through the boat’s hull. Using a mains-powered pump is not possible in this case, while a battery-powered pump requires regular visits to replace or recharge the battery. The natural movement of the boat in water due to waves can provide enough energy to pump water out of the boat if a suitable design can be developed. The solution should be simple, low cost and very reliable.

Approaching the problem

Start by considering the nature of the problem. Ask questions like:

• What is the nature of the movement of floating boats?
• How can we tap this movement and use it to pump water out of the boat?
• Are there any similar products in the market? How do they work? How much do they cost?
• Is there a market niche for such a product?
• How much customers are willing to pay for such a product?
• How much time do we have to release the product to the market?
• Do we have the required technology and know-how to design and manufacture this product?

Don’t be put off if you feel that you don’t know the exact answers to all questions. The aim of this exercise is to allow you to understand the kind of questions that designers should be asking at the outset of the design process, and how they interact with stakeholders (users, makers and sellers). It does not matter if the answers in this hypothetical design problem are wrong, or if you simply make up answers.

Note

Make a note of your answers to the questions above.

In the next step we will move on to elaborate the design requirements.