Activity 2.1.1:  Wouldn’t it be great if every class you took had an obvious impact on the rest of your life? This course is designed to do just that. You will be completing a research and design project that most students don’t have the opportunity to do until college. Your instructor will become your guide mentor perhaps, but certainly your #1 cheerleader.

You may have already realized that in a work environment the supervisor trains employees to do certain tasks and then expects them to complete the tasks. He or she lays out milestones and timelines in much the same way you will do in this class. Some information you will be able to collect on your own, but other information you will have to consult individual experts for their opinions.

Activity 2.1.2:  Products and silly solutions are a dime a dozen. What exactly causes someone to believe his or her product is a valid solution? In other words, what led these individuals to the solutions or products they created? For instance, the sanitary security sock system, the weed cutting golf club, and the retractable tabletop for a toilet are all solutions that have been patented. Did someone really want to combine work with pleasure when he or she created the weed eating golf clubs? Is there a consumer outcry for a tabletop that allows us to flush scraps down the toilet?

Many designers have these “brilliant ideas” for problems which really do not exist. What they failed to do was develop a problem statement. Engineers use problem statements as a guide to identify the needs of the consumer prior to identifying the solution. Let’s see what we mean. It’s your turn to practice writing problem statements for some silly solutions!

Activity 2.1.3:  Wouldn’t it be great if every problem you encountered had a fast, simple solution? The best way to solve a technical problem is to first understand the problem. Often when a problem arises, the “natural instinct” is to dive right in and try to solve the problem. You can do that, but if you do, you have short-circuited the Engineering Design and Development ^TM process that is so essential to achieving the best technical solution to the problem.

A properly-written problem specifically states exactly what the problem is. The problem statement may be only one sentence, or it may be a series of sentences. The problem statement should not favor any type of solution, nor should it be unnecessarily restrictive.