Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Designing Engineers First Edition is written in short modules, where each module is built around a specific learning outcome and is cross-referenced to the other modules that should be read as pre-requisites, and could be read in tandem with or following that module. The book begins with a brief orientation to the design process, followed by coverage of the design process in a series of short modules. The rest of the book contains a set of modules organized in several major categories: Communication & Critical Thinking, Teamwork & Project Management, and Design for Specific Factors (e.g. environmental, human factors, intellectual property). A resource section provides brief reference material on economics, failure and risk, probability and statistics, principles & problem solving, and estimation.

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

• Preface (p. v)
• Part 1 How Engineers Design (p. 0)
• Introduction (p. 1)
• Design Process Overview (p. 5)
• Project Phases (p. 10)
• Communicating throughout the Process (p. 14)
• What Engineers Design (p. 18)
• How Engineering Projects Are Initiated (p. 22)
• Navigating the Engineering Design Process (p. 27)
• Engineering School Projects (p. 32)
• Part 2 Design Process (p. 34)
• Requirements
• Introduction to Requirements (p. 35)
• Functions (p. 43)
• Objectives (p. 50)
• Constraints (p. 56)
• Documenting the Context (p. 61)
• Describing Stakeholders (p. 69)
• Describing Users, Operators, and Clients (p. 76)
• Characteristics of Good Requirements (p. 83)
• Summary: Putting It All Together (p. 92)
• Functional Basis (p. 96)
• Multi-use Design Tools
• Black Box Method (p. 101)
• Decomposition (p. 104)
• information Gathering (p. 108)
• Benchmarking (p. 115)
• Pairwise Comparison (p. 122)
• Idea Generation
• Introduction to Idea Generation (p. 125)
• Brainstorming (p. 128)
• Creativity Methods (p. 134)
• Morphological Charts, Analogy, and TRIZ (p. 140)
• Decision-making
• Design Evaluation and Selection (p. 144)
• Selecting a Design Solutiona (p. 150)
• Decision Methods for Teams (p. 160)
• Iterating
• Stages in Iteration: Generate, Select, Reflect (p. 163)
• Suggested Iteration Process (p. 167)
• Reflection Considerations for Iteration (p. 173)
• Investigating Ideas
• Using Metrics (p. 177)
• Investigating Ideas through Models and Prototypes (p. 180)
• Feasibility Checking (p. 185)
• Routine Design (p. 189)
• Post-Conceptual Design
• Intermediate Design (p. 194)
• Final Design (p. 202)
• Post-Final Design Engineering (p. 213)
• Part 3 Implementing a Project (p. 218)
• Working in Teams
• Introduction to Teamwork (p. 219)
• Organizing (p. 225)
• Tools for Organizing (p. 230)
• Producing (p. 237)
• Managing Teams (p. 240)
• Management Strategies (p. 247)
• Sample Team Documents (p. 253)
• Project Management
• Introduction to Project Management (p. 261)
• Project Management Concepts (p. 267)
• Creating a Project Plan (p. 273)
• Estimating Cost and Time (p. 279)
• Project Cycle (see www.wiley.com/college/mccahan)
• Monitoring a Project (see www.wiley.com/college/mccahan)
• Project Analysis (see www.wiley.com/college/mccahan)
• Advanced Tools and Methods (see www.wiley.com/college/mccahan)
• Personal Management (see www.wiley.com/college/mccahan)
• A MS Project Instructions (p. 284)
• Client Interaction
• Client Meetings (see www.wiley.com/college/mccahan)
• Asking Questions and Listening (see www.wiley.com/college/mccahan)
• Critical Thinking
• Basic Concepts (p. 293)
• Critical Thinking in Design Documents (p. 300)
• Making and Supporting Statements Effectively (p. 306)
• Skeptical Thinking (p. 313)
• Communication
• Engineering Communication (p. 318)
• Organizing Communication (p. 323)
• Putting Together an Engineering Report (see www.wiley.com/college/mccahan)
• Diagrammatic Elements (p. 330)
• Using Pictures and Photographs (p. 339)
• Influencers of Communication (p. 344)
• Organizing Presentations (p. 349)
• Effective Slides (p. 354)
• Part 4 Design for X (p. 360)
• Durability
• Design for Durability (p. 361)
• The Environment
• Design for the Environment: Introduction (p. 365)
• Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) (p. 369)
• LCA Goal Definition and Scoping (p. 375)
• LCA Inventory Analysis (p. 382)
• LCA Impact and Improvement (p. 388)
• Sustainability (p. 396)
• Flexibility
• Design for Flexibility: Introduction (p. 401)
• Managing Flexibility (p. 408)
• Human Factors
• Design for Human Factors: Introduction (p. 413)
• Task Analysis (p. 420)
• Use Case Method (p. 426)
• Concept of Operations (p. 433)
• Intellectual Property
• Design for Intellectual Property: Introduction (p. 438)
• Principles of Patentability (p. 444)
• Intellectual Property in the Design Process (p. 449)
• Frisbee Patents (p. 454)
• Manufacture
• Design for Manufacture: Introduction (p. 460)
• Manufacturing Process Choices (p. 468)
• Safety
• Design for Safety: Introduction (p. 475)
• Identifying Hazards (p. 481)
• Safety in the Design Process (p. 486)
• Workplace Safety (p. 495)
• Testing & Maintenance
• Design for Testing and Maintenance (see www.wiley.com/college/mccahan)
• Part 5 Resources (p. 498)
• Principles and Problem Solving
• Problem Spectrum: Open, Constrained, and Closed (see www.wiley.com/college/mccahan)
• Solving Closed Problems (see www.wiley.com/college/mccahan)
• Writing up a Problem Solution (see www.wiley.com/college/mccahan)
• Significant Figures (see www.wiley.com/college/mccahan)
• Conservation of Mass and Energy (see www.wiley.com/college/mccahan)
• Estimation
• Introduction to Estimation (p. 499)
• Estimation Techniques (p. 504)
• Estimating Cost and Labor (p. 515)
• Estimation Confidence (p. 518)
• Probability & Statistics
• Introduction to Probability and Statistics (see www.wiley.com/college/mccahan)
• Discrete Distributions (see www.wiley.com/college/mccahan)
• Continuous Distributions (see www.wiley.com/college/mccahan)
• Fitting a Line (see www.wiley.com/college/mccahan)
• Uses (see www.wiley.com/college/mccahan)
• Economics
• Introduction to Economics (p. 523)
• Time and Money Calculations (p. 528)
• Project Decisions (p. 532)
• Types of Costs and Revenues (p. 540)
• Payback (p. 546)
• Failure & Risk
• Introduction to Failure and Risk (p. 550)
• Handling Risk (p. 555)
• Why Things Fail (p. 563)
• Part 6 Case Studies (p. 570)
• Aerial Photography (p. 571)
• The Razor Sole Skate (see www.wiley.com/college/mccahan)
• A Video Titler for Sewer Inspection (see www.wiley.com/college/mccahan)
• The Steam Whistle Brewery (see www.wiley.com/college/mccahan)
• Selling Flowers (see www.wiley.com/college/mccahan)
• Sample Design Briefs (see www.wiley.com/college/mccahan)
• Historic Design Failures (see www.wiley.com/college/mccahan)
• Glossary (p. 577)
• Index (p. 601)

Author notes provided by Syndetics

Susan McCahan is currently the Vice Dean, Undergraduate in the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering at the University of Toronto. She joined the Department of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering at Toronto in 1992. From 2006 to 2011 she served as Chair of First Year for the Faculty. Her research area is energy systems and engineering education. She is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in recognition of contributions to engineering education has been the recipient of several major teaching awards including the 3M National Teaching Fellowship and the Medal of Distinction in Engineering Education from Engineers Canada. She was also part of the team of instructors that received the Alan Blizzard Award for collaborative teaching in 2007. She has developed and taught courses on energy systems, heat transfer, and combustion. Professor McCahan's current research focuses on the design of the engineering education environment.