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1
Chapter 21 Exercises
Einstein said that if he had one hour to save the world he would spend fifty-five minutes defining
the problem and only five minutes finding the solution. So before jumping right into solving a
problem you should invest time and effort trying to improve your understanding of the problem.
He also said If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.
1. Develop an engineering problem statement for the following need: students need more
parking near campus.
2. Develop an engineering problem statement for the following need: shoppers need a faster
check-out process in grocery stores.
3. Develop an engineering problem statement for the following need: women need a place
to secure their purse in an automobile.
4. Provide a list of desired (D) specifications for the following problem definition. Design
and construct a student backpack that will comfortably hold 10 kg of books, a laptop
computer, and lunch.
5. Provide a list of desired (D) specifications for the following problem definition. Design
and construct an interactive toy for a blind child.
6. Provide a list of desired (D) specifications for the following problem definition. Design
and construct a device that will launch peanut butter and jelly sandwiches into a crowd of
college students.
7. Make a list of five questions designed to clarify the task of design a device that will
launch peanut butter and jelly sandwiches into a crowd of college students.
8. Make a list of five questions designed to clarify the task of designing a way to secure a
woman’s purse in an automobile.
9. Make a list of five questions designed to clarify the task of designing a student backpack
that will comfortably hold 10 kg of books, a laptop computer, and lunch.
10. Using your own experience, propose a “need” that will help children in some way. Then
create an engineering design problem statement that will satisfy that need. Then prepare a
list of desired specifications for the design and a list of questions you would ask your
target group of children that will clarify the problem statement.
There are no unique solutions to these problems.
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Philip, I want to add the following material to section 21.4
(the old section 18.4) to help clarify this section.
Clarifying the problem
Start with what you know. People can be asked in advance to write down what they know
about a problem. A brainstorming session is useful in generating the most information.
Decide what information is missing. Information is the key to effective decision making. If you
are designing a replacement bridge, do you know how many people will use the bridge? When
will they will use the bridge - all the time or mainly in the morning and evening? If that's the
case, your problem statement might be "Design a four-lane highway bridge to accommodate 400
cars per hour at peak usage"
Gather information on the problem. You might collect several types of information. It will
generally fall into one of the following categories:
Facts (15% of the people do not use the bridge at all)
Inference (a significant percentage of drivers bypass the bridge)
Speculation (many trucks use the bridge)
Opinion (I think a big bridge is too expensive)
When you are gathering information, you will probably hear all four types of information, and all
can be important. Speculation and opinion can be especially important in gaging public opinion.
For example, if you are trying to reduce the waiting time to pay for products purchased in a large
department store you might find that most people have the opinion that the store should open
more checkout lanes. Others may speculate that the store manager does not want to pay for more
checkout clerks. However, if you observe the checkout line throughout the day and interview the
store manager you may find relevant facts that either support or contradict these opinions and
speculations.
Define the problem. With the information in front of you, you're ready to write down a
"problem statement" - a comprehensive definition of the problem. Define the problem in terms of
needs, and not solutions. If you define the problem in terms of possible solutions, you're closing
the door to other, possibly more effective solutions.
