Systems Engineering: A New Framework for Engineering Design

Abstract

There is a widespread tendency to frame engineering design as a problem-solving activity. In this framework, the goal of a design is to satisfy functional requirements, subject to constraints, at minimum cost. It is shown below that this approach can lead to seriously non-optimal designs, and it further denies the use of a broad spectrum of fruitful tools that open up to the design engineer if only design is viewed instead as a decision-making process. In this context, a definition is given for systems engineering. Then, this definition is built upon to create a new framework for engineering design that has at its base the assertion that design is a process of decision making that is amenable to treatment using classical decision theory.