Global ETD Search

1	Relationship of pauses to problem solving events in mechanical design protocols Chamberlin, Martha J. 15 May 1990 (has links) This thesis compares two methods for studying the problem-solving processes of mechanical design engineers. The first method, verbal protocol analysis, was applied by L. Stauffer to construct a problem-solving model of mechanical design. The second method, timing analysis, measures the time intervals separating drawing or speaking actions during the design process. Timing analyisis was applied by the author to the verbal/video design data collected by Stauffer. This thesis demonstrates that the two methods are statistically related, and hence, that employing two different study techniques enhances the reliability of both methods. The two methods have complementary strengths: protocol analysis reveals the content of the design process, while timing analysis is much more complete. Hence, a combination of protocol and timing analysis provides a stronger measure of the design process than either method alone. / Graduation date: 1992 Problem solving Machine design -- Decision-making Engineering design -- Decision-making Verbal behavior Reaction time
2	Enabling safety-informed design decision making through simulation, reasoning and analysis Jensen, David Charles 30 April 2012 (has links) While many organizations claim to "put safety first," safety is rarely considered early in the design process when system-level architectural decisions are made. Instead, system design follows an abstraction-to-detail process to first meet functional and then performance requirements. Following this process, safety assurance occurs in the later stages of design through a rigorous expert review process. The significant cost of safety-based redesign and the growing complexity of engineered systems motivates a need for early design-stage fault analysis. This research presents a novel method of including safety into the model-based design and analysis of complex systems using low-fidelity behavior simulations. Specifically, this research demonstrates the adaption of the functional design process to explicitly include the system property of safety in the system representation. Next, early design fault analysis is extended to connect component failure behavior to system-level hazards. Finally, this research develops three methods of results clustering to provide different evaluation metrics of the system design. In summary, this research demonstrates a framework for incorporating safety into early design decision making. This research addresses safety and failure in the design of complex systems incorporating diverse technology domains as found in energy, transportation, and aerospace systems. / Graduation date: 2012 Complex Systems Design Safety Risk Reliability Modeling Engineering design System safety Safety factor in engineering Engineering design -- Decision making System safety -- Decision making System design -- Reliability
3	A risk-informed decision making framework accounting for early-phase conceptual design of complex systems Van Bossuyt, Douglas L. 26 April 2012 (has links) A gap exists in the methods used in industry and available in academia that prevents customers and engineers from having a voice when considering engineering risk appetite in the dynamic shaping of early-phase conceptual design trade study outcomes. Current methods used in Collaborative Design Centers either collect risk information after a conceptual design has been created, treat risk as an afterthought during the trade study process, or do not consider risk at all during the creation of conceptual designs. This dissertation proposes a risk-informed decision making framework that offers a new way to account for risk and make decisions based upon risk information within conceptual complex system design trade studies. A meaningful integration of the consideration of risk in trade studies is achieved in this framework thus elevating risk to the same level as other important system-level design parameters. Trade-offs based upon risk appetites of individuals are explicitly allowed under the framework, enabled by an engineering-specific psychometric risk survey that provides aspirational information to use in utility functions. This dissertation provides a novel framework and supporting methodologies for risk-informed design decisions and trades to be made that are based upon engineering risk appetites in conceptual design trade studies. / Graduation date: 2012 Trade Study Complex System Design Risk Collaborative Design Center Risk Trading Risk-Based Design Utility Theory Risk Appetite E-DOSPERT Decision Support Psychometric Risk Survey Risk-Informed Decision Making Product Design Center Conceptual Design Systems engineering -- Risk management Systems engineering -- Decision making Engineering design -- Risk management Engineering design -- Decision making System design -- Risk management System design -- Decision making Product design -- Risk management Product design -- Decision making

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