This paper on "Is Design Engineering?" was presented at the NAFEMS World Congress on Design, Simulation & Optimisation: Reliability & Applicability of Computational Methods - 9-11 April 1997, Stuttgart, Germany.

Introduction to Paper

In other words, "Do designers create a product by using engineering theory and practice to create an efficient design which performs to specification?"
I would like to use this question to explore the role of designers, engineers and analysts in the design processes of modern engineering companies, and whether universities and other academic institutions produce graduate engineers capable of enriching and integrating with the design processes within these companies. As an introduction, I would like to discuss a marketing based approach to a simple method of designing a successful product, which may be applied equally well to producing a successful graduate engineer.