Lesson 1: The Engineering Design Process
Professional engineers follow a structured process to solve problems. Learning this process gives you a powerful tool you can apply to any challenge — in engineering, science, business, or life.
Key Concepts
Ask and Research
Every engineering project starts with a question: What is the problem? Who needs it solved? What has been tried before? Research saves time by learning from others' work.
Prototype and Test
A prototype is an early test version of your design. It does not need to be perfect — it needs to test your idea. Build fast, test fast, learn fast. Then improve.
Constraints and Criteria
Constraints are limits you must work within: budget, materials, size, time. Criteria are what success looks like: the bridge holds 10kg, costs under $5, fits in a 30cm space. Good engineers define both before building.
🆕 Design Process Tracker
Work through a real engineering challenge using the design process.
Click each phase to learn what engineers do at that step.
✅ Check Your Understanding
1. What is a prototype?
2. What are constraints?
3. What should you do after testing reveals a problem?