Glossary
ABET
Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology, the organization that accredits engineering curricula in the United States
Applied research
Extension of basic research with a focus on a perceived practical need
Basic research
Research that creates new knowledge or techniques that explain natural phenomena or human behavior, or aid in their application to human needs
Best practices
Any collection of advanced engineering design techniques that provides design excellence and high-quality products for a given product line or company
Concurrent design
Engineering design practice that combines the concerns of marketing, functional product and process design, production, field service, recycling, and disposal into one integrated procedure
Continuous improvement
A process by which products and processes are improved year after year through study, application of sophisticated techniques, and experience; applied to the product realization process, it reduces development cycle time and final cost of the product
DARPA
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, responsible for basic and applied research associated with the needs of the Department of Defense
DFX, Design for “X”
A collection of techniques for emphasizing aspects of design such as assembly, plastic molding, field repair, and so forth (the X' s); distinct from traditional design focus on product function
Engineering analysis
The technical process by which the behavior, performance, quality, and cost of an entity are predicted on the basis of engineering descriptions and specifications (the reverse of design)
Engineering design
The technical element in the product realization process that involves the application of knowledge and techniques from engineering, science, aesthetics, economics, and psychology in establishing specifications for products and their associated production processes; the technical process by which engineering descriptions and specifications are formulated to ensure that a product will possess the desired behavior, performance, quality, and cost (the reverse of engineering analysis)
Engineering design practices
The collection of knowledge, techniques, and computer aids available to designers in pursuit of their profession; examples include concurrent design, design for assembly, Taguchi methods, quality function deployment, the six sigma method, solid modeling
Heuristics
A collection of ad hoc bits or kernels of knowledge gained from experience
Just-in-time (JIT)
A method of manufacturing by which parts and assemblies are made or delivered as needed, thereby greatly reducing inventory
Life cycle cost
The total cost to society of an item over its entire life, from initial concept through manufacturing and use to disposal
Manufacturing
The process of producing component parts, assemblies, and complete products, including fabrication, assembly, test, storage, and distribution
NIST
The National Institute of Standards and Technology, formerly the National Bureau of Standards, is part of the Department of Commerce. The change in name was put into effect under the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988, as signed into law on August 23, 1988
NSF
The National Science Foundation, the federal agency responsible for promoting and advancing scientific and engineering progress in the United States
Precompetitive research
Research of high potential value but of such breadth and risk that the resources required to sustain it are unlikely to be available at a single location; it may be too applied for most universities and yet too remote from specific applications for a single industrial firm to support, thus requiring social (governmental) support
Product development cycle
The time it takes to create and bring to market a new product design
Product realization process
The process by which new and improved products are conceived, designed, produced, brought to market, and supported. The process includes determining customers' needs, translating these needs into engineering specifications, designing the product as well as its production and support processes, and operating those processes
Quality function deployment
A process for systematically translating customer requirements into appropriate technical requirements during all stages of product development from the earliest stages of product design through production
Quality loss function
A calculation of loss of quality as a function of deviation from desired performance; usually a continuous, not discrete, function
Six sigma method
A statistical method for quantifying the degree of deviation permitted by parts, products, and processes that guarantees that failure will typically occur less than three times in a million opportunities
Solid modeling
A technique for representing the properties of solid objects in a computer model
Taguchi methods
Generic term covering a variety of methods for statistically determining required quantitative features of a design or a manufacturing process that render it robust against disturbances, variations, and uncertainties, with the objective of reducing quality loss
Total quality management (TQM)
A set of principles having a primary purpose of increasing value to the customer and involving continued attention to quality at every step of the product realization process by all members of the organization
