-
Asked by 873aerf34 to Agata, Chris, John, Kirstin, Michael on 10 Jun 2016.
-
Michael Carley answered on 10 Jun 2016:
Yes, but that is the point of engineering.
Most real problems do not have simple correct answers. Instead, we have to find a compromise between different priorities (cost is usually the big one) and the final design is a balance between different requirements to get something which is `good enough’ in every category instead of `perfect’ in one and `poor’ in others.
Engineers usually have to learn to put their ideas forward but accept that their favorite method will not always be the one chosen. It is better to be a player on a winning team than captain of a losing one.
-
-
Kirstin Rouse answered on 11 Jun 2016:
This happens quite a lot due to a lack of resources, whether that be money, time or people available.
You/the team might have brilliant ideas that would lead to an amazing solution but you’ll have deadlines to meet so have to scale it down to something that’s do-able in the time frame. This is even worse if there aren’t enough engineers around to get the job done as planned – people wind up doing twice the work in half the time which is always a challenge!When we’re pitching new ideas to customers then cost is usually the main reason to reign in the ideas. We have to think of the cheapest way of giving them what they want so we tend to offer them a ‘basic solution’ which has a small price tag and then offer them all the added extras which are the really cool ideas. It’s then up to the customer what they get!
-
John Allport answered on 12 Jun 2016:
As a team leader, whether it’s in engineering, sport or any other team situation, it is your role to get the best result for the team. If you are a footballer, it’s great to score the winning goal, but it’s better for you to pass to your teammate who then has a clear shot at goal to get that result than for you to try a risky shot and miss. Teamwork in engineering is the same. If someone else has an idea which has a better chance of meeting the objectives than yours, then you have to take the decision and go with what is going to produce the better outcome. At the end of the day, being part of the winning team is what counts, not necessarily personal glory.
-
Agata Suwala answered on 13 Jun 2016:
Yes, usually you can only choose one idea that you can take all the way to building it. There is always quite a few constraints to deal with fro example money or timescales.
You have to prioritise and compromise between the different idea and choose the one you think will succeed.
-
Chris Hackett answered on 13 Jun 2016:
yes I have had to do this. Most of the time but you would be influenced to go for your own idea but you have to also take a view from another perspective and see if it will benefit the team also.
Comments