Experiment on a System-level Design Tool

System-level design pertains to questions of product or system architecture, configuration, and layout; and as such, provides an important bridge between conceptual engineering design work and detailed design decisions. Prior research indicates that this phase of design is important to successful outcomes of design processes, yet it is not well understood. This paper reports the development and experimental testing of a system-level design tool that aids student designers in improving design quality through enhanced understanding of system level design issues and alternative selection. We found that use of the tool produced significant improvements in design quality among two experimental groups of mechanical engineering students. By developing and testing this tool, we hope to prove the usefulness of tools that aid engineering design at a system level, particularly in reducing heavily iterative and nonproductive tasks.