Part 1 Design

Before attempting any to produce any Engineering Design the following should be borne in mind. Sometimes called Murphy's Laws (many other names are also used) they may seem somewhat facetious, unfortunately all too often they contrive to ruin the smooth running of many a project.

  1. If anything can go wrong it will.
  2. Nothing is ever as simple as it first seems.
  3. Everything you decide to do always costs more money than you estimated.
  4. Everything takes longer than you expect.
  5. If you improve or tinker with something long enough, it will eventually break.
  6. If you try to please everybody, somebody is not going to like it.
  7. It is a fundamental law of nature that nothing ever quite works out.
  8. Whatever you want to do, you have to do something else first.
  9. It's easier to get into a thing than to get out of it.
  10. If you explain something so clearly that no one can misunderstand someone will.
  11. Any time things seem to be going better, you've overlooked something.
  12. Nothing is impossible for a person who doesn't have to do it themselves.
  13. Once a job is fouled up, anything done to improve it makes it worse.

As you can see there are thirteen laws. Don't get too depressed Engineering can be very interesting and challenging, just be very careful and meticulous in your preliminary work and be prepared to justify everything you produce.

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Pages created by David Price - 9/08/95
This Information is an educational resource and is not to be reproduced (other than for private study) without written consent of the University of Southampton. copyright © Dave Whatley 1995
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