25 May Learn by Doing
The design phase of a project consists of poring over datasheets, attacking obstacles, mating parts together, and considering all of the shortfalls. Will parts overheat? How will I route the wiring? What about maintenance? I put together sketches to help envision the final components, and lots of time goes into calculations.
There’s little commitment while the design is still in my head. Anything can be changed in an instant.
There’s also little education. I don’t learn anything new from examining a design for the 23rd time. I might catch something based on a mistake I made in the past or other engineers might suggest improvements during an independent design review or impromptu brainstorming session. Everything we see in the design stems from what we already knew, and a few educated guesses.
Once I’ve put it all together in my mind and gotten input from my peers, the only way I can learn more is by building. Put it together, figure out the problems, make improvements. I created the design based on my experience, but the design is still changing. I’m sure I missed something
Maybe the first version isn’t perfect, but I can make it work. Test it. Find the flaws and make a list. Keep going. There’s more to learn.
I make improvements to this design and file away what I’ve learned for next time.
I build a second prototype. There’s more to learn.
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