Is Prototyping Design Output or Design Verification?

[dyeysi]

Hi Covers!

I'd like to know your opinion about this..
Is prototyping a design output or design verification?
I understand that during the design output, R&D engrs do mechanical drawings, schematic diagrams, electrical diagrams, BOMs to meet the input requirements. Design verification checks if the output meets the input requirements. Where does protoyping included?

I am a little confused right now..
Please enlighten me..
thanks

 

[AndyN]

In my experience a prototype is built and tested as a design verification activity. Once the test results were reviewed, then the next phase of design can be entered.

 

[Jim Wynne]

In my experience a prototype is built and tested as a design verification activity. Once the test results were reviewed, then the next phase of design can be entered.

Yes, and design output generally consists of specifications and requirements.

 

[markl368]

Some of the definitions depend on the industry you're working in. For example, the FDA states the following in its small entity compliance guide:

"Design input includes determining customer needs, expectations and requirements plus determining regulatory, standards, and other appropriate requirements. These various requirements are documented by the manufacturer in a set of device requirements. A set of design input requirements, when converted to engineering terminology, finalized and accepted as part of the device master record is called a device or product specification."

The FDA lists a separate procedural requirement under "Design Transfer" for final specification development. So basically, FDA considers product specs (at least the initial ones) to be design inputs. But I know that's not how everyone defines it.

The whole process is a continuum. The key thing regardless of the industry is to: 1) Plan design activities, 2) Determine the requirements, 3) Execute the initial design, 4)Test the design to see if it met requirements, 5) Change the design if you have to until you can confirm you met the requirements, 6)Document the process, specs and changes, and 7) Get the customer to confirm it's what they wanted.

If you do these things, you should meet requirements for controlling designs regardless of what you want to call the different steps.

 

[harry]

....................... The whole process is a continuum. The key thing regardless of the industry is to: 1) Plan design activities, 2) Determine the requirements, 3) Execute the initial design, 4)Test the design to see if it met requirements, 5) Change the design if you have to until you can confirm you met the requirements, 6)Document the process, specs and changes, and 7) Get the customer to confirm it's what they wanted.

If you do these things, you should meet requirements for controlling designs regardless of what you want to call the different steps.

Good post and advice from Mark. Prototype is certainly verification if used to confirm design assumptions especially for those designs that are new and unconventional but again depending on what you are designing, it could be both verification and validation if used to check designs, buildability and aesthetics.

 

[dyeysi]

Thank you all for enlightening me..

 

[Paul Simpson]

It depends!

How do you describe your design process?

1. The initial BOM is an output of the design process
2. The activity of building a prototype verifies the BOM and intial build spec
3. The built prototype is an output of the initial build verification
4. The built protype is then maybe verified against a test specification
5. The tested prototype is an output of the test programme
6. You get the idea ....

 

[yodon]

I would agree with all the above posts *IF* you intend to collect data using the prototype. If it's just going to be used in marketing shows, then no need to jump through unnecessary hoops. If you are going to use it to, say, verify some aspects of the design, then by all means, design controls should be met.

And I would consider it a design output - something that can be used in design verification.

 

[Big Jim]

Hi Covers!

I'd like to know your opinion about this..
Is prototyping a design output or design verification?
I understand that during the design output, R&D engrs do mechanical drawings, schematic diagrams, electrical diagrams, BOMs to meet the input requirements. Design verification checks if the output meets the input requirements. Where does protoyping included?

I am a little confused right now..
Please enlighten me..
thanks

I think by now you're beginning to get the picture. It is not a simple one or the other, rather it can touch on several aspects of design. When you stop and think about it, many of the elements of design overlap each other. Design review, for example, is a part of all of the rest.

 

[dyeysi]

Our company is doing design on signalling devices (e.g. beacons). I get the idea of the design output and verification.
For the design output, our R&D engineers prepare schematic diagrams, mechanical drawings, BOMs and software programs. To be able to verify these outputs against the input, we build prototype of these drawings and designs and see whether it meets the required specifications. Functional testing follows according to our test plans.

Thank you for all your help!