Comfortable Chair

Support Body

Be Comfortable

Look Comfortable

Adjustability

Durability

Material Density [kg/m3]

Reclinability [mm]

Damping [Ns/mm]

Material Type [%]

Stiffness [N/mm]

Chair Size [mm]

Bolstering [mm]

Stain Resistance

Mobile carriage

Comfortable Chair

Support Body Be Comfortable Look Comfortable Adjustability Durability

Comfort Test

Strength Test

GEORGIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY ME 2110-E Creative Decisions and Design

Spring 2013 Homework #1 Problem Understanding Irvin Jose Centeno - 902858122
Before diving into the actual process of designing any product, the designer/engineer must first understand the problem and requirements such a product must meet. In this case we focus on the problem understanding process of designing a comfortable chair. First off, we turn our attention to the voice of the customer. An individual looking to acquire a comfortable chair might argue that it needs to support his/her body, be comfortable, look comfortable, be adjustable, and be durable in order to meet his/her criteria of a comfortable chair. These are the characteristics that a designer/engineer interprets as the design objectives/requirements. Following the design

objectives/requirements, come the engineering requirements, these are the aspects that an engineer must consider in order to meet the design objectives. In this case aspects such as size, material density and type, stiffness, damping, mobility, reclinability, stain resistance, and bolstering, all come to play. Also human factors such as a comfort test and strength test form part of the engineering requirements. We can observe how the design requirements relate to the engineering requirements by referring to the form on the next page. A circle with a dot () represents a strong relationship, a circle () a medium relationship, a triangle () a weak relation, and an empty space means no relation.