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Engineers Troubleshoot Problems Like Doctors Diagnosis Sicknesses |
 Dave
Palmer has a good piece on the Design News website titled "How
to Be a 'Doctor of Engineering' Without Going to Grad School" about
how, according to input from his son who is in medical school, the diagnosis
technique being taught to aspiring doctors is similar to the troubleshooting
technique used by (in Dave's case) mechanical engineers to get to the
root of problems that are reported by customers. Doctors, at least during
their training phase, use a four-step process termed "differential diagnosis."
The doctor first notes symptoms and medical history, then considers
possible causes for the malady, then prioritizes the list according
to likelihood, and finally tests his conclusions by applying diagnosis
and curative techniques. The parallel to electronic as well as mechanical
troubleshooting is apparent. My guess is that most professional disciplines
employ similar strategies when attacking not just problems, but when
strategizing with "what-if" scenarios for new ventures. Such an approach
has worked well, but there is always room for improvement. Maybe what
is needed is a socialized approach where government bureaucrats will
usurp the industry to dictate how engineers are allowed to troubleshoot
problems, decide which repair methods are acceptable, and finally determine
whether the circuit or widget is worth saving based on its rated value
to the rest of the industry. It would suck to have a medical system
like that, right?Posted
October 22, 2013 |
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