Documentation in Mechanical Design

When anyone thinks of design, they immediately conjure up images of concept sketches behind paper napkins, using the CAD tool, calculations notebook, FMEA, FEA, drafting, etc, etc. All, mind you, terribly important processes which would make design robust in the real world. Very rarely, unless one has been through the grind, does anyone think of the filing of paper napkin sketches, research on the internet, minutes of meetings of brainstorming sessions, minutes of meetings of client requirement meetings, etc.

Belonging and taught by a generation to which filing actually means physical files and not an icon in a computer, I would almost always be referring to the former when i use the word files.

Every design idea, however small, starts with a discussion and a few concept sketches on paper. The next immediate step should be to start a folder with the name of the project. Make a minutes of the discussion and file it along with the concept sketches. This is, if its a new product idea. If its a requirement from a client then the minutes of discussion should also hold minute details of the client's requirement. Mind you, the client almost always doesn't have the full idea of the requirement. Details of studies conducted on the client's behalf also go into the folder. The calculations, measurements, off-the-shelf product selection, reason for material selection, reason for selection of manufacturing process, reasons for every chamfer, fillet, major/minor dimension, all SHOULD go into the folder. Mind you, you'd better have reasons for all the above and more. That is before the usual culprits of control copies of FEA reports, FMEA and manufacturing drawings, etc.

Why is this important? Why can't we just NOT file all these details? Lets say, at the half way stage of product development, a lot of doubts arise regarding the end result of the project or a new consultant feels things could have been done differently. A complete root cause analysis is required on the direction of the project. If no proper filing has been done, would it be possible to remember all the small details which make up the direction of the project? The folder is necessary to trace all the small steps which have been made till now. The more systematic/scientific the filing system is, the more easy and faster can this mid-life crisis of the project be overcome. Mistakes wont be committed again.

Great designs and products have never been made without design documentation. It is the backbone of every product development cycle, good or bad. Great products have been lost without good, solid documentation to back it up. History is replete with such examples.