During seven years of independent engineering consulting, this workflow has been used to engineer systems across their entire lifecycle, from the identification of stakeholder needs to operation and maintenance.
The same workflow is currently used for personal, private and open-source projects.
The process continues to evolve over time and is open to improvement, provided that the scientific method remains the fundamental principle behind it.
Scientific Method
Engineering is the scientific method applied to creation.
A. The Scientific Method of Discovery (Understanding Reality)
- Observation: Identifying a physical or operational phenomenon.
- Hypothesis: Proposing a model or explanation for the phenomenon.
- Experiment Design: Setting up controlled conditions to test the model.
- Experimentation: Execution and data gathering.
- Data Consistency Verification: Ensuring experimental data is sound and repeatable.
- Hypothesis Validation: Confirming or refuting the proposed model.
- Natural Law / Theory: Establishing reliable principles.
B. The Scientific Method of Creation (Engineering & Synthesis)
- Requirements (Hypothesis of Need): Defining what problem needs to be solved and what functional constraints must be met (e.g., Phase 0/A MDD & URD).
- Behavioral Design: Architecting how the system will behave to satisfy the requirements without violating physical or logical boundaries (SRS & Architecture).
- Implementation/Manufacturing Procedure: Formulating the rigorous, reproducible steps required to build the artifact (coding standards, MISRA-C, Power of 10, build pipelines).
- Implementation / Execution: Fabricating or coding the artifact according to the procedure.
- Procedure Conformance: Confirming that the artifact was built exactly as specified by the procedure (static analysis, unit testing).
- Behavioral Verification: Proving that the artifact’s actual behavior matches the original requirements (via SITL and HITL testing).
- Prototype / Product Validation: Deploying the verified artifact into its operational plant environment (such as UAV flight validation).
Engineering Workshop Workflow
Knowledge should live in artifacts, not in people.
This workflow exists to ensure that critical engineering decisions remain explicit, reviewable and traceable throughout the system lifecycle.
⚠️ The workflow diagram is currently being decomposed into individual phases and roles to improve readability and navigation. Future versions will provide an interactive representation of the process.