Defining Complex Problems

In the first Episode of Season 5, Jill Fennell sits down with Georgia Tech alum Lawson Sumner to discuss the importance of defining complex engineering problems and navigating different audience needs and expectations in requirements engineering.

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Show Notes and Timestamps

• 00:44 Introduction to episode and guest
• 01:42 Guest background
• 03:38 Defining a complex engineering problem
• 07:00 Starting to design before understanding complex problems
• 11:02 Customer engagement and learning about problems beyond technical data
• 12:32 Examples of important information engineers can miss without customer consulting
• 14:27 Purpose of client and community engagement
• 16:45 Who gets overlooked in defining requirements
• 19:18 Awareness of power differences when working with customers
• 21:04 Importance of Listening Beyond Stated Requests and How customers explain needs
• 23:06 What can engineers learn that may influence design when they listen to people’s stories about using those products
• 25:02 Questions to ask to draw out more data or information from customers
• 25:50  Advice on what engineers can do to tell if they’ve understood the need accurately
• 26:52 Systems Engineering and the difference between business requirements and engineering requirements
• 30:58 Different requirement sources and bringing them together
• 32:41 Responsibility engineers have to consider ethical quandaries in requirements
• 34:35 Requirements and Iteration
• 36:57 Documenting iteration and changes and standard documentation
• 38:10 Advice for Beginning Engineers and Changing Requirements
• 39:15 Advice for first years to synthesize human needs and technical information
• 39:52 How listening to stakeholders has changed your work
• 40:49 Final thoughts and wrap-up

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Podcast Edited by Lee Hibbard