Start with the problem in front of you

Describe the situation in ordinary words. For example:

“We can buy a controller, commission one, or build it ourselves. How do we compare the alternatives, including the work and cost that each leaves to us?”

Open Choose How the Project Will Obtain a Needed Engineering Result (SYSE.24). It compares complete ways to obtain the result. Equipment alone, integration, operating support, capability, access and eventual replacement can all change the choice. The first useful result may be a supported comparison or a question a supplier must answer.

Use the pattern’s Problem frame to recognize the difficulty, then its Solution to construct the needed result. Read the worked case and conditions when adapting the Method. Use the checklist to inspect the result, not as a replacement for the explanation. Bring in another Method when its contribution is needed; you can start from results the project already has.

If you cannot yet identify the right contribution, open the Engineering Reference. Its answers include external disciplines where engineering needs their results. Inclusion in a Reference answer does not make that supplier part of Engineering.