Think Like an Engineer

by Guru Madhavan

At last engineering is getting its due; engineers are finally cool. But few of us understand the engineering mindset. It’s the mindset that came up with flatpack furniture, disposable nappies, and the postal code; that solved Stockholm’s traffic and the problem of bank closing times (the hole-in-the-wall); and whose seemingly simple ideas have saved countless lives, with innovations such as painting a line behind traffic lanes and combining GPS with 999. It’s a mindset much like a Swiss-army knife – multipurpose, combining structured and abstract thinking, common sense and great imagination, and cross-pollinating information from every possible sector.

With the help of a cast of star engineers and fascinating, unexpected real world examples, Madhavan offers a framework for thinking creatively, systematically and strategically so that we can all learn to make better decisions in a complex world.

Genres: Engineering, Nonfiction, Science, Technology, History

272 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 20, 2015

Reviews

[Bruce · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had great expectations of this book, some of which were met and many of which were not. On reflection, I think Madhavan's book could have been more accurately titled 'How Engineers Think'. On this it delivered. The book is full of entertaining and enlightening stories that get into the minds of engineers across historical, geographical and specialist boundaries. However, it disappointed me because it didn't help me as a reader to see how I could apply the models and perspectives in my own work. I was prepared to meet the author half way on the book jacket claim that 'Think Like an Engineer ... can help you solve problems, make better decisions and innovate in a complex world". Having an index helps, and there is a good section on 'Sources and Resources' for follow up but a few 'boxes' summarising the models and thinking tools and maybe providing some hints on how others outside the field of engineering have used them would have been very helpful. Modular systems thinking (p21); Heilmeier's checklist for innovation (p24); Ohno's '5-Whys' technique (p72); and, particularly, the 'structure, constraints, trade-offs' model that runs through the book would all have been candidates for 'boxed summaries' focusing on practical applications outside the realm of engineering.

Having read Madhavan's book I have a better understanding of the nature of engineering and a new-found respect for engineers. I just wish I felt better equipped to think like one!

[GreenTieRationalist · Rating 3 out of 5]

Admittedly I have a new found respect for Engineers after reading this. I was not so aware as to the extent of their involvement in so many things around us.

This book introduces the core elements of engineering being modular thinking, structure, constraints and trade offs it it's basic concepts recombination, optimization, efficiency and prototyping.

There is many practical examples of where and why these are important.

I wasn't so pleased with how these were delivered though.
The examples were written in a biographical or novel style only alluding to the relevance of an engineering element slightly towards the end of each story.
I feel that this was intentional but I don't feel it was implemented well or maybe I was just disappointed because the title didn't give any indication that the book would be like this.

An example of this where it went way too far was almost 20 pages dedicated to a story about a polluted Ganges river in Varanasi that was only to point out at the end about the different types of constraints in which didn't seem to have a solution to anyway.

[Ethan Allan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was an interesting take on engineering however failed to capture my interest consistently. The one-two page stories which stop abruptly, only to be carried on a few pages later were hard to follow and were at some points underwhelming. Despite this, there was a deep width of engineering-oriented stories, ranging from supermarket layouts to river cleanup projects. Clearly well researched also.

[Evan Micheals · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have long admired Engineers and if I had have been more ambitious and educated when I was younger, in an alternative Universe I might have been one. I have been saying to Michael since he was old enough to listen “become an Engineer”. He seems to have listened and has dreams of becoming an Aeronautical Engineer. I read this book imagining one day in the future I will have a language to speak about his Engineering Projects with him. Dad needs to be educated too.

This book by its own admission is about systemic thinking based on the CDIO acronym (Conceive, Design, Implement, Operate). It later covers project management and all aspect of running a business, no matter what the business. It remains concerned with the Entrepreneurial mindset. The author repeats 33% of CEO’s are Engineers, only 10% are from Business Administration numerous times throughout the book. He believes that the Engineering mindset, is a good one for education and life. The way he argues it I find it hard to disagree.

The author is interesting in the he is based in Malaysia, and bases a lot of his examples in Malaysia. Most of the authors I read are based in the US or Europe. The Asian influence in this book was refreshing. Once he is a bit older, I might steer Michael towards the MOOC (Massive Open Online Courses) that Madhaven describes. I sense in Madhaven an interest in Mental Wellness generally and in his students. He referenced his lectures on “brain rewiring” (a quintessential Engineering way of referring to mental health) as being important in the education of Engineers.

No non-fiction book I seem to read these days is complete without the reference to Nassim Taleb (who I think will be seen as the most important philosopher of the early 21st century). It seems you cannot write a serious non-fiction book about any subject without referencing Taleb. So it was that Madhaven referenced Taleb and Black Swans as an important consideration of any work of an Engineer. This is a useful book about thinking and deserves to be widely read. I gave this book a rare (for me) five stars.

[Aryaman Sharma · Rating 4 out of 5]

The several instances that the engineers, of vast backgrounds, in this book applied certain ways of creative thinking and came up with solutions really inspires me. It is really cool to see that what they have come up with is still being used today, all around us such as barcodes, postal codes, scanners, dams.

[David Crawford · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was disappointed by this book. It focuses on stories about how engineers have developed solutions to problems and the engineering principles seem secondary to the stories. I learned very little. It reminds me of Freakonomics. I expected this to give a useful insight in to how the world works but it was mostly statements of the blindingly obvious. This book is going straight to a charity shop where might serve the useful purpose of raising money.

[Abdulaziz Al-Mannai · Rating 3 out of 5]

Helpful, but not a lot. The beginning of the book was good by providing some useful insights on how previous engineers did it, but then the author just kept repeating stories and with the same moral which was boring. A lot of chapters could've been improved in my opinion.

[Z Sadiq]

Interesting book and a page-turner for me. Seemed it sometimes lost direction and focus, e.g. ending on analysis of film - why would the author do that at such a crucial point in the book? - leading to a suboptimal coming together of the end (NB: I understand in this section the author did mention engineers of tomorrow are already becoming enriched by 'forays' into other fields and hobbies, that was not lost on me).

Here are some of the terms used in the book, typically given in italics. Note: This is not a summary of concepts covered in the book, which are different, but useful terms to take away:

Parameter Variation
Modular Systems Thinking
Functional Binding
Point Solution, Platform Solution
Solution Space
Latent Preferences
Emergence
Master Planning
Continuous Optimisation
Pose Optimisation
Time and Motion Studies
Backward Design
Matrix Thinking
Function-Based Invention, Design-Based Invention
Systems Approach
Deep-Craft
Concurrent Engineering
Extension in [x]: Extension in Time, Extension in Space, Extension in Convenience
Aggressive Trade-offs, Conservative Trade-offs, Hybrid Engineering Principles
High Tech, High Touch
Adjacencies
Nirvana Fallacy
Systems Integration, Recombination, Compound Technologies
Interpretive Consistency
Transduction
Negative Constraints, Positive Constraints; Physical, Economic, Psychological Constraints
Constraint Programming, Declarative Constraint, Imperative Constraint
Denormalisation
Frame Mismatch, Hidden Variables
Root-Cause Analysis
Functional Prototyping, Conceptual Prototyping, Aesthetic Prototyping
Blind Engineering
Transformation (As a way of viewing engineering as formulating other things)
Test-Driven Development
Einstellung
Saturation Point
Responsive Design, Coinnovating, Contingent Coproduction
Black Ship Effect
Designer Fallacy, Intentional Fallacy

In a future edition, I would like to see a more full and perhaps vibrant description of the engineering mindset, based on the closing remarks about enrichment, rather than reducing it to simply 'modular thinking' and 'optimising to constraints' which was repeated too many times, in my estimation, and began to get old (of course I understand those things are still important and can't be underestimated if you are an engineer).

You may like this book if you find the subject of engineering interesting, and in the case you do (find engineering interesting) it's worth a read, especially with its short length.

[Dan Mirea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Guru Madhavan illustrates the engineering mindset through multiple short stories of people who tremendously innovated branches like photography, traffic optimisation or cash withdrawal.

Personally, I found Chapter 1 really insightful, as it offers a talkative overview of the engineering mindset, mainly describing the modular systems thinking and its constituent parts i.e. deconstructionism, reconstructionism and stepwise refinement. Something I wrote down from this thorough descripion is the checklist-like template for defining goals and eventual customers of an innovative new project, as follows:
- What are you trying to do? Articulate your objectives using absolutely no jargon.
- How is it done today, and what are the limits of current practice?
- What's new in your apporach and why do you think it will be successful?
- Who cares? If you're successful, what difference will it make?
- What are the risks and the payoffs?
- How much will it cost? How long will it take?
- What are the preliminary and final "exams" to check for success?

The author also notes that, unfortunately, the role of engineers and engineering in general tend to be discussed only when an airplane crashes, a bridge crumbles or some sort of technology fails. The engineer's reward is mainly his anonimity. This, however, can only be changed by raising awareness within society.

[Hayley Little · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book is series of small stories about engineering and often jumps from one back to another. This is a bit annoying as sometimes I was getting interested in a story and then the book jumps to something completely different.

It covered a very wide range of disciplines and things I wouldn't necessarily have even associated with engineering such as the invention of post codes and time zones - I hadn't really thought about the problems that would exist without them.

The sources and resources section at the end of the book was possibly the best reference section I've ever seen in a book and I can see myself reading through some of those in the future as some of the topics introduced seemed fascinating but were only covered briefly.

Overall it was whimsical, interesting and a little bit scatty... Not too sure it explained how to "think like an engineer" though...

[Tey Shi · Rating 3 out of 5]

A light read on how engineering affects our daily lives and unsung engineering heroes. The author avoids going into the technicalities and uses interesting case studies to illustrate the broad principles of engineering: finding the structure of all the interconnected parts, what are the constraints and trade-offs inherent (optimisation). He also talked about how enginners use prototypes/models to understand these principles better, and many atimes in real life, it's about adapting and learning from others as you go while enhancing efficiency and reliability. But you will be disappointed if you're hoping to learn in details the thinking model/process of engineers.

[Patrick · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is well written with great prose, historical details and intricacies of inventions and designs. These stories and narratives are used to pull out the engineering perspective in broad conceptual terms.

You quickly realise you won’t know how to think like and engineer in practical steps by the end. You will know the broad concepts of engineering, woven through historical narratives.

The book is only 190 pages so if you did pick it up for practicality by the time you realise, you’ll likely finish it without being too disheartened and instead be filled with very interesting historical details.

[Yates Buckley · Rating 1 out of 5]

A list of curated stories of discovery that are fit into bullet point categories to underline what “engineer thinking” should be, while implying it will always also be successful.

The whole book is based on fallacy that you can retrofit a selected series of successful historic stories to “principles” which are extracted from these. All this while ignoring the statistics of failures and successes obtained through completely different means: the lucky idiots, the bully financiers, the play of military influence etc..

This is a Gladwellian invention of what engineering is and why we stereotypically think it should be successful.

[Esteban Mulki · Rating 3 out of 5]

Probably reading it right after "How Design Makes the World" from Scott Berkun affected my assessment on this one. I was expecting to get into the engineers mindset but several of the stories covered on this book are from people I would hardly identify as engineers. Separation lines between management, design and engineering are way too blurry these days and the author falls into the trap of trying to put everything into the later one. Design as a concept works way better than engineering and Scott Berkun does a better work on selling us the aspirational feeling of being a designer. Shame on you Guru, shame on you.

[Jeroen van der Meer · Rating 1 out of 5]

Bought the book to learn an engineers mind, but got remarkably recognizable lessons instead: lessons from an economist. The examples provided in the first chapters are more economic in nature than engineering. Never mind the titles of the first chapters: Optimizing, Enhancing efficiency and reliability, Standardizing with flexibility. This book is well written and the examples are fun albeit average for any management book. But the title suggests something unique, which isn't there. This is called 'window dressing' in accountancy and should be frowned upon.

[Iain Hamill · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is interesting, especially the resources sections at the end from which I've added a good number of 'to-read' books.

Found the style a bit hard to follow at times, lots of jumping around. And the anecdotes are largely good and useful but sometimes a bit random. The intersection of engineering and economics was what piqued my interest the most even if some of the conclusions were a bit simplistic.

[Amnah Alsayyar · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is an interesting read. Information is well researched. However, if we related the title to the book content it might be misleading because the book is more of how engineers dealt with an issue/problem and convert it to something we use/ established daily. Other than that, the book was fun to read.

[Bob · Rating 3 out of 5]

Packed with insightful, enjoyable, real world examples throughout. Nice, easy reading. I particularly enjoyed the success stories from people you'd never of heard, but you know well the results of their work.

The structure, and purpose of the book, were lost on me. Some of the links somewhat tenous.

[Michiel · Rating 2 out of 5]

Rather than outlining how engineers think and how to apply this to your own life, this book is largely a collection of loosely connected anecdotes about engineers. Would only recommend to a non-technical person.

[Sue-Anne Lim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant! Having a tidy mind helps you to force see insights on how the world works amidst noise and clutter of distraction. Thinking like an engineer means focusing on structure, consider the constraints and decide on the trade offs. Amazing mind opener.

[Cod Er · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a collection of anecdotes featuring engineers. Some of the are interesting but there’s very little to takeaway from this book. The book is more about stories than actual engineering principles, contrary to what it promises.

[Sidharth Asoka · Rating 5 out of 5]

It focuses less on actual engineering concepts but more on the engineering and problem solving mindset. However, it is very insightful to learn about different tools, such as prototyping and optimisation, which engineers must utilise in their works.

[Cameron Pritchard · Rating 3 out of 5]

I mean, it’s okay. More about the accomplishments of engineers and the history of it. The title “think like an engineer” is a bit misleading. The book mainly focuses on civil and mechanical engineering with a pinch of physics and electrical engineering.

[Lils · Rating 4 out of 5]

inspiring new ways of thinking and problem solving. fun to read and recommended!

[Antonia F · Rating 5 out of 5]

so many inspirational engineers

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very well written analysis of the engineering mind set and what that actually entails, with loads of node case studies to prove points, and convey the message in an easy to understand way

[Huw · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well balanced and informative book. I'm definitely a fan of Guru Madhavan

[Afraic Ní Ríordáin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Q

[Ariënne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not groundbreaking. Still some interesting points of view.

[Nathan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I impulse bought this in a shop because I'm keen to get a better understanding of some of the key ideas in engineering, but instead got a selection of quite poorly told stories.