Capstone Design. The Law of Unintended Consequences

Transcription

1 Capstone Design Societal Impact of Engineering II Societal Impact of Engineering II (1 of 12) The Law of Unintended Consequences No matter how good a proposed solution seems to be, it will have some unintended side effects. Societal Impact of Engineering II (2 of 12) 1

2 Procedure to Minimize Unintended Consequences We begin by enumerating a set of activities that practicing engineers can perform to ensure, as best as possible, that Unintended consequences are limited, Society is informed of the tradeoffs involved in an engineering solution, and Society gives approval before the solution is implemented After listing the activities, we will provide various resources that may be helpful in performing the suggested activities Societal Impact of Engineering II (3 of 12) Activities 1. Fully research solutions before making design decision. This means carefully looking at all potential solutions and assessing their societal and environmental impacts as well as their technical effectiveness. 2. Research standards, regulations, and laws and make sure you are complying with them in letter and intent Look at the history behind the regulations to better understand the problems they are attempting to prevent. 3. Identify comparable solutions (and technologies) that have already been implemented; examine their societal impacts 4. Identify recent technological and societal trends and extrapolate See if you can anticipate how your design will evolve (consider improvements designed both by your company and by others). Societal Impact of Engineering II (4 of 12) 2

3 Activities (continued) 5. Employ formal, disciplined design methodology throughout the design process This is especially important in testing and validation. In addition to lab testing and possibly simulations, you may wish to include a small group of Alpha and Beta customers. 6. Examine costs versus benefits for your solution Be sure to examine from both your company s perspective and from society s perspective (societal and environmental impact; health and safety issues ) 7. Research how past products have been used in unintended ways and anticipate ways in which your product/solution may be misused Societal Impact of Engineering II (5 of 12) Activities (continued) 8. Use an independent group of experts or consultants to review your decisions and to offer ideas you may have missed 9. Have non-engineers look at solution and assess impact 10.Don t just look at our society; in a global marketplace we need to also consider impact on other societies 11. Think both short-term and long-term 12.Develop contingency plans - ask yourself how you can handle problems from unintended consequences 13. Examine patent and intellectual property laws 14.Consider a marketing analysis and a limited marketing release (see also next slide) Societal Impact of Engineering II (6 of 12) 3

4 Informing Society and Gaining Society s Informed Consent To inform society of tradeoffs and potential impacts and to obtain societal permission to implement solution: Use appropriate media and write in lay people s terms If appropriate, attend and present solution and concerns at regulatory meetings Consider a limited marketing release Develop plan for assessing society s opinions and have plan for addressing societal concerns Town hall meetings, Public Utility Council meetings, focus groups, and referenda may be appropriate tools Present findings at professional meetings and solicit responses Societal Impact of Engineering II (7 of 12) Resources to help study similar problems, previous solutions, and their societal impact Internet search engine for problem, key words, solutions, etc. Technology, general, and financial i journals and periodicals (library journal search, IEEE publishes a vast number of technical journals) Consumer protection groups Talk to senior engineers in the field Talk to quality assurance group about problems with products they ve introduced in the past IEEE Society on Social Implications of Technology Patent office Societal Impact of Engineering II (8 of 12) 4

5 Resources to help research any laws and regulations which may exist concerning a proposed solution Web sites and publications from governmental agencies such as EPA, OSHA, FDA, FCC, US Code of Federal Regulations ( Be sure to also consider state and local governmental agencies Outside companies (consultants and law firms) specializing in compliance In-house people if your company has them (most do) Quality Assurance people within your company Societal Impact of Engineering II (9 of 12) Resources for testing and validation Talk to company test group and find out how they tested similar products/solutions in the past both engineering and quality assurance Also check technical literature for test procedures concerning similar solutions Alpha and beta versions Test all known input/output combinations (not realistic) and be sure to test in realistic environments Use similar products to help evaluate responses to unknown inputs Simulate Bug tracking Societal Impact of Engineering II (10 of 12) 5

6 Some Possible Procedures Consult experts on allied technologies Address issues that are uncovered Assess similar technologies and their impacts Map these studies into your application Develop description in non-technical terms Non-technical focus groups Public forums Consult elected or other societal officials Consult both proponent and opponent groups on related issues Public education Societal Impact of Engineering II (11 of 12) Some Possible Procedures (continued) Assess legal ramifications with lawyers Seek appropriate regulatory approval Investigate the environmental impacts of the manufacturing/production process Ensure compliance with relevant industry standards Assess: Solution life-cycle Economic impact Energy impact Political impact Consider trial release Monitor impact over time for remediation efforts and for lessons learned Societal Impact of Engineering II (12 of 12) 6