The Integration of Stakeholder Requirements within Aerospace Engineering Design Education

The design of an aerospace vehicle system is a complex integration process driven by technological needs, mission needs, cost, schedule, and the state of the industry. The vehicle then operates in an equally complex context, dependent on many aspects of the environment, the performance of stakeholders (including pilots, operators, and maintainers) and the quality of the design itself. Thus, it is critical to incorporate stakeholder requirements early and throughout the design process. However, students’ capstone design experiences in aerospace engineering curricula typically do not incorporate stakeholder requirements. In addition, few studies examine the industry preparedness of aerospace engineering graduates after such design experiences. This research fills this gap by reviewing the design processes and pedagogical techniques related to stakeholder requirements currently embedded in aerospace engineering design experiences and other design curricula. In this paper, we discuss aerospace engineering design curricula relative to the design paradigm held by several aerospace programs. Then we introduce perspectives of stakeholders within the aerospace community and other design-related fields (e.g. mechanical engineering, software development, and architecture). Finally, we describe a research study promoting student understanding of stakeholder requirements in the context in which aerospace engineering is practiced. This effort will help define competencies and specific content areas that can be integrated into senior aerospace design curricula.