- Essence of systematic design processes 1. Define the goal 2. Clarify boundary conditions by defining constraints to the design space 3. Dispel prejudice which could taint the results, bias the design freedom 4. Search for variants 5. Evaluate based on the goals and requirements 6. Make decisions facilitated by objective evaluations - In conceptual design (phase 2), we determine the *principle* of a solution - Functional decomposition breaks down a product into its sub/functions, turn into morphological matrix - Embodiment design (phase 3): fleshing out a selected concept, refinement