Failure analysis is as easy as Monday-morning quarterbacking' design is more akin to coaching. However, the design engineer must do better than any coach, for he is expected to win every game he plays. That is a tough assignment when one mistake can often mean a loss. And when defeat occurs, all one can hope is to analyze the game films and learn from the mistakes so that they are less likely to be repeated the next time out.

It seems to be a law of design that for every advantage introduced through redesign, there is an accompanying unintended disadvantage.

You can almost say that a design error is a human error because, after all, it's we humans who do the designing.

Any design, whether it's for a ship or an airplane, must be done in anticipation of potential failures.

Everything we do is designed, whether we're producing a magazine, a website, or a bridge. Design is really the creative invention that designs everything.