Peter W. Sauer
This book is probably the first engineering book that I have ever read that has no equations. I have always told my wife that I will not read anything that does not have equations or figures/pictures. This book does have figures and pictures plus a whole lot of good ideas on how to improve engineering design by considering input from the users/customers.
The real value of this book lies in several connections to the social context of the users of engineering projects. The book immediately focuses on the most important step in considering the social context of solutions. That step is asking the right questions. These questions typically involve the impact of the project on users from a wide range of economic income and opportunities. This includes the option of the rich subsidizing the poor and their willingness to improve the social standing of the many. And of course, education enters almost all aspects of this approach. This approach must incorporate local knowledge and local capabilities, values, and beliefs. The text emphasizes that engineering design must consider the conditions of people, places, and time. One solution is to engage in sociological inquiry (ask questions) to better understand the dynamics of the local culture.
One paragraph at the end of section 1.2 highlights the issues of this book:
You may have noticed that many of the scholars cited in this section have considered for decades the detrimental impact of Western technology standards upon nonindustrialized populations. These are not new concepts, and yet they continue to be ignored by engineers under the assumption that the science and math of technical design somehow transcend the complications of working with people, identities, and values. Contextual Engineering challenges this assumption.
The cases cited seem to be extreme situations that would not often be encountered by an engineer in the civilized world. And the solutions tend to be a “last resort, common sense” approach that works better than sophisticated designs using modern materials and ideas. The text includes a very interesting discussion of engineering design standards and the international issues with trying to guide the design. It would be nice to have the text go through a case where local standards conflict with traditional standards and show how these two things can coexist.
The text could be improved by having case studies where contextual engineering led an engineering design to an improved successful result. This would include an example of how the questions asked of the users impacted the design outcome. It might also include some aspects of the importance of education in changing social outcomes. But, as written, the text does highlight the issues associated with adapting engineering designs to local customs and tradition, which can have a major impact on project success.
The “Parable of the Sanitation Program” demonstrated an excellent reason for the existence of contextual engineering—a case of the funders and the engineers debating the how to judge the value of a project and the success of the project outcome.
—Peter W. Sauer
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/MPE.2023.3247051
Date of current version: 19 April 2023
1540-7977/23©2023IEEE