System Design and Case Study

Abstract

In designing any laboratory system (or indeed anything else) it is sensible to follow a logical procedure. The importance of design becomes apparent after one’s first creation, but the need to devote time and energy to design and the necessity of following a design procedure continues to impress me with increasing force after many creations. In lecturing on the topic to both students and practising laboratory scientists I continue to find that the standard reaction is: “Cut the philosophy - let’s get on and make something.” The number of times that this is followed, eventually, by “We can’t make it do that - we would have to rewrite the whole thing.” or “We can’t measure that as well - there are no spare address lines,” convinces me that this chapter should be the most valuable of all.