What I mean by 'Engineering' and 'Product'
I understand Engineering as the Design, Development, Build, Operation and/or Support - whichever applies - of technical Products as well as Systems of End-Products.
Products include
- Parts
- Components
- Systems, and
- End-Products.
A Part is a hardware item, which is not integrated with any other item, and which cannot be disintegrated other than by destruction.
A hardware item created via integration (e.g. assembly, installation, welding) of any of Parts, other Components, or hardening materials such as binders and fillers, is called a Component.
A System is an assembly and/or installation of Parts and Components (possibly with software integrated) intended to deliver defined functions to a client. Examples include pumps, valves, car engines.
An End-Product is a System, or an assembly and/or installation of Systems, intended to deliver functionalities* to a client, who usually is acting as its operator. The End-Product is not intended to be subjected to any further assembly or installation processes. It can be broken down into System(s), Components and Parts. Examples include sub-marines, ships, oil platforms, power plants, washing machines, television sets, cars, aircraft and spacecraft - to name just a few.
A System of End-Products can then be seen as a set of End-Products intentionally connected to each other to ensure operability of at least one of its End-Product members. Examples include a spacecraft with its ground station (i.e. representing two distinct End-Products) and the air transportation system with aircraft and airports. I do not regard a System of End-Products in its entirety as a Product on its own.
(*) While a ‘function’ processes an input into an output according to a defined rule in such a way, that the output is deterministically known as long as the input is known, a ‘functionality’ refers to the capability and suitability of an aggregate of many ‘functions’.
Example: although each mouse click applied to a function of a graphics software tool produces an expected outcome (e.g. change of colour) , many clicks using different functions can generate a huge and unpredictable variety of graphics.