Flowchart

Engineering capstone design process diagram template

An engineering capstone design process diagram: requirements, concept selection, detailed design, simulation, prototype, testing and report, with loops when targets are not met. Adapt it to your project, then export PNG, SVG, Word or PowerPoint free.

Yes

No

Yes

No

Detailed design

Structure and calculations

Controls and circuits

Software

Background research and requirements

Set design targets

Generate concepts

Compare and select a concept

System-level design

Modeling and simulation

Simulation meets targets

Build prototype or system

Testing

Design targets met

Find the cause and optimize

Compile drawings and data

Write the design report

Previewed in the “Light” theme; you can switch themes in the editor

When to use it

Use it in the proposal and midterm review of a capstone or senior design project in mechanical, electrical, civil or automation engineering. Engineering design sets targets first, compares concepts and then verifies by simulation and test, which are the two diamonds.

Make it yours

  • For a pure software system, replace detailed design with modules, database and interfaces; the library also has a system development template.
  • Civil projects have no prototype; replace the second half with structural calculations, construction drawings and cost estimate.
  • Give the design targets real values, in the node or in a note below.

Mermaid code

capstone-design-roadmap.mmd
flowchart TB
    A[Background research and requirements] --> B[Set design targets]
    B --> C[Generate concepts]
    C --> D[Compare and select a concept]
    D --> E[System-level design]
    subgraph X1[Detailed design]
        direction LR
        F1[Structure and calculations] --- F2[Controls and circuits] --- F3[Software]
    end
    E --> X1
    X1 --> G[Modeling and simulation]
    G --> H{Simulation meets targets}
    H -->|No| X1
    H -->|Yes| I[Build prototype or system]
    I --> J[Testing]
    J --> K{Design targets met}
    K -->|No| L[Find the cause and optimize] --> X1
    K -->|Yes| M[Compile drawings and data]
    M --> N[Write the design report]

Ask an AI for one with this structure

Send the prompt below to ChatGPT or Claude, then paste the whole reply into the editor; the code inside is detected automatically.

prompt.txt
Draw an engineering capstone design process diagram with Mermaid flowchart TB syntax. Background research and requirements, set design targets, generate concepts, compare and select a concept, system-level design. Use one subgraph for detailed design with three items joined by plain lines: structure and calculations, controls and circuits, software. Then modeling and simulation; if targets are not met, return to detailed design. If met, build the prototype or system and test it. If design targets are not met, find the cause, optimize and return to detailed design; if met, compile drawings and data and write the design report. Use diamonds for decisions and no parentheses in node text. Output only the mermaid code block.

FAQ

I have not started building. How do I draw it for the proposal?

A proposal shows the plan, so draw the full process as here. At the midterm review, recolor the nodes you have finished.

Should the schedule be on this figure?

No. A Gantt chart shows the schedule more clearly; the library has a thesis schedule Gantt template.

My advisor requires a specific line style.

The style panel changes line width, corners and fonts. For full control, export SVG and adjust it in a drawing tool.

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Updated 2026-11-11