A process which translates a set of owner's requirements into the drawings, specifications, and other technical data necessary to actually build a ship. Naval architects lead the process, but engineers and designers with many other skills contribute. These other skills include marine engineering, structural design, and production engineering. The ship design process is iterative, and is subdivided into several phases during which the design is developed in increasing degrees of detail. Typically, the owner's requirements specify the mission that the new ship must perform and define such parameters as required speed, fuel endurance, and cargo weight and capacity. Generally, the cost to build and operate a ship is constrained by the prospective owner since the ship will be part of a transportation or industrial system, which must be profitable. The ship design process involves numerous trade-off studies in order to achieve the desired capability and, at the same time, stay within the established cost.