The course lecture and deadline schedule are a dynamic document and subject to change.
You will be evaluated on the content and quality of each of the following reports that simulate the typical industrial design phases. You are required to submit periodic progress reviews. There will be two non-technical project progress reviews scheduled, one during the first half of the semester and another during the second half, which are intended to simulate typical industrial project monitoring to determine progress to plan and uncover any major project completion problems. The required project planning and reporting are described below. In addition, other professional development activities are included in the course. Lectures will cover such topics such as the Principles of Project Management, Teamwork, Communications, Organizations, Leadership, Personal Career Growth and Ethics. Guest lecturers will also present on topics such as: intellectual properties, communication skills (both written and verbal enhancement), marketing principles, and entrepreneurship. Attendance at all these lectures is mandatory for ALL students in the course.
We expect that every senior EECS student is capable of performing at the "A" or "B" level. However, no project design which does not work will receive an "A" grade — this is a fundamental requirement for a successful engineer. Although we expect every student to perform at the "A" or "B" level a sizeable number do not. The most common reasons for not receiving an "A" or "B" are:
(a) you fail to develop a good project management plan,
(b) you fail to follow the project management plan, or
(c) you simply do not put in the necessary work to achieve a successful project.
In order to be successful in (a) and (b), it is MOST IMPORTANT that you select a suitable project and team complement as soon as possible. A common reason for receiving a "B" or lower grade is when a project is put in a "wait-state" while special ordered parts make their way slowly to the project engineers. It is very important so get your designs done quickly so you can properly identify and deal with such project issues.
To lower the risk due to long part lead times, you should use a variant of a common design principle called “Design for Manufacturability”, which means in this case that you should use commonly available components if you plan to finish your project by the end of the semester. You should identify as quickly as possible special order parts or parts with long lead times and include appropriate time in your project plan.
Finally, it is essential that you make progress on your project each week. You CANNOT put senior project off until the end of the semester and expect to get a good grade. Instead it is more likely you will receive an "F". You should think of your project as being performed on your first job for your supervisor. He/She will not tolerate little progress toward completion nor late reports. If you encounter a problem that you can’t solve, ask for help from your advisor or the instructors. Your supervisor does not want you to fail in your assignment and we can help you develop alternate plans or contingency plans.
Finally, remember that Senior Project is a 4 credit senior level course. You should plan to devote at least 10-12 hours outside class each week during the semester if you expect to satisfy the project requirements and obtain a reasonable grade.70% of your grade will be based upon the instructor's and advisor's review of the technical work performed, the success of the project plan, and how well the final design meets your technical specifications. The remaining 30% of your grade will be determined by the quality and style of your oral presentations, your written reports and other work such as the ethics assignment.
Course component Technical Design Component Professional Component Project Concept document 0% 0% Project Proposal 5% 5% Design Review Meetings (2) 5% 2.5% Oral Status Reports (2) 5% 2.5% Interim Technical Report 10% 5% Patent disclosure 0% 2.5% Ethics paper 0% 2.5% Final Oral Presentation 10% 5% Final Technical Design Report 15% 5% Engineering Notebook * * Project Works to Specifications 20% 0% Total (100%) 70% 30% Note that project planning primarily appears in the professional component of your grade.
*Keeping an engineering notebook is optional, but highly recommended. It will be used as the sole basis of resolving team and grade disputes.
The Project Concept document is your commitment to work on a particular project. In this document you indicate the title of the project, the members of the team who will work on the project, and give a general explanation of what the team will do. It should be no more than 1-2 pages in length. This is an absolute requirement — you are not permitted to remain registered for the course without a project concept.
A proposal which specifies the project and your commitments (deliverables). This document will contain technical specifications, technical background, and a project plan and budget.
Twice during the semester your project team will be required.to give an 8 minute oral presentation to the entire class describing your project, what you are doing and plan to do, and what you have accomplished so far.
The week after each oral Project Status Report you will be required to meet with either Prof. Merat or Gura. This meeting will consist of a 30 minute lay-down presentation in which you can use paper documentation to explain the project management plan, what has been accomplished to date, what problems are facing the project team, and any necessary project schedule revisions.
This is not a direct part of your project but part of the overall course. This is a mini-project in which you will choose two cases which present "professional" ethical dilemmas, and write a 2-page (minimum) report which considers the case and reaches conclusions based upon IEEE, ACM and NSPE professional ethical codes.
One of the major results of engineering is the development of new ideas and products which constitute intellectual property. It is important that you recognize intellectual property and what to do with it. As part of this course you will research patents related to your design project, and complete a patent disclosure for your design project.
Engineering Notebook.
One of the most valuable things which an engineer or other professional should learn is to keep a proper engineering notebook. You will usually see engineers and scientists (especially those working for large corporations or research institutions) with a notebook. Many take it with them everywhere. You may think of this as a diary or blog for engineers in which such things as laboratory measurements or software performance, engineering designs, simulation results, specifications, information from technical seminars or papers read, and your general thoughts and ideas are recorded. Unlike a report which is highly structured and logically organized, a notebook is chronological and often not very neat. However, it is a diary of your individual engineering work.
Interim Technical Design Report.
This is basically a first draft of your final report. It should contain appropriate background to the project, explain what you plan to do, and describe what you plan to do to complete the project in the remaining time. This report will include an up-to-date project management plan and budget (as appropriate). Finally, it should also include a plan for how you will verify that your final product meets your design specification. This report is EXTREMELY important as it summarizes your design progress. Typically, it is a very good indication of how well you will do in the course.
This report should be written in a professional manner using proper English and organization. It should not be written in the first person and should not be chronological.
Final Oral Project Presentation.
Presentations will be allotted a 10-minute slot for one-person projects, and 25 minutes for multi-person projects. These presentations will be made to management (Merat & Gura), invited guests, and a subset of the class. The presentation will include a description of the project, the project team, the design goals, work done to meet the design specifications, a demonstration of the final working design, and a summary of how well the design meets the design specifications.
Final Oral Project Presentation Attendance (P/F).
Students are required to attend a minimum of three student presentations. Failure to attend three presentations will result in loss of one letter grade.
Final Technical Design Report.
This is the final written report of your project. Your final report will usually be based upon your Interim Technical Design Report and should contain appropriate background to the project, present your design specifications and requirements, any calculations and simulations, any test results, the current status of the project, and,as appropriate, how well does it meet the design specifications.
Assignments are due at 3pm on the specified date. Submissions may be made electronically by e-mailing to both of the instructors before the due date — two copies of assignments too large to e-mail should be turned in on CD or DVD to Cheryl Lange in Glennan 516. LATE WORK WILL RECEIVE ZERO POINTS unless permission of the instructor is obtained in advance.