We have developed a report format which is to the point and allows sufficient flexibility for students to document almost any type of project. Please try to follow this format as it makes the grading of the project more uniform and also ensures that the information we need to evaluate your project is present.
Some comments about writing are in order because you will be graded both on the technical content of your report and on the quality of your writing.
- Be sure to use your spell checker. Misspelled words are not professional.
- Write in the third person. DO NOT say I or we. Professional papers are very impersonal and written in the third person.
- A technical report is NOT a lab book or diary. Present the information in a concise, logical manner. You do not need to detail what you did each day or the order in which you did things except in your project plan.
- Number the pages of your report.
This format is very similar to that of the final report and allows you to use the mid-semester report as the basis for your final report.
Title page (separate page)
This contains the project title, team member's names and signatures, technical advisor and sponsor name(s) and signature(s), and the date all on one page. This is the cover for your document and it should look professional (ask us for a sample template).
Executive Summary (separate page)
This is a one page standalone document which contains the project title, team members names, date, and a brief description of the project and its results. Describe the goal(s) of your project, why it is important, and what it is expected to do when completed. You may describe how well the project works, what specifications were met, which were not and why. Basically the Executive Summary should describe your project to someone outside the class who does not have any prior knowledge of your project. The executive summary may be single spaced to make it fit on one page. All you need to do is update the Executive Summary from your proposal.
Table of contents (optional, separate page)
A professional report will contain a table of contents listing each section title and the page on which it begins. This is especially important for a long report.
1. Introduction (this begins the report and is where you should begin page numbering)
This is where you can give general background or history relevant to your project. For example, why this project is important, how it will be used, or any similar sort of general project information can be put here.
2. Design and Technical Results
2.0 Introduction - Give a short overview of what you have accomplished so far. For example, you may have researched the information necessary to design something. Or you may have completed the analysis of data prior to designing a mathematical model to describe it. Or, you may have already actually designed something.
2.1 Design Specification - Describe what your final design is supposed to do. This is where you should list the technical or functional specifications and any additional design requirements. For many projects this will be easy to write. However, for many projects such as the simulations encountered in systems engineering the specifications may come from the verification plan. For example, what outcomes should the simulation give for specific known inputs.This section is very important as these specifications are what we will use at the end of the semester to determine if your project worked.
2.2 Design Results - You may have no experimental results at this point in your project,but, in general, this is where you should describe what your design actually does. This section should be very factual and can include experimental measurements, simulation results, screen shots, or anything else which can be used to describe how well your project works.
3. Methodology
3.0 Introduction - Give an overview of how you are actually performing the project design. Are you using simulations, performing engineering calculations, building experimental prototypes and testing them?
3.1 Final Design- This is where you should describe your design in as much detail as possible. You can include circuit or mechanical drawings, software pseudo code, flowcharts, mathematical models, or anything else which describes your design in this section.
3.2 Alternative Designs - Did you investigate any other designs which didn't work or simply didn't work as well? This is where you can describe everything else you did that will not end up in the final design.
3.3 Design Plan - Present the project plan showing the original approach and any changes. Emphasize which changes were necessary to work around any problems encountered during the project.
4. Verification
This section will become somewhat different in your final report!
This is where you should describe your verification plan,i.e., how do you plan to verify that your design meets your specifications.
If you have already done some testing of your project you should describe your test results here. You might also want to check out Section 4 of the final technical report section of this Web page to see what we will be looking for in your final report.
You can conclude this section with a discussion of what is good or bad about your design. Based upon what you now know are there better ways to design it?
5. Administrative
Describe the team responsibilities. Who actually is doing what parts of the project? This should be explained using the project management plan. It is expected that each team member will have both administrative and technical responsibilities.
Describe how well the project management plan is working. Were there unforeseen problems with any of the tasks that you have had to work around? Are there delays in obtaining parts or software? Were major changes to the management plan or back-up plans required and implemented? What work arounds were necessary to keep the project on schedule?
6. Design Implications
Does your design have any implications or concerns involving cost, ethics, environmental impact, sustainability, manufacturability, health & safety , or social or political impact? If so, discuss them here. We have discussed manufacturability in class. Health, safety, and environmental impact will be discussed later in the course.
7. Conclusions and Continuing Work
Describe what is working and what did not work being as short and factual as possible.
Briefly describe what work remains to be done to finish this project. Is there follow-on work (design modifications, testing, or packaging) which could be done next semester?
Appendices
Use appendices as appropriate. These can contain detailed program listings, user manuals, schematics, mechanical drawings, or anything else which is too detailed and/or too long to pout anywhere else in the report. It is unlikely that many of you will have Appendices in your Interim Report.
Download a draft version of the evaluation form we will use to grade your Interim Technical report.
Download sample mid-term reports from past semesters. Note that the report format has changed over time.