ME/CompE/EEInterdisciplinary Capstone Design (6 cr)

Official Meeting Times:

M-Th 11:30-1:00 (general class sessions in JEB 328; team meetings in GJ)

Course Web Page and Project Archives:
www.webpages.uidaho.edu/mindworks/capstone_design.htm (course webpage)

https://mindworks.shoutwiki.com (project archives)

Faculty:

Steve Beyerlein – ME EP324i

Support Staff:

Molly Steiner – ME Dept Manager EP324g
Ankit Gupta – Instrumentation Specialist GJ
Bill Magnie – Shop Supervisor GJ107
Jake Gilles – Grad Student Mentor GJ112
Alex Olson – Grad Student Mentor GJ112
Rick Leathers – Grad Student Mentor GJ 112
Sarah Willis – Grad Student Mentor GJ 112

COURSE OBJECTIVE: Prepare engineering students for professional practice, specifically as encountered in entry-level design engineering positions.

Prerequisites by department

ME 424:

/

ECE 480/481:

/

ECE 482/483:

/

CS

/

BAE 478:

ME 301

ME 313
ME 325
ME 330
ME 345 /

ECE 240, 241

ECE 310, 311
ECE 320, 321
ECE 330, 331
ECE 340, 341
ECE 350, 351
STAT 301 /

CS240

CS270

ECE 240, 241

ECE 310, 311
ECE 340, 341
ECE 350, 351
ECE 440 (coreq)
STAT 301 /

CS 383

ENGL 317 /

Senior standing

COURSE MATERIALS: Bound personal logbook for notes, calculations, sketches, responses to instructor/mentor questions, and evidence of progress toward course learning outcomes. Note: The Mindworks website will act as your course textbook.


ABET LEARNING OUTCOMES (items in bold queried in this course)

Engineering programs must demonstrate that their students attain:

(a)  an ability to apply knowledge of mathematics, science, and engineering

(b)  an ability to design and conduct experiments, as well as to analyze and interpret data

(c)  an ability to design a system, component, or process to meet desired needs within realistic constraints such as economic, environmental, social, political, ethical, health and safety, manufacturability, and sustainability

(d)  an ability to function on multi-disciplinary teams

(e)  an ability to identify, formulate, and solve engineering problems

(f)  an understanding of professional and ethical responsibility

(g)  an ability communicate effectively

(h)  the broad education necessary to understand the impact of engineering solutions in a global, economic, environmental, and societal context

(i)  a recognition of the need for, and an ability to engage in life-long learning

(j)  a knowledge of contemporary issues

(k)  an ability to use the techniques, skills, and modern engineering tools necessary for engineering practice


CAPSTONE COURSE ROLES & RESPONSIBILITIES
Course Instructors; Project Managers:

·  secure sponsors, scope projects, set project budgets

·  communicate course objectives, performance standards, milestone dates for project deliverables

·  provide timely feedback on team processes and products

·  monitor team and customer relations, facilitating open communication

·  evaluate project deliverables and assign grades

Technical Advisors: Other UI faculty

·  serve as external customer for competition/internal projects

·  provide technical input and leadership to team/sub-teams

·  provide input on evaluation of project deliverables and performance


Fabrication & Instrumentation Specialists:

·  final word on shop safety and proper equipment/instrument usage

·  inform advisors/guides on shop training and scheduling

·  when requested, review designs for inventiveness & manufacturability

Shop Mentors:

·  oversee safety, training, sign-up, and use of shop equipment

·  provide consulting on prototypes, software and experimentation

·  first contact for review of drawings/schematics and fabrication plans

Design Teams:

·  display professional team dynamics, including high personal commitment

·  take responsibility for project decisions and work areas, leading to timely and innovative products that can be attractively presented in short order

·  keep advisors/guides/instructors/customers regularly informed of progress, decisions, and obstacles encountered


GRADING (COURSE EVALUATION)

Team Products – 25%

professional products, presentations, reports, wikisite, and posters that feature high quality visual aids, explain design details, and market the program

·  working hardware/software that meets engineering specifications

·  attractive displays and posters at Snapshot Days as well as the Design Expo

·  Design Expo technical presentation about the final product and its realization

·  project wikipage that conveys information on multiple aspects of the project
(goal statement, specifications, project learning, detailed design, and testing)

·  final report/portfolio of design documents


Team Processes – 25%

on-time, on-budget solution that meets or exceeds customer needs by following an organized, well-planned and executed design process involving all members

·  productive team meetings that regularly track budget, schedule, work assignments, project quality, and professional development of team members

·  planning and facilitation of periodic design reviews with project stakeholders

·  ongoing client communication and client relations

·  design process that is planned and logical, guided by clear specifications

·  positive team dynamics


Individual Products – 25%

accountability for project success involving technical effort and teamwork

·  design team commitment and contribution

·  documentation of personal analysis, solid modeling, and experimentation

·  effective work breakdown, time management, and task completion w/quality

·  accurate and frequent reporting on personal work assignments

Individual Processes – 25%

Individual engagement in the design process through reflective activities, team participation, and logbook usage

·  ongoing log of personal project activity

·  lessons learned – writing to capture new knowledge

·  assessment – writing to capture best practices, ideas for improving future work, and action plans

·  team meeting participation and performance

·  open communication with client/instructors/guides/staff


CAPSTONE PERFORMANCE EXPECTATIONS

We understand and value the learning outcomes for capstone design. We are committed to working together to achieve these at the highest possible level of performance. In doing this, we agree not to compromise the interests of our project sponsors or the rights of other students and staff associated with the course.

As an engineering professional enrolled in this course I WILL…

·  Be tactful and honest in giving feedback; open-minded towards new ideas.

·  Take responsibility for my actions as a prepared and trustworthy teammate.

·  Proactively and resourcefully accept tasks and execute decisions.

·  Fully apply all personal skills to produce high quality design work, putting interests of the team above self-interest.

As an engineering professional enrolled in this course I WILL NOT…

·  Drop the ball on commitments I have made, leaving tasks incomplete.

·  Freeze others out of decision-making through poor communication.

·  Assign blame to others, contributing to negative team/course energy.

·  Be apathetic toward producing a high quality product in a timely manner.

·  Marginalize interests of other teams and instructional staff.

As a member of the instructional staff I WILL…

·  When requested, provide and accept honest feedback on performance.

·  Take actions to promote self-directed learning and high quality products.

·  Mediate conflicts early, including team & customer issues.

·  Clearly communicate course expectations and agendas for classes/meetings.


As a member of the instructional staff I WILL NOT…

·  Remain passive or equivocal in the face of team conflict or customer issues.

·  Deprive teams of decision-making authority, micro-managing work.

·  Set expectations that cannot be met with resources available.

·  Assign extraneous tasks that add little value.


CAPSTONE GLOSSARY

Best Practice / Package of tools and techniques used by experts in the field
Drawing Package / Set of stand-alone part and assembly drawings that can be used to guide manufacturing, assembly, and inspection
Engineering
Analysis / Calculations and modeling based on engineering principles that supports quantitative decision making
Engineering
Specifications / Restatement of customer needs in a way that can be measured to determine if the need is met
Client/Customer
Satisfaction / Providing more than is expected, quicker than expected,
at a lower cost than expected, at an acceptable level of quality
Open
Communication / Free expression of ideas in a respectful and courteous manner
Workbreakdown
Structure / Table outlining related project tasks, responsible parties,
due dates, and expected quality of results
Design
Team / Individuals with complementary skills who are committed to a
common purpose, performance goals, and approach for which they hold themselves mutually accountable on a design project
Engineering
Logbook / Record of personal activity that includes project learning, engineering analysis, product development, and lessons learned
Project
Webpage / Record of team activity in each stage of the design process
Process / A series of actions that adds value to the final result
Design / Developing a product or process to meet a specific need
Problem Solving / Removing or reducing a gap between current and desired situation
Research / Expanding boundaries of knowledge within a discipline or a
community of scholars
Project Learning / Locating, understanding, and mastering new personal knowledge and skills to benefit a project
Evaluation / Process for determining quality
Assessment / Process used for improving quality
peer assessment à feedback is given by a colleague or peer
self assessment à feedback from studying one’s own process
Rubric / Tool to distinguish different levels of performance based on verbal description
Problem definition / Determination of the need to be met or the problem to be solved by the design
Need / A condition requiring supply or relief; often met by a product produced by design
Specification / A statement containing the details of the design of a
product
Prototype / An early design of a product used for assessment of design concepts and/or validation testing
Validation / The act of assessing the correctness of a design for
its intended use
Generating solution options / The act of determining several possible solutions to the design problem
Quality / Excellence of the design solution and resulting
product for meeting a need
Selecting solution options / The act of selecting the best solutions from the many possibilities from solution generation
Client / Contact for whom work is performed under contract
Stakeholder / Anyone who has an interest in or need for design product
Customer or end user / One who will use the product produced from
design, not necessarily the client

5