α Engineering Design and Development as a Course - Overview

Preface

Engineering Design and Development (EDD) gives students an opportunity to exercise the skills they have developed not only in their PLTW classes, but in other classes and in their personal experiences in general. Students will work in teams to solve a problem of their choosing. EDD is not focused on producing a marketable process or product, though this can and does happen using the design process.   EDD is not intended to be an “invention class” or a “patent generating class” but rather a class that centers on using, documenting, and working through the engineering design process to address a problem. The end result should always be driven by the process rather than an individual or team’s skill sets, opinions, or personal preferences. As an example, students with an interest in electronics and aeronautics who apply the design process to address pilot errors may find that their results point to an ergonomic solution centered on organizing and displaying information in the cockpit rather than developing a new piece of instrumentation or a new control device. Others interested in chemistry and medicine may find that redesigning the way people enter and are processed through an emergency room may be a more effective way to address the rate of disease transmission in a hospital than designing a new chemical disinfectant. Because the focus is on the problem and using the design process, the topic choices for students are infinite.

EDD is about the journey of seeking a well-justified original solution to a real-world problem. Some solutions will prove to have merit as a potential solution, but when tested, will prove to have little value in solving the problem. Some solution attempts will prove to cause as many new problems as they solve, and some will prove to have great merit toward solving the problem in the end. No one will know the solution outcome at the beginning of the journey, but all groups will move through the problem solving process and gain skills they will be able to implement in any profession for the rest of their lives.

Because EDD is less structured than most other courses, students must take more responsibility in their learning than they are accustomed to or are comfortable with taking. However, more responsibility should translate to more ownership and more reward.

This class will also be much different for you as the instructor, or more accurately, as the facilitator. It is important that, as you introduce the course, you make the students aware of the fundamental differences in the student and teacher roles between EDD and most other courses.

Component 0 Presents an overview of Engineering Design and Development and a brief introduction to the design process that will be followed as students design and develop a product. In the optional mini-project, students will learn about the typical life cycle of a consumer product and the design and development process through which each product progresses before it becomes commercially available.

Students will be introduced to the engineering design process and can complete the optional short design project as part of a team. The Tuckerman model of teamwork is presented. Students are required to assess the level of teamwork exhibited by themselves and other during the team project. Project management concepts are also presented and students are required to create a project schedule in the form of a Gantt chart for the short design project. The importance of thorough documentation is also emphasized, and students are required to keep an engineering notebook to document the design process for their project.

This course provides students with the opportunity to reflect upon prior experiences and to consider how best to succeed with the design problem selected. This is also a time to set student expectations for quality of work, including teamwork and quality engineering notebook entries. This experience will probably be unlike prior learning experiences and thus should come with increased expectations.

This component contains an optional mini-project that allows students to practice some of the skills related to the design process and testing necessary for successful completion of the course-long design problem.

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Understandings - Course Wide

  1. The work of engineers has an impact on our society.
  2. An open ended design process involves identifying a justifiable problem and developing an original solution that attempts to solve it.
  3. The engineering design process is typically non-linear. Designers may need to re-visit steps in the process or take next steps based on feedback from previous steps.
  4. The engineering design process is both a guide and a series of waypoints for effective problem solving. It is a tool for self-evaluation as an engineer moves through the process.
  5. There are principles and practices related academic research. Topic selection and design decisions should be research driven and driven data whenever possible.
  6. There are principles, practices, and techniques related to technical writing.
  7. There are principles and practices related to documenting an engineering design process that allow teams to work effectively, preserve the work allowing continuation at a later date, and protect the designer’s intellectual property.
  8. Project management is the discipline of planning, organizing, motivating, utilizing resources to achieve specific goals.
  9. Relevant principles and practices of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) should be used to inform and justify design choices.  They should be evident and well documented in an engineering design process. 
  10. Individuals and other entities put extraordinary effort into protecting their intellectual property so they can control who has access to and use of their work. Intellectual property protections allow individuals or companies to maintain rights to profit from their ideas.
  11. There are many stakeholders involved in an open ended engineering design process.
  12. The ability to communicate as a professional is a critical skill for engineers.
  13. Measurable design requirements are developed from a problem statement. Design requirements guide engineers through the design process and help determine if the solution is successful at solving the identified problem.  
  14. Multiple design possibilities should be explored in an engineering design process.
  15. Testing is a critical component to any engineering design process.  A plan and process for testing the proposed solution both qualitatively and quantitatively against design requirements should be created and carried out.
  16. Engineering design projects are typically peer reviewed. Stakeholder feedback and design reviews help guide engineers through the design process.
  17. Presentation of this design process and project findings are critical to the engineering design process. 

 

Knowledge and Skills - Course Wide
It is expected that students will...

  1. Apply ethical standards recognized by the engineering community in all aspects of design.
  2. Use an engineering design process to help guide them through an open ended design problem.
  3. Create documentation to support understanding of a design process that captures critical waypoints in the design process.
  4. Develop professional and project planning skills to complete a design process successfully.
  5. Identify a problem and justify development of a solution from an academic, ethical, or market perspective.
  6. Identify and evaluate current and past solution attempts.
  7. Develop multiple possible solutions ideas.
  8. Create a prototype with a valid testing plan.
  9. Interpret testing results and summarize.
  10. Present the design process to a technical group with an understanding of the design process or the identified problem. Students will present their findings and defend process decisions.

 

Essential Questions - Course Wide

  1. What are the global challenges facing our world?
  2. What are the roles and responsibilities of engineering in society?
  3. What justifies expenditure of resources to try and solve a problem?
  4. What role does the market place play in engineering design?
  5. Why is it crucial to use a design process when trying to solve complex problems?
  6. What are the fundamental aspects of any engineering design process?
  7. What determines the next step in a design process?
  8. Why is documenting a design process important?
  9. What are the attributes of successful project planning and management?
  10. Why is it important for engineers and designers to utilize known scientific and mathematical principles?
  11. Why should I do independent research before contacting stakeholders or seeking expert support?
  12. Why is the intellectual property so important in engineering design?
  13. What is the difference between invention and innovation?
  14. Why is teaming often more effective than individuals working alone when solving a complex problem?
  15. How do you decide what key points are most important when given limited time to present findings?
  16. Do I need to create a solution that solves the problem to successfully complete this course?
  17. Should I design an authentic solution, what steps could I take beyond this course?

 

References

Abts, Leigh. (2011). Analysis of the barriers, constraints and issues for dual credit and / or an advanced placement® pathway for introduction to engineering. American Society for Engineering Education.
Foreman, L.J. & Welytok, J.G. (2009). The independent inventor’s handbook. New York, NY. Workman Publishing Company, Inc.
Grissom, F. & Pressmen, D. (2008). Inventor’s notebook: A “patent it yourself” companion. (5th ed.). Berkely, CA: Nolo.
Industrial Designers Society of America. (2009). Okala: Learning ecological design. Phoenix, AZ
Innovation Portal. (2011). Retrieved from http://www.innovationportal.org/
International Technology Education Association, (2000). Standards for technological literacy. Reston, VA: ITEA.
InvestorWords.com (n.d.) Retrieved from http://www.investorwords.com/
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National Research Council (NRC). (1996). National science education standards. Washington, D. C.: National Academy Press.
Pressman, D. (2009). Patent it yourself. (14th ed.). Berkely, CA: Nolo
The American heritage college dictionary. (4th ed.). (2007). Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
Ulrich, K.T. & Eppinger, S.D. (2008). Product design and development. New York, NY: McGraw Hill.
Webster's New World College Dictionary. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.yourdictionary.com/intrapreneur
Williams, M. (2008). The principles of project management. Victoria, Australia: SitePoint Pty. Ltd.