Addressing Common Problems in Engineering Design Projects: A Project Management Approach

Moor, S. Scott; Drake, Bruce D.

doi:10.1002/j.2168-9830.2001.tb00618.x

Cited by 38 publications

(31 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…Todd et al [3] surveyed capstone courses given in North America and Dutson et al [4] provided an extensive review of the literature concerning the teaching of engineering design through capstone courses. Techniques for addressing common problems in engineering design projects are discussed in [5].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Impact of Group Size and Project Duration on Capstone Design

Griffin

Llewellyn

2004

J of Engineering Edu

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This paper discusses how group size and project duration impact capstone design in terms of learning objectives for the student, value to industry sponsors, and faculty resources. The analysis is based on survey results and an external faculty evaluation comparing a one‐semester offering with a two‐semester offering of capstone design in the School of Industrial and Systems Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology. In addition, we examine whether the stated learning objectives (technical writing skills, presentation skills, and technical analysis) for the course provide value to sponsors. Our findings suggest that the one‐semester offering was preferred by both students and industry sponsors and required fewer resources. We also found that although students prefer smaller group sizes, sponsors do not have a definitive preference. Finally, we found that although technical analysis is significantly correlated with dollar value to the sponsor, technical writing skills and presentation skills were not.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Impact of Group Size and Project Duration on Capstone Design

Griffin

Llewellyn

2004

J of Engineering Edu

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“…When using projects to teach engineering design, students frequently encounter issues with project management and the project management tools that can be used to solve these issues (Moor and Drake, 2001). Thus, an initial milestone schedule is implemented in the process design course, as well as project review meetings at the end of each proposed step, design reports that document each design task as the project progresses and the design of an active protocol of communication among design team members and the teacher.…”

Section: Implementation Of the Instructional Activitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Implementation of an innovative teaching project in a Chemical Process Design course at the University of Cantabria, Spain

Galán

Muñoz

Viguri

2016

European Journal of Engineering Education

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This paper shows the planning, the teaching activities and the evaluation of the learning and teaching process implemented in the Chemical Process Design course at the University of Cantabria, Spain. Educational methods to address the knowledge, skills and attitudes that students who complete the course are expected to acquire are proposed and discussed.Undergraduate and graduate engineers´ perceptions of the methodology used are evaluated by means of a questionnaire. Results of the teaching activities and the strengths and weaknesses of the proposed case study are discussed in relation to the course characteristics. The findings of the empirical evaluation shows that the excessive time students had to dedicate to the case study project and dealing with limited information are the most negative aspects obtained, whereas an increase in the students´ self-confidence and the practical application of the methodology are the most positive aspects. Finally, improvements are discussed in order to extend the application of the methodology to other courses offered as part of the chemical engineering degree.

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“…Some suggest that requiring students to turn in memos reporting their progress can reduce the amount of work left until the deadline 43 . In addition, the mock client meetings reinforce the deadline expectations, provide an opportunity for students to present their progress, discuss key challenges, and receive instant feedback on their progress and plans.…”

Section: Project Guidelines For Industry-sponsored Senior Design Coursementioning

confidence: 99%

Student Communication Improvements during an Industry-Sponsored Civil Engineering Senior Design Course

Fries

Cross

Zhou

et al.

2015 ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition Proceedings

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IntroductionThroughout the engineering profession, an emphasis on requiring strong communication abilities for engineering graduates has been shown in several studies 1,2 . Because of the emphasis on communication in engineering practice, "an ability to communicate effectively" is a core outcome competency within the ABET required program outcomes 3 . In a recent study of engineering graduates, communication skills were ranked with teamwork, data analysis, and problem solving as the four most important ABET outcome competencies 4 .The objective of this study was to identify which aspects of student communication skills were improved by changes to an industry-sponsored capstone senior design course and to what extent they were improved. While previous studies have indicated that industry-sponsored capstone senior design courses improve student understanding of design practice, no study to date has focused on analyzing the extent to which this industry experience improves the communication ability of the students.The civil engineering senior design course at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE) places students in unpaid internships with local engineering agencies and companies. Practicing engineers supervising the students have discussed the importance of accurate professional communications with faculty coordinating the course. Students in this course are required to complete communication skills assignments, such as writing memos, reports, and preparing periodic progress presentations of their work. The communication assignments used as the subject of the study in this paper were reviewed by engineering faculty, in consultation with practicing professional engineering sponsors, and the staff at the SIUE Writing Center. Previous WorkOverall lessons from past capstone courses Previous work examining the learning in engineering capstone courses has focused on teambased learning, problem-based learning, and impacts of the learning environment. To improve student teamwork experiences in any course, faculty have an opportunity to apply a wealth of knowledge from fields such as organizational or industrial psychology 5 . Some argue that effective team-based learning in capstone courses require that teams be heterogeneous and have shared goals, meaningful activities, timely internal feedback, and external comparisons and feedback 6 . Thus, for faculty to facilitate an effective team-based learning experience, they must be very deliberate in the planning of team projects, milestones, activities, feedback methods, and timing.Other research has focused on problem-based learning approaches. One study, focusing on a structural engineering capstone course, found that a problem-based learning format required significantly more time due to the additional feedback for students, and that a team-building exercise could strengthen communication between student teams and the instructor 7 . Problembased learning has also been implemented into an entire civil engineering curriculum at the Page 26.1412.2University of Colora...

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Addressing Common Problems in Engineering Design Projects: A Project Management Approach

Cited by 38 publications

References 7 publications

The Impact of Group Size and Project Duration on Capstone Design

The Impact of Group Size and Project Duration on Capstone Design

Implementation of an innovative teaching project in a Chemical Process Design course at the University of Cantabria, Spain

Student Communication Improvements during an Industry-Sponsored Civil Engineering Senior Design Course

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