| Step | Description | Expected Student Results |
| 1 | Problem Identification and Justification This element takes students through the initial steps of devising a problem statement for their team’s project. The terms valid and justifiable mean the same thing to most people. For the purpose of this course, a valid problem refers to a problem that other credible sources also identify as a problem. Describing a problem as justifiable indicates that there is evidence that it is worth the expense and effort to attempt to solve the problem. | Find a Problem Become an Expert Justify the Problem Write a Problem Statement |
| 2 | Identification and Analysis of Prior Solution Attempts. It is critical for the designer to analyze prior attempts to solve the problem, or thoroughly document that no attempt has been made to solve the problem. One should also recognize that the purpose of this course is to use an engineering design process to develop an original solution, not reverse engineer a previous solution or infringe on another designers intellectual property. | |
| 3 | Presentation and Justification of Solution Design Requirements The best designs are ones developed by diverse design groups who have completely explored all relevant design goals. Design goals represent; Design Requirements Design Specifications Design Constraints Testable Parameters The Voice of the Customer / End User / All Stakeholders These design goals should be captured and communicated to all stakeholders in the form of a design proposal. | These design goals should be captured and communicated to all stakeholders in the form of a design proposal. |
| 4 | Viability of Proposed Solution To develop or not to develop the product – that is the question. Often, the decision not to develop a product is financial – based on a thorough analysis, it is determined that the anticipated income from the product cannot support the anticipated cost of development. However, if a financial analysis indicates that the sales of a new product (when compared to the cost of development) could potentially produce an acceptable profit, you must ask, “Should the product be developed?” But this is not always an easy question to answer. A designer or engineer has an ethical responsibility to his client, his profession, and to society. In light of these responsibilities, the designer should consider all potential consequences, good and bad, resulting from development of a product and then compare the benefits of product development to potential negative impacts. Do the benefits outweigh the risks? Is continuing with product development the right thing to do? The design, manufacture, packaging, distribution, and use of any new product will result in consequences, both positive and negative. These consequences are far reaching and wide ranging. For example, will the manufacture and distribution of the product consume nonrenewable natural resources or produce pollution? How will the development of the product affect the workers that will help produce, transport, and sell the product? What affect (intended or not) will the use of the product have on the consumer, the environment, and society? On the other hand, development of the product may create jobs, use abandoned facilities or discarded waste materials, and improve the lives of people. The considerations mentioned above assume that the product is well designed and functions as intended. However, another important ethical responsibility of the designer is to ensure that the product is well designed and does not suffer unintended failure. What will happen if your product does not work as intended or suffers a catastrophic failure? Will the failure cause harm? It is important that the designer has the knowledge and expertise, or seeks out people with that knowledge and expertise, to properly design the product in order to minimize the risks of failure. In this section, your team will consider the consequences of your product design, compare the positive and negative impacts, and assess the ethical implication of continuing to develop your product. |
Performance Objectives It is expected that students will: · Correspond with professionals and experts to address the following questions: 1.) What are some potential ways in which your product could fail? 2.) What design features have you included to minimize the chance of failure? 3.) Is development of a product that knowingly causes harm to people ever ethically justifiable? Why or why not? Give examples to support your position. |
| 5 | Present Elements A-F to an industry board for vetting. | |
| 5 | Creation of a Testable Prototype A well-designed and well-built prototype will make testing and the evaluation of the test data more realistic and valuable. Students typically view this lesson as the most exciting because they are actively engaged in building their prototypes. Using the agreed upon step-by-step explanation of the assembly directions will be important since all members of the team will have their own way of approaching the building of the prototype. Continued emphasis on the brainstorming technique will result in a better assembly procedure for their prototype. The modifications reinforce the importance of continued improvement across a project’s lifespan. Engineers seldom have a design solution that satisfies all criteria on the first try. Engineering change orders (ECOs) are a fact of life for design teams. Keep in mind that the materials used for the prototypes may have to be adjusted based on availability and access to the equipment necessary for the fabrication process. At the end of this lesson, students should have a prototype that is ready for testing. Encourage the students to take the time to produce high-quality work so that they will have credible data to evaluate. Concepts 1. Material and equipment requirements are defined by creating a materials and cost analysis during the prototyping phase of a project. 2. Virtual solutions for designs allow engineers to plan, test, and prepare for building a prototype. 3. Designers must consider characteristics such as strength and weight of materials and fastening procedures to be sure that the final design meets design specifications. 4. Prototypes can generally be broken down into subsystems in order to isolate problems and conduct incremental testing. 5. Engineers write step- by-step instructions for the prototype assembly to guide the fabrication of the design solution. Student task: Correspond with your mentor and share your sketches, CAD drawing, and resources you have to start building your prototype. Share your build procedure with your mentor. Mentor task: Evaluate the student's sketches and CAD drawings. Have a conversation about materials that would work best for their idea. |
Performance Objectives It is expected that students will: • Correspond with professionals and experts to acquire the resources needed to build their prototypes. • Sketch and annotate ideas and details while designing a prototype. (Created in Semester 1) • Create virtual designs of a prototype. (Created in Semester 1) • Create a step-by-step plan for building a prototype. (Created in Semester 1) |
| 6 | Build the Prototype (continued) Student Task 1: Share your math and science concepts with your mentor. Have them evaluate your calculations to make sure they are accurate. Mentor Task 1: Have a conversation with the student about the math and science they are using in their project. If needed, recommend changes that will improve their design. Student Task 2: Share the material you are using on your project. What is the material(s)? Where did you buy it or get it donated from? How much did you spend? Share what machines you will use to construct your prototype. What will have to be done outside of class? Mentor Task 2: Evaluate the student's materials and construction techniques. Make suggestions about other possible material they have not thought about. Student Task 3: Share your bill of materials with your mentors. Have you mentor make suggestions about other content that should be in the bill of material. Mentor Task: Share with the student how a bill of material is used at your business. Provide feedback on all student work on this task. Share with the student the value of iteration (student draft, mentor feedback, new draft) and ask the student to show you how your feedback was incorporated into the outcome of this step. |
Performance Objectives It is expected that students will: · Use scientific, mathematical, and engineering concepts to design a prototype. (required mentor input) · Evaluate choices of materials and fastening procedures for a prototype design. (required mentor input) · Determine and document resource needs, including a bill of materials, tools, equipment, and knowledge required to build a prototype. (required mentor input) |
| 7 | Build the Prototype (continued) Concepts 1. Prototyping provides the engineer with a scaled working model of the design solution. 2. The construction of a physical model can enhance the quality, efficiency, and productivity of the final product. Student Task: Incorporate mentor feedback on your prototype. When you have your prototype working, ask your mentor how they test new products at their business. Mentor Task: Have a conversation about the testing procedures that you have experienced. Provide feedback on the student's prototype and ask the student to show you how your feedback was incorporated. |
·Identify opportunities to incrementally test a prototype. (required mentor input) |
| 8 | Test, Evaluate, and Refine the Solution Concepts 1. In order to gather useful data, specific criteria for success or failure of a test must be determined before testing begins. 2. Prototype testing is a controlled procedure that is used to evaluate a specific aspect of a design solution. 3. A detailed description of the testing procedure helps to ensure that the results of the design solution testing are valid. 4. Data can be classified as either quantitative because it can be measured or qualitative because it describes a quality or categorization. Preface Why test at all? In engineering and science, a test is conducted to either prove a hypothesis or to answer a question. For instance, a tensile test can answer the question, “How much tension can this material safely withstand?” The strength of a material can only be determined by testing it under very precise and controlled circumstances. Or perhaps a skateboard deck was designed to withstand repetitive loading resulting from a 200 pound person jumping 24 in. high and landing on the deck over and over. Testing can help prove the hypothesis that the deck can safely withstand the design loads. In EDD, students will need to determine either what question they are trying to answer or how they can prove that their prototype performs as designed. Either way, it is important to identify exactly what data is needed and exactly how the test will be conducted. Introduction Generating solutions to a technical problem may seem easy; however, in order to ensure that your design does, in fact, solve the problem, you need to test your solution. Testing should be designed to verify that the design specifications have been met and that the design performs as intended. Test criteria provide the benchmarks or standards against which you will compare the results of the tests that you perform on your prototype. When you formulate test criteria, always identify a specific question that you will answer or a specification that you will address. Consider both quantitative and qualitative data requirements. Quantitative refers to data that can be measured, such as mass, time, or distance, and is represented by numerical values. Qualitative refers to data that cannot be measured but that describes some quality or categorization and may be informal. Qualitative data can be pass-fail (attractive- unattractive), yes-no (hot- cold), or categorical data (gender, religion, excellent- average-poor). Student Task 1: Ask your mentor about different ways of testing a new prototype. Share your ideas on how you will test your prototype. Mentor Task 1: Share with the student your experience with testing prototypes. Give feedback to the student about how they will test the prototype. Student Task 2: Discuss with your mentor ways to validate and verify test results. What methods should you use. Mentor Task 2: Brainstorm with your student proper ways to create a test. Student Task 3: Develop a list of testing criteria and share it with your mentor. Mentor Task 3: Give feedback about the testing criteria. Make suggestions to make it better. |
Performance Objectives It is expected that students will: · Select and describe a valid testing method that will be used to accurately evaluate the effectiveness of their design solution in solving the problem. (required mentor input) · Prepare a description of the testing method that will be used to validate and verify the design solution. (required mentor input) · Create a valid justification for the selected testing method. (required mentor input) · Devise a list of testing criteria that will be used to evaluate the prototype and determine the success or failure of the design solution. (required mentor input) |
| 9 | Test, Evaluate, and Refine the Solution Test Procedure Introduction Consider the things you do every day. Many of these activities have set procedures and methods to ensure successful completion of the task. Think about dressing in the morning. It would be ridiculous to put your shoes on and then attempt to put your socks on over them or to brush your teeth and then put the toothpaste on the brush. In the science classroom, there are set lab procedures to be followed to ensure the successful completion of the lab. If you have ever performed a dissection on a specimen, you know that it is necessary to remove the organs in the proper sequence with the correct tools or the specimen will be damaged. Athletes usually follow a prescribed sequence of warm-ups and stretching exercises to help prevent injury. Without this, they would put themselves at risk of an injury that could sideline them for the remainder of the season, or even end their career. Student Task 1: After creating your testing document, share it with your mentor. Seek feedback from experts on your testing plans. Mentor Task 1: Is the test valid? What are the limitations of their testing method? |
Identify, define, and implement necessary modifications to
testing methods based on expert feedback and ongoing research. (required mentor input |
| 10 | Test, Evaluate, and Refine the Solution Plan the Test Phase Many engineering and product failures are well documented. Most of the infamous examples involve tragedies such as bridge collapses, oil leaks, or an event that has a major negative impact on the environment or people. In fact, many engineering and product failures occur that few people ever hear about. Some products fail because they do not sell – they may not have been marketed well or they may not be desirable. But often a product fails because it does not perform the intended or advertised function or because it breaks easily. A product that does not perform the function for which it was purchased has little value at any cost. A lot can be learned from visiting the clearance aisle where many failed consumer products end up. Testing is intended to verify that a product does, in fact, successfully solve the problem that it was intended to solve. While decisions involving sales and marketing can be subjective, well-designed and implemented tests can provide clear evidence that the product will safely meet consumer needs and perform its intended function. Students designed their test(s) in the previous lesson. In this lesson they will carry out their tests and determine whether or not their designs meet the product specifications. Based on testing results, students may have to face some tough decisions about their next steps. If the results of the test(s) indicate that their design does not meet the expectations, they may have to return to a previous step in the design process to rethink and revise the design. The critical design review should provide clarity about how to move forward. Concepts 1. The results of prototype testing are used to refine the design and to improve the design solution. 2. Design reviews are used at crucial stages of the design process to gather input and perspective in order to determine how to proceed with a design. What is the purpose of the test? Is it to validate your predictions or is it to answer a question? How do you know that a test is successful? These are only a few of the questions that designers answer when testing a prototype or system and evaluating their test results. A design solution may solve the technical problem at hand, but what if the test isn't accurate or repeatable? Does the engineer immediately revisit the design process? No, the engineer would seek input from other experts to troubleshoot the testing results. This is exactly what your team is going to do . . . run a test, collect data, and seek the advice of experts on the evaluation of the testing results. Student Task 1: Perform the testing procedure(s) at least three times and collect data for each test on the forms that you created. Are your test results accurate? Is your testing procedure repeatable? Share your results with your mentor. Mentor Task 1: Help the students evaluate their testing. Should they retest using your recommendations. A critical design review is an important assessment of your project as you near the end of the design process. A design review could be completed at any point in the design process, and undoubtedly your team has done this both formally and informally. A more formal design review, however, is a more focused effort and includes all important stakeholders in addition to experts. During the design review, you will evaluate what has been accomplished and decide what to do next. Student Task 2: Set up a critical design review with your mentor. Decide with your mentor if you should continue to modify your design. Mentor Task 2: Make recommendations after this meeting on what could be modified to make the project better. |
Performance Objectives It is expected that students will: · Conduct testing of their prototype. (required mentor input) · Design and participate in a critical design review to evaluate their prototype and determine how their project will proceed. (required mentor input) · Identify, define, and implement necessary modifications to their design based upon their test results. (required mentor input) |
| 11 | Test, Evaluate, and Refine the Solution Test the Prototype Redesign and Refine Introduction Your team has just completed your critical design review. During this review your team and the panel should have come to consensus as to whether or not your prototype testing is complete for this project. You might make some modifications to your prototype design. For other design aspects, you will not make modifications but will document suggested changes or reflect on why your design will not work and why. There are various reasons for justifying next steps. Factors such as limited remaining time or budget may drive this decision. Sometimes a design will not work, but your attempt and methods could benefit you or others in the future as they try to tackle the same problem. Regardless of your strategy, documentation is important. Student Task 1: Redesign and Refine, decide with your mentor if you should further modify and retest your prototype. Mentor Task 1: Make suggestions on what the student should do. Evaluate time, budget, etc. to see if it is possible. |
Performance Objectives It is expected that students will: • Identify, define, and implement necessary modifications to their design based upon their test results. (required mentor input) |
| 12 | Communicate the Process and
Results Documentation and Presentation Project Portfolio Preface From high-level research to simple weather observations, all scientific endeavors yielding useful data must be written and reported in a meaningful way in order to share the gathered information. Without the sharing of information, there is very little purpose in gathering it. Project documentation for this course can take on many different forms. Process documentation in the form of a project portfolio (hard copy or electronic) is required from all student teams. In addition, student teams should provide outcome documentation. Choices for output documentation formats that are presented in this lesson include PowerPoint presentation, three panel display board, or website creation. In a practical sense, the mastery of research techniques and the ability to organize, evaluate, and present information are professional skills at which all students should become proficient. Many reports used in business and industry today are the result of meticulous research procedures. Most college papers are a form of technical research writing. Knowing where to find information, how to document original research, and how best to organize and present this information are valuable skills in many professional and scholarly undertakings. In addition, the selection of meaningful visual aids and written text are as important to the success of a presentation as the dialog used by the presenter. Both emphasize important points being made in the presentation and often convey information better than dialog. The goal of this lesson is to introduce students to the necessary skills to convey information about their project. They will explore a variety of formats with which to present a summary of their research project. Concepts 1. The use of presentation software allows designers to present visual aids and project information in a professional manner. 2. The media format used for a presentation is chosen in order to effectively communicate the design solution process to a target audience. 3. Presentations and displays of work provide the means to effectively promote and justify the implementation of a project. 4. A well-done presentation can enhance the perception of the quality of work completed for a team project. Introduction Your team has just completed your critical design review. During this review your team and the panel should have come to consensus as to whether or not your prototype testing is complete for this project. You might make some modifications to your prototype design. For other design aspects, you will not make modifications but will document suggested changes or reflect on why your design will not work and why. There are various reasons for justifying next steps. Factors such as limited remaining time or budget may drive this decision. Sometimes a design will not work, but your attempt and methods could benefit you or others in the future as they try to tackle the same problem. Regardless of your strategy, documentation is important. Student Task 1: Discuss with your mentor what documents and data should be in a portfolio. Share the documents you want to use for your portfolio. Mentor Task 1: Share your expertise on the use of a portfolio. Evaluate the students documents that they want to use in their portfolio. Student Task 2: Ask your mentor about presenting your portfolio to a group of professionals. Share your presentation with your mentor. Mentor Task 2: Share your experience in giving presentations in your job. Evaluate the students presentation and make suggestions to make it better. |
Performance Objectives It is expected that students will: • Gather data and information compiled throughout the project and create a project portfolio and presentation of their design solution. (required mentor input) • Identify appropriate techniques for delivering formal presentations. (required mentor input) • Orally present an effective technical presentation on the chosen design solution. |
| 13 | Student will self assess where they are in their post- secondary education and career readiness plans by answering the following questions: 1. What is the connection between an interest that you want to pursue and career opportunities in the economy where you live or want to live? 2. What does that industry area require you to do to be competitive in that area? 3. What post-secondary educational programs are available in your state to allow you to compete successfully? If there are none in your state, where can you find those programs? 4. What is your top post-secondary choice where you would like to go to school? What does it take to be competitive in this post-secondary program? 5. For the school that you named above, do you have a relationship with at least one successful alumni from that institution? What about managers that hire students from that institution? If not, how can you make that connection? 6. Describe any authentic work that you have done to date in the field or area of interest that you are pursuing. 7. Do you have a formal career and education plan that you have personally developed? Does it meet an industry or post-secondary standard? Who is supporting you and holding you accountable to refine and execute the plan? | Answer the questions and share them with your mentor and teacher. |
| 14 | Research answers to the first three questions in your post-secondary education and career readiness plan: 1. What is the connection between an interest that you want to pursue and career opportunities in the economy where you live or want to live? 2. What does that industry area require you to do to be competitive in that area? 3. What post-secondary educational programs are available in your state to allow you to compete successfully? If there are none in your state, where can you find those programs? | Gather data and information to share with you mentor in this area. Discuss with your mentor your questions and advice they may have for you as you embark on this journey. |
| 15 | Education and Career Readiness 4. What is your top post-secondary choice where you would like to go to school? What does it take to be competitive in this post-secondary program? | Research the programs at your top choice school. Find out what classes are the "weed-out" courses (Ie. the classes many students cannot pass the first time and result in drop-outs or changing of majors). Start developing a plan for how to combat this when you take those classes. (You will do more with this in the next step) |
| 16 | Post secondary and Career Readiness 5. For the school that you named above, do you have a relationship with at least one successful alumni from that institution? What about managers that hire students from that institution? If not, how can you make that connection? During spring break make connections with your post- secondary institutions to start these relationships. Have at least one conversation with a current student or successful alumni. Now continue with the last step in discovering how you can set yourself up to be successful in the areas where other students fail. | After winter break share with your mentor your plan for being successful where others have failed. Be very deliberate in discussing your plans. The more detailed the plan, the more likely you will follow it. |
| 17 | Post secondary Readiness 6. Describe any authentic work that you have done to date in the field or area of interest that you are pursuing. 7. Do you have a formal career and education plan that you have personally developed? Does it meet an industry or post-secondary standard? Who is supporting you and holding you accountable to refine and execute the plan? | Share this information with your mentor. Discuss how you can find authentic work experiences in the industry you wish to pursue both during high school (if relevant) or as a college student. |
| 18 | Reevaluate the questions you were asked at the beginning of this planning: 1. What is the connection between an interest that you want to pursue and career opportunities in the economy where you live or want to live? 2. What does that industry area require you to do to be competitive in that area? 3. What post-secondary educational programs are available in your state to allow you to compete successfully? If there are none in your state, where can you find those programs? 4. What is your top post-secondary choice where you would like to go to school? What does it take to be competitive in this post-secondary program? 5. For the school that you named above, do you have a relationship with at least one successful alumni from that institution? What about managers that hire students from that institution? If not, how can you make that connection? 6. Describe any authentic work that you have done to date in the field or area of interest that you are pursuing. 7. Do you have a formal career and education plan that you have personally developed? Does it meet an industry or post-secondary standard? Who is supporting you and holding you accountable to refine and execute the plan? | |
| 19 | Research interests and experiences as they relate to career opportunities. Take naviance surveys. | |
| 20 | Create your ICAP from the offered template. Share this with your mentor for feedback. |
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