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Notes On Capstone Course Design Professional Behaviors

The document outlines expectations and deliverables for a capstone design course. It discusses professional behaviors, learning outcomes, and performance criteria that will be assessed. Students will work in teams to complete a design project from synthesis to prototyping. Regular team meetings, documentation, and design reviews are required to track progress. Coursework includes developing specifications, analyzing designs, meeting benchmarks, and producing a final report and presentation.

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0% found this document useful (0 votes)

84 views10 pages

Notes On Capstone Course Design Professional Behaviors

Uploaded by

nagasaikiran ponnapalli

We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.

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Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

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NOTES ON CAPSTONE COURSE DESIGN

Professional Behaviors:
Analyst Role
Designer Role
Communicator Role
Collaborator Role
Achiever Role

Learning Outcomes:
(ABET data required from course)
Design Process (3c)
Oral Communication (3g)
Teamwork (3d)
Ethics/Professionalism (3f)
Life-Long Learning (3i)
Product Realization (4)

Performance Criteria:
 synthesis of individual efforts, team decisions, and ongoing prototyping to
produce functioning hardware that exceeds customer expectations
 effective team meeting and project management process that delivers results
on-time and within budget, without marginalizing other design teams
 stand alone documentation package that can be used by customer/other students
to continue development and that serves as a marketing tool to future customers
 accountability for project success involving technical leadership, engineered
solutions, documentation, collaboration, and professional growth

Performance Measures:
Design Team Commitment rubric
Design review rubric
Design report rubric
Team Process rubric (from TIDEE)
Personal Capacity rubrics (from TIDEE)
Expo judging form
ACTIVITY DESIGN #1

FOCUS/TITLE: Understanding Capstone Course Expectations

KEY INSTRUMENT: syllabus with course evaluation system (knowledge form: context)

WHAT – understand how to be successful on a complex, real-world project

visualize exemplary performance in previous capstone project work

WHY – identify best practices that can benefit your career (long-term)
enhance your capstone experience (short-term)
use syllabus as a guide for time allocation in capstone course (short-term)

OBJECTIVES
1. Compare course organization with ingredients for success on an open-ended,
real-world project.
2. Feel sense of challenge balanced by confidence about your capstone experience.

PERFORMANCE CRITERIA
1. Thoughtful examination of artifacts from previous projects
factor 1: product and process balance
factor 2: individual and team balance
factor 3: alignment with course evaluation system

2. Recognize challenges and generate inspiration for overcoming these

factor 1: breadth/diversity
factor 2: depth/complexity
factor 3: confidence/optimism
CRITICAL THINKING QUESTIONS

Directed
1. What are engineering specifications?
2. What is customer satisfaction?
3. What is a drawing package?
4. What is open communication?
5. What is the make-up of a capstone team?

Convergent
6. What are the distinguishing features of quality engineering analysis?
7. How is customer satisfaction measured?
8. What minimum level of design team commitment is necessary for project
success? What is the optimum level? Why?
9. How can team performance empower individual performance? How can
individual performance empower team performance?
10. What is the value-added to a design project by strong documentation practice?
11. Can a design project be successful if the working hardware is mediocre?
Defend your reasoning.

Divergent
12. Which of the best practices used in the course are you interested in learning
more about and what is the best way to do this?
13. What are five ways capstone projects can be enhanced by expertise developed
in prior courses?

RESOURCES & INFORMATION

 syllabus with evaluation system
 design team commitment rubric
 inventory of best practice list by prior capstone students
 sample course rubrics (especially design report)
 capstone course website (http://seniordesign.engr.uidaho.edu)
 prior project reports
 prior student logbooks
 textbook (Ullrich & Eppinger)
 ABET data collected from previous classes
 Program assessment document
 Mid-term course assessment by previous class
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 Calculations and modeling based on engineering principles
Analysis that supports quantitative decision making
Engineering Restatement of customer needs in a way that can be measured
Specifications to determine if the need is met

Client Contact for which work is performed under contract

Customer Ultimate user of a design product or service

Client/Customer Providing more than is expected, quicker than expected,

Satisfaction at a lower cost than expected, at an acceptable level of quality
Open Free expression of ideas in a respectful and courteous manner
Communication
Workbreakdown Table outlining related project tasks, responsible parties,
Structure 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 Record of personal activity that includes project learning,
Logbook 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 community

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  feedback is given by a colleague or peer
self assessment  feedback from studying one’s own process
Rubric Tool to distinguish different levels of performance based
on verbal description
ACTIVITY TYPE: Case Study

FACILITATION PLAN

Pre-class: read syllabus and bring laptops w/internet if you have them

Pre-activity: walk through syllabus with students

(prereqs, ABET, grading, roles, design team commitment rubric)

Activity: form teams of four (time keeper, spokesperson, recorder, facilitator)

pick up and skim resources (commitment rubric & best practice list)
thoughtfully discuss and record answers to critical thinking questions

Post-activity: inventory answers to selected CT questions

solicit and answer burning questions (builds community)
Q/A by previous students

Post-class: complete personnel survey (individual)

collect and analyze data for use in research paper (instructor)
Understanding Course Expectations
In this activity you will search for best practices in an open-ended real-world
project and study the relationship between these and the capstone course grading
system. You should gain an appreciation of the many challenges associated with
the course and gain confidence that the course is structured to help you develop
needed skills for project success.

Group Discussion
Work in teams of four (time keeper, spokesperson, recorder, leader).

Review at least two previous project reports and at least two capstone websites.
Answer the following questions related to the grading page in the syllabus and the
design team commitment rubric.
1. What is open communication and who should be involved in this?
2. What is customer satisfaction and how should this be measured?
3. What are two pieces of evidence for a quality design product, strong
documentation, strong team processes, and good personal performance?
4. What minimum level of design team commitment is necessary for project
success? What is the optimum level? Why?
5. What are three ways capstone projects can be enhanced by expertise
developed in prior courses?

Answer the following questions related to the inventory of best practices by

previous capstone students.

6. What are the top five best practices cited by former students that you want to
learn more about? How can each these add value to capstone projects?
7. What is your most burning question about capstone design that you would
like a former student to answer?
Capstone Course Deliverables (summer 2006)

Project Bid Portfolio – June 13

* project preferences & rationale
* updated resume
* personnel survey
Website Problem Statement Review – June 26
* home page with project title, sponsor, team name
* team page with pictures and bio information
* problem definition page with problem statement,
customer needs, target specs, and deliverables
* archive of team documents
* attractive formatting/organization throughout
Team Meeting Review – week of July 5
* agenda process in place
* instructor/team/peer discussion centered around logbook contents
* work breakdown planning and tracking
* design decisions supported by engineering analysis
* prototype development efforts
Preliminary Design Review – July 10-20
* ABET Oral Communication assessment
* demonstration and explanation of early prototypes
* identify subsystems and their specifications
* determine interface requirements
* description and weighting of design alternatives
* estimate of project costs
* logbook collection/review following presentation
Design Report Review – July 26-27
* background
* problem definition
* concepts considered
(including project learning & prototype discoveries)
* concepts selected
(including input from preliminary design review)
* parallel website review through conceptual design
* ABET Team Processes assessment
Snapshot Day – Aug 3rd
* display of prototypes
* poster (drawings, engineering analysis, experimental results)
Course Deliverables – COB Aug 4th
* Updated Design Report (ABET Design Skills assessment)
* Updated Website
* Personal logbooks
* Reflective Growth Paper (ABET Self-Directed Learning assessment)
ACTIVITY #2

FOCUS/TITLE: Effective Team Formation

KEY INSTRUMENT: Team Formation Template (Tool Knowledge)

1. Establish team name (professional, easy to remember, innovative)

2. Introduce yourselves and share background (insightful, open, detailed)
3. Inventory individual values and develop team values in priority order
(open, add-value to project)
4. Propose initial goal state – (SMART)
a. What new knowledge do you want to acquire?
b. What professional behaviors do you want to improve?
(i.e. design, communication, teaming, problem solving)
c. What accomplishments do you want to produce?
5. Inventory phone and email information for team members, advisors,
instructors, mentor, client (complete, organized, provided to instructor)
6. Set meeting times (team/instructor, team only)
7. Outline team rules (high standards, minimum set, attainable)
8. Design team documentation system
a. Paper
b. Electronic
EFFECTIVE TEAM FORMATION

Teams take actions that provide a foundation for high performance teamwork.
Team members each have unique gifts and motivations. They are committed to
exceeding customer expectations, learning and mastering project related knowledge, and
expanding their professional skills, holding each other accountable for project and
personal success.

Team Activity
The following items are suggested to help team members get to know one another, begin
developing team identity, and establish a framework for productive project work. When
you are done, complete the attached table, giving a copy to the course instructors and
keeping a copy for yourselves.

1. Establish a Team Name. This should be innovative, tasteful, and easy to

remember. Your team name will become your email alias.
2. Introduce yourselves, sharing three things that others would be surprised to
know about you.
3. Have a discussion about team values in the following areas:
a. How should quality be defined and enforced in project assignments?
b. How large a variation in hours/week is acceptable between members?
c. What team leadership is needed and how should it be exercised?
4. Have a discussion about individual/team goals in the following areas:
a. What new knowledge do you want to acquire?
b. What professional behaviors do you want to improve?
c. What accomplishments do you want to produce?
5. Inventory phone, role, and email information for team members.
a. Client contact
b. Webmaster
c. Purchasing Agent
d. Other Roles
6. Set regular times for team meetings/work sessions.
7. Set a weekly time for an instructor/team meeting. Confirm this.
8. Download and review the following documents from the capstone website:
email guidelines, meeting tips, purchasing guidelines, workbreakdown (WBS)
9. Make plans for maintaining team documentation in paper & electronic forms.
10. Decide when and how you will meet your client for the first time. Review these
plans with the instructor.
TEAM ORGANIZATION

PROJECT/CLIENT:

TEAM NAME: