EE15N: The Art and Science of Engineering Design Lecture 8: Communicating Design OutcomeCommunicating Design OutcomeGeneral GuidelinesDesign ReviewOral PresentationsPresentation OutlinePresentation Outline (Cont)Slide 8Final ReportWriting for the clientThe Project ReportEvolution of a rough outline to a final reportWorking towards a final reportPutting it all togetherMeetingsBasic Rules regarding MeetingsGroup ExerciseGuest SpeakerEE15N: The Art and Science of Engineering DesignLecture 8: Communicating Design OutcomeAnnouncements:Due tonight at 11:59PM: Weekly team meeting summariesDue next Wednesday: Detailed description/block diagram(s), Brief PDR (7-10 slides), Schedule, Cost EstimateDesign ReviewsPresentationsFinal ReportsGroup ExerciseCommunicating Design OutcomeDesign ReviewPresentationReportGeneral GuidelinesKnow your purpose.Know your audience.Choose and organize the content around your purpose and your audience.Write precisely and clearly.Design your pages well.Think visually.Write ethically!Design ReviewPurpose: Team presents its design to an audience who canAssess the designRaise questionsOffer suggestionsAudience: Technical professionalsLong in duration; detailed in presentationOften have multiple design reviewsPreliminary and critical/final design reviewsOral PresentationsPresentations are made for different reasons:Before projectDuring project: Initial findingsAlternatives under considerationProgress toward completionEnd of project: report to clients, other stakeholders and interested partiesPresentation OutlineBeginningTitle SlideOverviewProblem statementBackground material on problemKey objectivesFunctions that design must performPresentation Outline (Cont)AlternativesDesign alternativesHighlights of evaluation procedures and outcomesChoiceSelected designFeatures of designProof of concept testingPresentation Outline (Cont)EndingDemonstration of prototypeConclusion(s)Final ReportPurpose: to ensure client’s thoughtful acceptance of team’s design choices.Results should be summarized in clear, understandable language.Goal: lucid description of design outcomes.Not chronologies of team’s workThe larger the writing team, the greater the need for a single editor.Writing for the clientThe report is written for the clientConveys to the client the reasoning behind the team’s design choicesThe report requires:A clear presentation of the design problem and needs to be metA discussion of design alternatives to meet these needsA clear presentation of the chosen design and the basis for this design choiceThe Project ReportAbstractExecutive summaryIntroduction and overviewAnalysis of the problem, including relevant prior workDesign alternatives consideredEvaluation of design alternatives and basis for design selectionResults of alternatives analysisDesign selectionSupporting materials: drawings, fabrication specs, etc. Design reports typically includes the following:Evolution of a rough outline to a final reportRough outline should look like a table of contents with section, subsection, and subsubsection titlesStart with the titles of the sectionsInclude a few sentences of what should be described in that sectionThen create titles of subsectionsInclude a few sentences of what is described thereThen create titles of subsubsectionsInclude a few sentences of what is described thereIf subsubsections are not sufficient to organize your ideas, then reorganize your paper structureWorking towards afinal reportAs you write your final report, you will realize things that are missing or should be moved to another sectionDo not feel obligated to stick to your outlineThere is not necessarily an optimal organization, but some are better than othersIt is often wise to write the abstract and executive summary lastThese are also the hardest parts to write.It’s a good idea to write your introduction firstPutting it all togetherIn a team project, you will often have different people contributing to different sectionsThis can create discontinuities, repetition, and heterogenous stylesThe report should read as if one person wrote it.Often its best if one person does write it, or at least takes full responsibility for integrating all the pieces. This is the document editor.It is also good to assign an editor for each section that integrates the various pieces into a coherent whole before handing off to the document editor.MeetingsMeetings are:BoringTime wastersExpensiveWhy do we keep having meetings? Meetings are necessaryThere is no better form of communication than a well-run face-to-face meetingBasic Rules regarding MeetingsHave a good reason to meet in the first placeHave agenda that clearly states the purpose of the meetingState a timeframe at the beginning of the meeting and stick to it, with few exceptionsRequire that participants come preparedHave some degree of skilled facilitationGroup ExerciseYou are team leader and editor for your team’s design reportOne of your team members does not submit their required documentationAnother has a very poor writing styleA third severely criticizes contributions from othersHow would you handle these issues?Guest SpeakerEric