ENGR 100W Technical Proposal Assignment Dr Anagnos Proposal Due Wednesday December 3 2008 Oral Presentations Begin 11 26 08 and finish 12 10 08 Objectives To demonstrate that you can Apply a scientific approach to answer questions about earth and the environment Synthesize ideas you encounter in multiple readings and presentations Express explain analyze develop and criticize ideas effectively Effectively use graphics in a document Construct effective arguments Deliver an effective oral presentation Assignment proposal 15 oral 5 of course grade You work at EnvironSJ an environmental technology consulting company in San Jose California You may define the company any way you want large or small local or national family owned or corporate owned young for example two years old or mature 30 years of experience specialized e g hightech waste or general etc You may define your position too e g owner President Vice President of Technology Director of Environmental Projects be creative You may even model EnvironSJ on a company you currently work for or have worked for in the past Your assignment is to write an internal in house proposal this is less formal than a proposal to a funding agency or to a client on an environmentally related topic You will need to research the topic and present a convincing and persuasive proposal Your proposal may recommend the implementation of an environmental process for use in production the purchase of a product for use by your company the design of a product for future sales the sale of this product to clients or another company etc You may describe a problem and present a solution or you may recommend that your company take advantage of an opportunity Whatever path you choose you need to establish the need for your suggestion and present clear steps for implementing your idea NOTE This is not a research paper While you will need to do some research to support your argument the point of this assignment is to write a proposal Selection of Topic Using the list of topics handed out today in class along with the short readings select a topic that is of interest to you No more than two people may work on any topic All proposals must be individually written Guidelines for Technical Proposal Your environmentally related technical proposal should be an internal in house memo suggesting that your company do something on letterhead you can design any type of letterhead you like but don t spend a lot of time on it memo format directed to the decision maker in your company well researched citing at least 2 4 references including two or more sources obtained through library research including electronic databases convincing and persuasive approximately 4 to 6 pages long NOT INCLUDING VISUALS 12 point font 1 inch margins single spaced within sections and double spaced between sections Pages must be numbered Page 1 ENGR 100W Technical Proposal Assignment Dr Anagnos Suggested Section Headings Your Proposal should have at minimum the following headings sections but you may add additional sections if you need them Memo Heading For example To From Subject Date See Markel 2007 for memo format Purpose State clearly in one or two sentences what you are proposing to do Summary Briefly summarize the main points presented in the proposal what is being proposed why it should be done how much it will cost and how long it will take Introduction Describe the problem and your solution or describe the opportunity and why your company should take advantage of it Present relevant background information sources of information and scope of proposal Describe advantages AND disadvantages Convince the reader that this proposal should be implemented Possible subheadings in Introduction section Background Environmental Aspects Technical Aspects Alternatives or Possible Solutions Advantages Disadvantages Proposed Procedure Describe the steps you would take to implement the proposal If it were approved how would you do it Task Schedule Give the timeline for implementation of the proposal Use a Gantt chart or a milestone chart see simple example on page 418 in Markel 2007 The steps included in the chart should follow the steps outlined in the proposed procedure section You can easily develop a milestone chart using Excel Alternatively a simple free online software is available at http www communitydevelopment uiuc edu ganttnew Personnel Credentials Indicate who will be implementing this proposal What is the size of the team Give their general qualifications e g geologist lawyer electrical engineer etc Give your qualifications to make these recommendations or implement this proposal what are your degrees how many years of experience do you have etc Page 2 ENGR 100W Technical Proposal Assignment Dr Anagnos Budget Give a cost breakdown and the total cost for implementing the proposal You should consider all relevant costs such as salaries materials equipment initial costs on going costs For some proposals a cost benefit analysis may be appropriate Recommendations and Conclusion Provide a brief conclusion summarizing main points and recommendations and looking toward next steps in the proposal process References List references cited in the proposal Use correct APA documentation format for the citations in the paper and for the reference list Guidelines for Oral Presentation 1 Prepare an oral presentation of NO MORE THAN 5 minutes per person 2 Use PowerPoint to support your presentation Remember a good rule for PowerPoint is about 1 slide per minute in addition to your title slide 3 Be concise and informative and think carefully about organization and transitions 4 See grading rubric for what should be included 5 The emphasis is on actual implementation of the proposal including numbered steps for the program cost task schedule your qualifications to do the proposal and advantages and disadvantages Start with a slide showing an overview of what you are going to cover and end with a short statement of why the proposal should be approved The whole point is to convince the board of directors or upper executives your audience to approve your proposal Resources Markel M 2007 Technical Communication 8th edition Boston Bedford St Martin s Houp K W Pearsall T E Tebeaux E Dragga S 2006 Writing proposals and progress reports In Reporting Technical Information pp 427 471 New York Oxford University Press APA Documentation See sources on www engr sjsu edu tanagnos ENGR100W Note A REALLY COOL resource that helps