Project Learning Importance of Project Learning Opportunity to

Project Learning

Importance of Project Learning Opportunity to influence design Cost of change Opportunity to do something innovative

End Goal • A clear picture of what is considered done and good • The knowledge to produce a design that is done and good

Project learning research results • Linking Design Process to Customer Satisfaction Through Virtual Design of Experiment (Jain and Sobek) – Problem definition (PD) at the higher abstraction levels appears positively related to client satisfaction – Client satisfaction improves with greater effort in idea generation (IG) at concept level, but not at the system or detail design levels – Greater time spent on design refinement (DR) activities across all design levels is negatively associated with client satisfaction – Greater time spent at the detail (D) design level appears comparatively non-value added to client satisfaction – Time spent on problem definition and engineering analysis activities at the system (S) design level leads to better client satisfaction • Engineering Design Processes: A Comparison of Students and Expert Practitioners (Atman) – Experts spent more time overall in design than students and significantly more time on problem scoping activities – Experts also gathered more information that covered more categories – Results support argument that information gathering and problem scoping are design activities are major differences between advanced engineers and students and are important competencies for students to develop

Notes • Talk is cheap!!! – Documentation is a must. – data (logbooks, webpage), schedules, decisions – – you don’t know it until you can show your mentor where you documented it. – action items aren’t complete until documented. – be efficient in documentation. • Project learning can be simplified by systematically identifying and performing activities that clarify issues surrounding – the people – the products – the technology

People Identify stakeholders and experts – Stakeholders are people that have an interest in the creation of a new product – Experts are people that have specific knowledge about related products, processes, and technologies

People Leaning about/from people individuals ce a n e i r ic t e e p h ex pat (em ty) i v i ct e obs ion t a rv groups w in vie r e t

People

People Interviews • Information from stakeholders and experts will net you substantial needs and constraints – Interviews – Focus groups • Focus on ‘what’, not ‘how’ – Interviewees focus on solutions and anecdotes, you must extract the needs – Root cause analysis is critical

People

People

People

People

People Conduct an observation • People often do not realize opportunities, realize their problems, and communicate all needs. • Apply anthropological techniques to document activity lists, characterize user types, and characterize value to the user.

People

People

People Empathetic activities • Use the product, perform the process, experience the hardship! • First-hand experience is a great way to grow understanding Group activity – identify stakeholders and experts and how you will interact or understand them

Products Product dissection • Teardown competitive products and products with comparable function that may be helpful for conceptual design • Build model of geometry and performance • Benchmark performance of competitors

Products Experimentation and modeling • Gain clarity in relevant physical phenomenon by creating math models and relating them to experiments • Useful to determine what can be validated What existing products or product documentation should be reviewed? In what way will you access them and capture the results?

Technology Research • Identify technologies that are core to the problem or potential directions for the solution • Web searches, patent searches, existing documentation What technology do you need to become conversant in? What do deliverables look like?

Technology Become familiar with relevant code/standards • Fully understand the governing standards, set of codes, or rules that your design must adhere to. • Consult with experts to get a handle on relevant codes. • Summarize relevant material in a manner that is easily digestible by teammates.