EGR 410 Fall 2015 – Spring 2016

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INDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENT – DESIGN FOUNDATION

DUE: FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, TO MOODLE

Deliverables:

The following questions are prompts for you to document the technical knowledge and design

experience you bring to this class and your design project. You are encouraged to share your

individual responses with your teammates and with your liaisons.

1. Academic Preparation: List the courses you have already taken (at Smith or elsewhere)

that are relevant to your capstone design project. Consider core courses for your major,

electives for your major, and courses outside your major where applicable. For each

course, identify the specific topics that form your knowledge foundation for your project

and discuss how/why these topics will be useful. (Expected length: 1-2 pages, in list or

tabular form)

2. Gap Analysis: Given what you understand about the focus of and skills required for your

design project, what gaps do you have in your own preparation? Identify 2-3 primary gap

areas where you would benefit from additional learning. For each gap, discuss what the

gap is and how additional learning in that topic would benefit you, your team, and your

project. (Expected length: 1 page, in list or tabular form)

3. Resource Identification: Identifying specific people with relevant expertise is an

important step in successfully completing an open-ended design project.

a. Given your particular design project, list 5-8 people (other than your immediate

faculty coach(es) or the liaisons/contacts already part of your capstone design

project) whom you could contact for technical advice or insights. Aim for breadth

in your list – at least three people on your list must be outside of your major(s)

and at least one should be outside of the Five Colleges altogether.

b. For each person, briefly describe the person's relevant expertise and at least one

question you could ask the person. (Expected length: 1 page annotated list)

4. Design Lessons: Consider a design project you have previously completed in another

course (engineering or otherwise), through an internship, or as an extracurricular activity.

Select one of the steps (sequential or ongoing) of the design process discussed in class.

Describe how you implemented this step in your previous project. How did the step

advance your design project? What, if any, issues arose during this step? What lessons

did you learn during this step that you can apply to your current capstone project?

(Expected length: 2-3 paragraphs)