APSC 100 Final

Study and Clarify; generate solutions; identify most promising solution; develop and test solution; implement solution

design process steps

Design process: Stage 1

Study and Clarify Problem

• have a precise definition of what makes a solution acceptable and what makes one viable solution better or worse than another.

Study and Clarify; generate solutions; identify most promising solution; develop and test solution; implement solution

design process steps

Design process: Stage 1

Study and Clarify Problem

• have a precise definition of what makes a solution acceptable and what makes one viable solution better or worse than another.

Design process: Stage 2

Generating Potential Solutions

• maximize the number and variety of potential solutions to our design problem.

Design process: Stage 3

Identify Most Promising Solution

• identify the once conceptual solution that we will use as the basis for our final design. Quickly and efficiently moving from a large number of concepts to the one concept that has the most potential to succeed in the project.

Design process: Stage 4

Develop and Test Solution

• analyze, refine, and develop the solution selected in the previous stage using engineering tools(prototypes, simulations, calculations), science and math, and consultations with stakeholders.

Design process: Stage 5

Implement Solution

• involves the final constructions, communications, and delivery of the solution to the design problem.

iteration

• new ideas, perspectives, and information may come up which encourages or requires engineers to revisit and revise previous work

Why Use the design process

1. improves the chance of finding a solution in the time available

2. improves the quality of the final solution

3. improves the chance of completing the project on time

4. improves the chance of completing the project on budget

Cost

refers to money, effort, or other resources

A

the cumulative total of money, effort, and resources we have spent up to a particular time as we complete the project

Costs committed

the sum of money, effort, and resources we have already spent plus those we will need to spend in the future based on our decisions to date

Costs committed > actual costs

True

Stakeholders

the people, groups, or organizations that are influenced by a project or can influence a project

salience

how prominent and important stakeholders are;

power

refers to a stakeholder’s ability to influence a project; ex. a regulatory body or a group funding a project

Legitimacy

describes a stakeholder’s moral or legal right to have a say in the project; stakeholder groups impacted by a project generally have ___

urgency

describes how critical or time sensitive a stakeholder perceives their needs in a project to be.

Tertiary Stakeholder

fulfills only one aspect of saliency

Secondary Stakeholder

fulfills two aspects of saliency

Primary Stakeholder

fulfills all three aspects of saliency

Stakeholder needs

capture the wants and wishes of the stakeholders and the things that will increase (and decrease) stakeholder satisfaction

Expressed needs

needs the stakeholders are aware of and freely share

latent needs

needs that would please stakeholders but that they might not be aware of.

threshold needs

needs stakeholders expect but might not think to mention

Target Design Specifications

the combination of requirements and evaluation criteria that give unambiguous, objective criteria to apply in design decision-making.

Requirements

the collection of minimal thresholds our design must achieve and the qualities or features it must have (or not have) in order to be considered acceptable to stakeholders.

Evaluation Criteria

the attributes of importance to stakeholders that determine satisfaction beyond a design that minimally meets all requirements.

Validation

confirming the target design specifications we have set accurately match stakeholder needs; are we solving the correct problem?

Verification

checking if our solution being developed addresses the target design specifications; did we solve the problem correctly?

Principles of Concept Generation

1. focus on quantity, not quality (avoid anchoring)

2. welcome unconventional ideas

3. do not evaluate ideas

Fixation (anchoring)

focusing on one idea rather than thinking broadly, should be avoided during concept generation

Brainstorming

a high energy approach to concept generation where ideas are quickly shared.

C-Sketch

a structured form of brainstorming where each team member contributes in turn to each idea through sketching.

Screening

The process of removing any concepts that cannot be made to meet all requirements.

Ranking

The process of qualitatively comparing ideas in order to narrow down to a small number worth investigating further.

Scoring

A detailed and resource-intensive process to quantitatively evaluate a small number of ideas.

Individual Voting

ranking method: each team member casts a set number of votes for the concept they believe best address the evaluation criteria

Pairwise comparison

ranking method: comparing each concept against every other concept, one at a time, trying to find the ones that are favoured most often. Favoured - 1, Tie - ½ Loss - 0

criterion-based ranking

• each concept is qualitatively evaluated using the evaluation criteria. A concept expected to perform better than average gains a point, below if less than average, 0 if average.

weighted decision matrix (WDM)

a common tool used in scoring based on rating multiple options against each evaluation criterion with a weight applied.

Sensitivity Analysis

a process where weights and scores are adjusted in a WDM to assess the consistency of the results

Prototype

a physical or virtual model that represents all or part of a design

Focused Prototype

a prototype that represents only a limited number of elements of the final design

Comprehensive Prototype

a prototype that represents all elements of a final design

Physical prototype

a prototype that physically exists in the same way as the final design

Virtual prototype

a prototype that is not a full physical manifestation of the final design

waterjet pros and cons

pros: cuts almost any material

cons:

• cuts flat, 2D shapes

• nearly impossible to control the depth of cutting

• material will get wet

laser cutter pros and cons

pros: can cut materials with sub-millimetre accuracy through materials of different thicknesses

cons:

• cuts flat, 2D shapes

• produce gas and particulates

  • requires lots of powers to cut thicker materials

3D print pros and cons

pros: 3D, creates objects as directly shown in CAD

cons

• slow

• materials are limited

  • cannot be too thin or have unsupported structures

Audience

considerations of what the person or group your communication is directed to already known, needs to know, and wants to know

Purpose

your objectives and goals behind your communication. which may be…

Inform: describe review, instruct, explain, demonstrate

Persuade: convince, influence, recommend, change, justify

Context

considerations for your communication including the format used, location, time, and other special factors.

Assertion-Evidence

states the key point and then supports that with data, visuals, and other evidence.

Scale

the extent we are using to view a system, from small to large.

Spatial Scale

a scale based on the physical extent of a system.

Temporal Scale

a scale based on time, from now to the distant future

Organizational Scale

a scale based on organizational structures (such as with government), from local/municipal to international

Deterministic

a problem or system free of randomness; the output for a given input will always be the same

Simple System

a system with a small number of elements and predictable behaviour (deterministic)

Complex System

a system with multiple interacting elements, randomness, and feedback (non-deterministic)

Sustainability

the capacity of human civilization and the earth’s natural systems to co-exist indefinitely

3 dimension of sustainability

environment, society, economy

bearable

a solution that meets both societal and environmental goals

viable

a solution that addresses both environmental and economic goals

equitable

a solution that addresses both societal and economic goals

context (sustainability)

the relevant factors in a problem that influence our stakeholder consultation and the suitability of a potential solution

four principles of sustainability

1. Avoid removing materials from the earth at a rate faster than they are naturally replenished

2. Avoid making things and releasing substances at a rate faster than they naturally break down

3. Avoid degrading ecosystems at a rate faster than they can naturally regrow

   1. As a society, move towards happiness, well-being, and meeting the needs of all people

Causal Loop Diagrams

a diagram of system consisting of variables (nodes) and feedback loops.

Reinforcing Loop

a feed-back loop in which an initial change in a variable is amplified through one cycle of the loop (positive)

Balancing Loop

a feedback loop in which one cycle of the loop counteracts (opposes) an initial change to one variable in the loop (negative)

Process to become an engineer

engineering student → engineering graduate → engineering in training → professional engineer

P. eng seal

assures the work being done meets the standards of a competent engineer. and signifies responsibility for that work

iron ring

serves as a reminder to engineers of their obligation to uphold the high standards of engineering, to act ethically, and to protect the public

stress

Force distributed uniformly across a cross-sectional area

order of yield, ultimate tensile strength, and stress to avoid permanent deformation

stress < yield strength < ultimate tensile strength

Elastic Deformation

change in shape due to applied force is temporary

Plastic Deformation (yield)

change in shape due to applied force is permanent

Ethics

organized and agreed-upon principles of conduct for a group; the study of standards of right and wrong

Morals

widely held societal values regarding right and wrong

Values

Subjective beliefs and standards individuals use to judge right from wrong and good from bad

Duty Ethics

relatively inflexible ethical theory that says we should all behave the same way in all circumstances; we should always do what is good and right according to societal values, morals and codes of ethics; the ends do not justify the means.

Utilitarianism

maximizes benefits for the greatest number of people, minimizing harms, and fairly distributing both.

Rights Ethics

decisions should be based on protecting the rights of others

Dilemma

a difficult decision where no alternative is clearly preferable - each has some consequence

Conflict of Interest

a situation where you could personally benefit from work you do for your client or employer

Gradual Escalation

a process for resolving dilemmas in which small, low risk actions are attempted first and then followed by larger actions as needed

Clear

easy to follow and understand, using appropriate language choices and structure

Correct

is factually accurate, and is free from formatting, spelling, grammatical, and other errors

Concise

is brief and to the point, but without loss of meaning

Concrete

is detailed, specific, and vividm with the intended message evident

Complete

contains the information the audience needs, including what is expected of them

Courteous

is polite, friendly, and sincere; shows general respect for the audience

considerate

is empathetic and mindful; takes the specific audience and their reaction into account

3 types of feedback

1. Appreciation: acknowledge a job well done

2. Coaching: help someone improve

3. Evaluation: rate someone’s performance against standards

technical memo

a form of concise written communication used within an organization

elevator pitch

a very short (and often impromptu) presentation used to generate interest and a follow-up meeting on a topic

Biomedical Engineering BME

lies at the intersection of engineering, biology, medicine, life sciences, computer sciences(computation), and mathematics.

Chemical / Biomedical Engineering CHBE

• integrates mainly chemistry with biology, physics, and math

• design and implement processes to change raw materials into vital everyday products

Civil Engineering

• oversee the deign, construction, and maintenance of both human and naturally built environments

• involved in earthquake, structural, transportation, and municipal infrastructure

Computer Engineering

• design, test, and implement software and the hardware of devices and the integration of computers into larger systems

• focuses on designing and integrating complete systems consisting of hardware and software elements