APSC100 - Midterm - UBC first year eng

Engineering design

thr process through which engineering knowledge and skills are applied to solve real-world, open ended problems

Novice approach

trial and error

engineering approach

1. study and clarify

2. generate potential solutions

3. identify most promising solution

4. develop and test solution

5. implement solution

Iteration: what is it, where does it fit into design process

revisit any time to review and revise previous work

Implement solution

Not the end of the process

- consider maintanence, recyling, etc.,

How does cost of a project change through the phases of the DP

Gets more and more costly, as you delve further into a design. Prototyping takes time and resources, more advanced prototypes take more!

- get the early stages RIGHT, don't waste resources on bad products

What is the goal of stage 2: generating potential solutions

to generate as many solutions as possible

What is the solution space composed of

axes for time and variety

what is ideal in a solution space?

more = better

more variety = better

remember: sometimes you are wrong about how strong an idea is

When is a solution space done?

do not spend too much time on it. strive for variety and quantity but do not spend forever

How can you develop quantity in a solution space?

- resist developing ideas

- unique ideas

- focus on what will make ideas work

- use different mediums to communicate and generate concepts

what is anchoring/fixation?

When you focus on one idea during the solution generation and get hung up on it, preventing variety.

what shape should your solution space generally be

a triangle

What is C-sketching?

what are the steps?

collaborative sketching

- have your own sheet

- carify problem

- individually sketch a solution

- pass sketch on

- 2/3 minutes

- pass on until everyone has seen all the sketches

- combine, improve, repeat

requirements of c-sketching

no talking

no writing words

simple drawings

build on each idea

you can erase/modify

Three components of stage 3: identify most promising solution

Screening

Ranking

Scoring

What are requirements?

the limits of acceptability for a design

Screening

remove solutions that do NOT satisfy requirements

- if only slightly off, you CAN modify

- OTHERWISE: discard

Evaluation Criteria

try to optimize overall stakeholder satisfaction: measures that distinguish between levels of performance or stakeholder satisfaction

Ranking

sort ideas for worst to best performance

- some will stand out

- don't spend a lot of time on this

- find what has potential

- no specific number

Scoring

analysis of best ideas

- calculations

- analysis

- prototyping

Why should you make sure you are developing the MOST promising solutions during scoring?

Because scoring is labor and resource intensive

- if you develop too many ideas: time and extra work

- too few and you might overlook a good idea

Methods of ranking

Voting

Borda count

Pairwise

Criterion-based ranking

What is a prototype

simple representations of projects

- broad term

what is the primary purpose of prototypes

reduce risk

What are the characteristics of an "early" prototype?

Quick, inexpensive, simple

- expand thinking by exploring

What are the characteristics of an "late" prototype?

detailed, accurate

- refine, describe, answer, resolve

What are the axes of a prototype graph

x-axis

focused to comprehensive

y-axis

virtual to physical

what is a physical prototype?

something tangible

- wind tunnel test

- wind tunnel model

- physical model tested in water

- actual device used in c- trials

what is a focused prototype?

only 1/2 specific components are addressed - not super in depth

- sketches

- wind tunnel test

what s a comprehensive prototype?

One that is very in-depth

- actual device used in c-trials

- note that a comprehensive prototype is rarely ever virtual

What is a virtual prototype

not tangible

- sketches

- computer renderings

- numerical models

- computer simulations

How does cost of an error change with time

As time goes on, you are more willing to invest and errors are much more costly

Audience

who?

- how is it different

- what do they know? what do they not know?

simple/complex

- jargon?

- key terms

Opinions

- do they agree

- do they know

- are they interested

- what do we relate to

Purpose

INFORM AND PERSUADE

outcome

clear purpose

what to convey?

how to convey

educating? communicating? teaching?

Context

what led you developing the communication?

- setting?

- was it requested

- project update

presentation space

- tech available

- amount of time

engineers?

- poster

- video

leverage the strengths of each context

what is the AAA designation

All ages and abilities

- safe

- comfort

- convienent

what are scales?

a scope at which you look at a problem through

e.g engineering a car

- car and city

- car and region

- car and nation

- car and other systems

What types of scales are there?

Spatial, temporal and organizational/governmental

economic, political, legal, cultural, social

What is the goal of scales

best solution

What is stakeholder salience?

who is most important

Three delegations of stakeholders

Primary, secondary, tertiary

What does it mean to be a primary stakeholder

possess power urgency, and legitimacy

What does it mean to be a secondary stakeholder

possess two of three: power and urgency, power and legitimacy, urgency and legitimacy

What does it mean to be a tertiary stakeholder

possess only one of three: power, urgency, legitimacy

What is power (in terms of salience)

How much a stakeholder can influence a project

- authority

- special expertise

- major funder

What is urgency (in terms of salience)

How important it is to stakeholder needs

- someone who might lose land to the project

- critical to have that land for livelihood

What is legitimacy (in terms of salience)

stakeholders' right to have a say

- legal

- moral

An example of someone who has moral legitimacy

recreational fishing guide (in dam project scenario)

An example of someone who has legal legitimacy

first nations - IT IS ILLEGAL to not consult the first nations

Rights holder

anyone whose legal rights or human rights could be impacted by a project

how should you involve stakeholders?

Inform: workshops, meetings, input

Can non-stakeholders become stakeholders?

Yes. Protests, organized movements

Which stakeholders should we inform of project and monitor?

ALL

which stakeholders should we allow to give input?

Primary and secondary - maybe tertiary

which stakeholders should we involve during decision-making?

Primary - maybe seconday - not tertiary

which stakeholders should we collaborate with throughout the project?

maybe primary - not secondary - not tertiary

Sustainability

the capacity of human society to continue indefinitely with the Earth's natural cycles

Alternate definition of sustainability

meet the needs of the present without compromising the future

What are the three dimensions of sustainability?

environmental, social, economic

What does the environmental definition of sustainability contain?

clean air, biodiversity, conservation, emission reductions management

What does the economic definition of sustainability contain?

money, jobs, trade, prosperity

What does the social definition of sustainability contain?

health, education, safety, human rights, opportunity

What set of goals are the 3 dimensions connected to?

the united nations' 17 sustainable development goals

What did the 3 dimensions evolve from?

the three pillars

What are the four principles of sustainability

1. Avoid removing materials from earth faster than they can replenish naturally

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

3. Avoid degrading the ecosystems faster than they can regrow

4. move towards happiness, well-being, and meeting the needs of ALL PEOPLE

What is it called when a project addresses both environmental and economic dimensions of sustainability?

Viable

What is it called when a project addresses both environmental and social dimensions of sustainability?

bearable

What is it called when a project addresses both social and economic dimensions of sustainability?

equitable

What is it called when a project addresses all the dimensions of sustainability?

SUSTAINABLE

What type of system does a causal loop diagram help represent

A complex problem

Three levels/kinds of problems

simple, complicated, complex

characteristics of a simple problem

small number of elements

deterministic: behavior is predictable

- calculatable

characteristics of a complicated problem

many elements that work together

deterministic: behavior is predictable

LOTS of equations BUT STILL predictable

characteristics of a complex problem

many elements that interact

not predictable

- traffic: accidents, jam, etc

- adaptable

- Not strictly governed by physical laws

- Human interaction

- Feedback loops

What is a node in a CLD

An aspect of a problem that can change based on other variables

How to indicate a delayed reaction on an CLD

double line through the arrow

reinforcing loop

Loop that occurs when an action causes change that accelerates that action, reinforcing the effect of the original action. Associated with positive feedback

- look for all postives or an even number of negative signs

balancing loop

When the parameter of a node is increased, it will decrease once the loop is complete

- look for an odd number of negative signs

Profession

a group of individuals widely recognized by the public who

- possess specialized knowledge or skills

- have received special training or education

- adhere to ethical standards

- apply their knowledge and skills in the interest of others

Who regulates professions?

The government

- BUT ALSO they are self-regulated

Who is in charge of self-regulation

a professional association

Why can a professional association regulate a profession

They often have the detailed knowledge and expertise needed to make decisions regarding the profession.

Who regulates the engineering profession in Canada

Engineers Canada

- each province and territory has its OWN EA

- licensing

- governance

What are the 4 Principles that make up the Code of Ethics

values and beliefs TENETS

- hold paramount the safety, health, and welfare of the public

- practice in a careful and diligent manner and in compliance with applicable legislation

- uphold and enhance honor and dignity of the profession

- ensure that clients/emploters are aware of project consequences

-...

What is the sequence of titles leading to P. Eng

engineering student -> engineering graduate -> engineering in training -> P. Eng

When you are an EIT, what do you need to do to eventually become a P. eng?

graduate from an accredited program

gain work experience 3-5 years

- under P. Eng supervision

pass professional exam NPPE: law, ethics, etc

What special thing do you get when you become a P. Eng

A fun, cool seal so you can stamp stuff

- No, but seriously, you take on liability as you are endorsing the work you stamp as if it is your own

Iron Ring

wear on pinky finger

symbol of pride and as a reminder that engineers have a duty to uphold to always keep others safe, and act ethically

Iron Pin

-Marks transition into engineering at university

-It recognizes that you have already begun the path to a P.Eng and that professionalism starts now

Input to stage 3 of the design process

a large number of ideas

output from stage 3 of the design process

the one solution you plan to develop

Which part of stage three does a WDM fall under

Scoring

what is a WDM?

A weighted decision matrix is used in the scoring phase to determine the best solution to move forward with

Sensitivity analysis

investigation of what happens to the results of the WDM when you shift weights or raw scores slightly

When determining raw scores for a WDM what should the axes on the graph be?

Criterion score (0-10) vs. evaluation criteria

What are different shapes for graphs that can be used to determine raw scores for WDMs?

linear: plateau, linear, plateau; bowed

Data ink ratio

The proportion of ink (or pixels in digital content) that is used to present actual data compared to the total amount of ink (or pixels) used in an entire visualization

- ideal is 1

What is universal design

the design of products and environments to be usable by all people, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptation or specialized design

target design specifications

- what are the two types?

Developed from needs, a precise description of what the final design has to be or do, quantifiable or testable

- evaluation criteria and requirements