Course Description
Experience in design methodology for Electrical and Computer Science Engineering Honors-level students. Students will learn to critically and holistically evaluate problems involving electronics, computational hardware, and software while producing solutions that address societal, economical, and technical needs.
Athena Title
ECSE Design Methodology Honors
Equivalent Courses
Not open to students with credit in ECSE 2920
Prerequisite
(ECSE 2170-2170L or ECSE 2170H) and permission of Honors
Pre or Corequisite
ELEE 3270 or ELEE 3270E
Semester Course Offered
Offered every year.
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Student learning Outcomes
- Students will be able to formulate an unambiguous problem statement.
- Students will be able to determine relevant project stakeholders and integrate stakeholders into the design process.
- Students will be able to identify societal, economical, and technical problem constraints and ethical concerns.
- Students will be able to generate, compare and contrast, and select from several alternative designs using systems thinking.
- Students will be able to develop a standards-compliant software and hardware specification.
- Students will be able to produce an effective detailed project plan.
- Students will be able to execute a project plan.
- Students will be able to iteratively refine prototypes through internal and external evaluation processes.
- Students will be able to produce and deliver high-quality design presentations and product demonstrations.
- Students will be able to leverage project management, planning, and collaboration software.
- Students will be able to leverage version control software for hardware and software source materials.
- Students will be able to produce clear and unambiguous design documentation.
- By the end of this course, students will be able to apply a structured design methodology to organize and synthesize technical data into a justified design recommendation, as demonstrated through the Technical subsection of the final project report.
- By the end of this course, students will be able to develop and deliver an oral design proposal that tailors communication strategy to a specified stakeholder audience, as demonstrated through the Oral Presentation component of the final project.
- By the end of this course, students will be able to analyze the potential social, safety, and environmental impacts of a proposed engineering design and incorporate ethical considerations into design decisions, as demonstrated through the Ethics subsection of the final project report.
- By the end of this course, students will be able to generate an original design that satisfies real-world constraints (e.g., cost, safety, sustainability), as demonstrated through the Constraints subsection of the final project report.
- By the end of this course, students will be able to plan, manage, and complete a team-based design project, addressing conflict constructively and incorporating teammate feedback to reach project milestones, as demonstrated through their CATME peer evaluation score.
Topical Outline
- Introduction to Design Methodology and the Design Process
- Problem Identification and Stakeholder Engagement
- Systems Specifications and Design Constraints
- Design Generation
- Project Planning and Management
- Use of Electronics Computer-aided Design Software Packages
- Technical Report Writing and Relevant Tools of Statistical Analysis
- Case Studies of CSE Design Problems
- Laboratory Procedures, Rules, and Safety
- Implementation of a Design Project
- Honors
Honors students will also be required to complete a more in- depth final project. Details will be addressed by the instructor, but will be a combination of a relevant patent search, formalizing a business plan or manufacturing plan, enhanced fabrication of the final product, and performing market surveys. The instructor will discuss this with each Honors student during the course.
Institutional Competencies Learning Outcomes
Analytical Thinking
The ability to reason, interpret, analyze, and solve problems from a wide array of authentic contexts.
Critical Thinking
The ability to pursue and comprehensively evaluate information before accepting or establishing a conclusion, decision, or action.
