Part 1 - Mindset of an Engineer: 10-15 min
The mindset of an engineer needs to be unconstrained and innovative. The Apollo 13 video clip demonstrates this mindset. Watch the Engineering Mindset video and ask students:
What did you notice about the engineers in the video?
(They did not hesitate and no one said ‘we can’t do this’)
What was the one item that was requested as they presented their solution?
(A procedure to make the filter)
Part 2 - Introducing the Engineering Design Process and Engineering Design Process Log: 15-20 min
As engineers design and develop concepts, they use the Engineering Design Process, which is similar conceptually to the Design Thinking cycle that students have just experienced, but is more focused and is specific to problems that can be solved through engineering. It uses design process labels slightly differently than the Design Thinking cycle does, and emphasizes defining concrete requirements related to the problem rather than more expansive thinking about broader problems typically done with Design Thinking.
Guide the students through the parts of the Engineering Design Process, using the EDP Poster, comparing and contrasting the two different design cycles. Emphasize that the engineering design process is not necessarily linear--that engineers might go through many rounds of ideating, evaluating, prototyping and testing before they decide on the best solution.
Identify the Problem
Identify and explain the engineering problem you are trying to solve. This step should not include any information about a solution for the problem. (Note: Engineers generally receive problems to solve from clients. In this step, they are making more concrete the specific problem that has been given to them. It is similar in nature to, but less specific than, the focused "Define" step in Design Thinking.)
Understand
In the Understand section, you should identify each specific requirement that the engineered solution must meet. Requirements can be features that the solution must have, such as wheels, a handle, or an amount of profit, but also can be factors that restrict the solution as well, such as weight, price or who the user will be. These are also called Constraints. (Note: Understanding both the client and the user is important, and is part of this stage of the EDP. This is analogous to the Empathize stage of design thinking, but the EDP Understand stage also includes a concrete identification of all requirements the solution must meet. Engineers come back to this stage repeatedly as they identify additional requirements during the design process.)
Ideate
The Ideate section is where you come up with possible ideas for solutions to the problem. This section should include a good description of your ideas, and possibly sketches of them. (Note: This is the most "flaring" of the stages of the EDP, and is similar to the Ideate stage in Design Thinking. Students should be encouraged to think out-of-the-box when coming up with solutions, and to not fixate on their first idea. The group should be encouraged to come up with multiple different possible solutions to the problem, to sketch them out, and label important components.)
Evaluate
When you Evaluate, you compare each solution idea against your list of requirements to help you judge which ideas best meet the solution requirements. This will help you decide which ideas you should prototype and test. (Note: This step helps the group narrow down their decision about which idea to take forward. This step is part of the Ideate stage in Design Thinking.)
Prototype and Test
During this stage, you build a model, or prototype, of your solution so you can test it. You need to determine how you will test each of the requirements. The tests should have defined procedures so that every test that you perform will be consistent and will yield accurate results. (Note: Engineering tests are generally very quantitative, emphasizing physical tests that can be objectively measured. Design Thinking tests are usually very qualitative in nature, focused on interpreting how users interact with the prototype.)
Communicate Your Solution
During this stage you communicate to your audience the results of your tests and your decision about which idea was best.
When engineers work on a project, they need to keep an organized record of their ideas and procedure. Discuss with students how having a procedure document was helpful in the Apollo 13 video. Introduce students to the idea of the digital Engineering Design Process Log (EDPL). This is the document that they will use to organize and record their ideas, process and testing results. It will support the Engineering Design Process (EDP) and students will be able to track their work and avoid repetitive decisions.
Once logged in students should click on the class link and then click on the project link.
Students will now be on the Project page to create their new project, enter a name.
And then click save. This will create the project and return them to the front page.
They should now click on the project the created so they can begin the process.
Each student could assign permissions, to give access to teammates (if appropriate). To do this, the student should click on the Permissions button on the Projects page, and teammate names under "Add a group member". This will give you and teammates access to the project.
Students need to click the save button so that they don't lose their project and permissions.