FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

• • No two projects, jobs, or careers are created equally, and noticeable differences in difficulty of any challenge are common. Senior design is susceptible to the same variation. While the program strives to have similar scopes in projects, there is no doubt that some technical challenges are subjectively more or less difficult than others. It is important to note, however, that differences of technical challenge do not necessarily scale to differences in grading and evaluation.

• • The general details for grading as well as participation and attendance are covered in the Syllabus. 

  • Departments may provide general guidance to advisors and students in the General Grading Rubrics page.

  • Further guidance for evaluation criteria for reports and presentations can be found in the Report Requirements & Guidelines and Presentation Requirements & Guidelines. 

  • There is a great deal of variation in tasks and scope between projects, and the exact interpretations of performance will be nuanced between teams. It is critical to speak with your advisor about their expectations, and understand that these may evolve in a variety of ways as the project evolves. In this way, they are similar to industry evaluations (private and public) where employees and management will be evaluated based on the challenges they face and how they respond. 

  • It is important to note, that evaluation is much more closely tied to student performance than to project success. It is possible for a team to meet all the the project objectives and still receive below average or failing grades, because they did not apply technical/professional rigor. It is likewise possible for a team who fails to meet the project objectives to receive above average or excellent grades due to clear technical/professional rigor and satisfaction of the program outcomes on the Syllabus. 

  • Within a team, individual teammates may receive different grades based on individual performance or failure to satisfy expectations. 

See the relevant sections in Project Work.

• • Having a difficult time grasping project requirements is normal and happens in industry. Being able to get organized and ask the right questions of a customer is an important set of skills for any professional. In these cases, it is important to have a record of what you do know. Sometimes this is a complex matrix or a simple list, but it's ideal to have a document like this that you can agree to with the customer so everyone at the table knows what the objectives are. 

• • Technical design projects like these are complex and often evolve over time. Old requirements may no longer make sense after a certain point, and new requirements may come into play (and it may not be the team *or* the customer's fault). Developing the skills to be able to negotiate and navigate these requirements changes is highly valuable. Work with your Project Advisor and Liaison to navigate changes like this. This may involve softening or changing other requirements or adjusting quality or performance expectations to meet the changing need.

• • It is common for projects to have individuals who do more than others. Within a certain range, this is unavoidable and happens in industry. There is, however, a limit at which it should be addressed. 

  • If you are concerned that a teammate is not participating sufficiently, there are several approaches to consider based on the circumstances:

    • Improve clarity of tasks. It is common for imbalances to come from miscommunications or misunderstandings of workloads. Create clear action items with a clear owner and a delivery date that the individual can work to. This may solve the problem, or will at the very least make for clear descriptions of the problems.

    • If you are comfortable with the person, it can be valuable to chat with a teammate heart-to-heart and see if there is work you are unaware of that they are addressing for the project or if extenuating circumstances exist. Recognizing your teammates as people is critical in this scenario even though accountability is the intent. Be careful to avoid a confrontation. The goal is to be a partner to this person with common objectives rather than creating an "me/us vs you" scenario. 

    • If your aren't comfortable or you haven't gotten traction, talk to your advisor about the issues you're having. Keep the conversation framed around the project objectives and problem-solving. Being able to stay objective around inter-personal problems is a valuable skill for professional careers. It is extra critical to focus on performance rather than personal characteristics. "This person is lazy" is not detailed or measurable where as "This person no-call no-showed at the meetings on these dates, performed this analysis incorrectly and didn't ask for review despite the requirement, resulting in this failure, and has not delivered on these three action items which were assigned to them and due two weeks ago despite emailed reminders on these dates." 

  • Don't expect immediate improvements. Humans rarely make snap changes in behavior and often there are extenuating circumstances that are contributing to the issues. It is important to root for your team mates to get better even when you may want to write them off. Do your best to leave the door open for a team mate to improve, and work with your advisor to rebalance tasks if they do not.

• • Start by reviewing this page: Budget Request 

  • If you still have questions, contact the Academic Director.

• • The team should be tracking their own budget using basic bookkeeping, but it is common for a team to want a spot-check of their remaining balance if they are worried they have missed something. To receive a spot-check, email or stop by the office of the Academic Director who can compare books with you.

• • See: Purchase Requests