Grading Policies
Grades are calculated using the following weights:
Letter grades will be assigned according to the following distribution:
Description
The goal of our two-semester sequence is to provide you with a realistic design experience, and teach you the tools and methodologies that can help you be successful. To be considered for a passing grade in this portion of the class, your design review must convince the committee this project was finished. You must demonstrate a functional project at your design review, and that your hardware design meets your design requirements and simulation results.
A significant component of your grade will be your weekly assignments. These will include a mixture of assignments designed to help you make incremental progress on your project. We now use a popular project planning tool, Microsoft Project, in this course. This will help you plan your projects on a daily basis. Every Tuesday morning, you will be responsible for making a deliverable available on your web site. There will be approximately 13 deliverables over the course of the semester. These will be described in detail in class and via email. A schedule is provided below.
The design document developed in Design I will be updated and become the comprehensive description of the entire project including: requirements, test specification, design, and test certification. It presents both simulation data and hardware measurements (for the packaged version of the hardware!), demonstrating that your design has met its goals. This document should address most of the points listed on the cover page of the course web site. Templates used in Design I will still apply.
Technical writing is a very important part of the overall course goals in senior design. Because you are supplied with a detailed Microsoft Word template for the design document, grading of the design document will be strict. Documents will first be graded based on their technical content. Next, for each infraction of the formatting guidelines, you will have one letter grade deducted from the overall grade for your document. A failing grade on the design document will be counted more heavily - a team cannot receive a grade higher than a C in this course if they fail the design document component of the course.
The preliminary design review should be a dry-run of the final presentation. It is a 15-minute presentation that provides a vigorous review of the project. The emphasis in the second semester of the course is on creation and testing of the packaged version of the project. At this stage of the course, you will be expected to show the first version of your packaged hardware, along with a comprehensive testing plan.
The design review must address all design deficiencies noted in your preliminary review, and review all aspects of the project (with technical details supporting your claims). This will be a 15-minute presentation. At the time of the design review, a project web site must be available containing all information about the project, including the documents described above and the design review presentation.
Concurrent with the design review, we will host a conference-style packaged hardware demonstration. This will be set up in a room adjacent to the presentations, and consist of a conference booth type format where each team is allocated a table at which they will demonstrate their hardware. Each team will be responsible for constructing a poster providing an overview of the project. Faculty, student, and industrial representatives will visit each project and provide a detailed evaluation of the hardware. This portion of the final design review will last about three hours and run concurrently with the design presentations.
Another significant component of your grade is derived from your advisor's evaluation of role on the team, peer review, and team self-assessment. Remember a prime directive: "Keep your advisor happy." The rationale your advisor uses to arrive at your grade is at his or her discretion. Be sure to communicate with your advisor to fully understand his or her expectations. Also, your exchanges with fellow team members should involve good listening skills, the distribution of the responsibility and, most important, follow through. Good teamwork requires care, skill, and effort.
The project web site will be graded according to its comprehensiveness. A good site will contain a complete archive of the project, including all documents, presentations, data, measurements, schematics in source file format, software, etc. Web sites are graded on a competitive basis so keep an eye on your competition. WARNING: If your website does not contain your complete design data (datasheets, schematics, pcbs, code) then it will be assigned a maximum of 1 point out of 5 possible points.
Your course grade will be computed using the categories and weights described above. Final grades can be adjusted by plus or minus 5% based on feedback collected from a peer review or self-assessment process. Ideally, all team members contribute equally and, as a result, the team achieves their grade goals. Occasionally, peer review reveals that contributions are markedly uneven, despite all efforts to address the project as a team. As a part of self-assessment process, team members will submit a written evaluation of their fellow team members. All claims of mutiny, insurgency, poor performance, etc., must be documented in sufficient detail to be given consideration.
We will attend some entrepreneurship lectures this semester in coordination with GE 3011. Developing an appreciation of those issues discussed in the entrepreneurship series offers the opportunity to distinguish yourself from other job applicants. The entrepreneurship lectures are one means by which we encourage you to start thinking about important non-technical aspects of your career.
You will also write a simple business plan for your project. We will describe the details of this assignment in subsequent lectures. Teams are encouraged to enter the business plan competition and compete for the generous prizes offered by the College. Online tools at bplans.com are available on-line for guiding you through the development of your business plan.
Schedule
Please note that the dates below are fixed since they have been arranged to optimize a number of constraints. You need to adjust your schedules, including job interviews and site visits, accordingly.
Deliverables
Presentations and hardware demonstrations are due at times shown above. The weekly deliverables will be due at 8 AM on the days shown below.