We Did a Needs Assessment for our Design Project: a Smart Home Energy Monitoring System

We developed a problem statement and analyzed how we can solve our problem using several tools learned in class.

Adjust the overall design of a project by changing or adding a component, developing a representation of the initial understanding of the project design and evolving it to a detailed representation. 

We researched relevant and similar patents, trademarks, and cpoyrights that were similar or related to the problem we are trying to solve or the solution we came up with in the previous weeks.

We created two diagrams, functional and operational, to graphically represent the different components of our system and how they interact with one another. These diagrams also show the logic and processes that our system uses to gather the data and deliver it to the user.

We created a morphological diagram to display different alternatives for achieving each of the functional design objectives listed in Assignment 4.

We analyzed the potential ethical issues and hazards that might arise with our design, including potential dangers and misuses of our design, as well as the environmental costs. We also provided solutions to the potential issues we identified.

We used several different tools to revisit our deisgn alternatives from Assignment 7. We prioritized different aspects of the design differently and rated each alternative to determine which is the best alternative to choose for our final design.

Using our analysis from the last 3 weeks, we used our selected alternatives and recreated our system and process diagrams.

Using our analysis from the last 3 weeks, we created a Gannt Chart to map out and schedule the project tasks and map out what needs to be done to complete our project.

We looked ahead into the future to begin planning for senior design. We considered important decisions, like what our team will look like, what each team member specializes in, and what we want to prioritize in our design project.