Capstone Design Step 1
The premise of the entire second semester is to demonstrate our advanced understanding of the engineering and design process through our Capstone Project. We are being tasked with producing, and promoting, a product or service and to develop this idea through the eight steps of the design process. We have just complete the first step of the design process, indentifying the problem.
Content
We has already determined the problem we wanted to resolve, homelessness in our town. However in order to properly identify the problem, specifics of the problem and who and how are people effected. We created a Demand and Wish list, conducted Intial Market Research, and have created Client Surveys.
Demand and Wish List
We started with our inital demands and wishes for our project. These characteristics ranged from dimensions to mental health resources. We had to consider every aspect of our project, even the timeline, to see what was absolutely critical to our design and what would be beneficial but is not essential.
Market Research
The market research process was simultaneously with the demand and wish list as they are heavily correlated. The information we found through our marker research helped us determine the difference betweens wants and demands. However, because our product is not necessarily a product or service we are selling, our only competition, although we are working toward the same goal, is homeless centers. So our market research primarily consisted of finding out what we can provide that homeless shelters cannot.
Client Surveys
Lastly, to solidify our wants and needs list, we will release our customer survey. Most of our questions are intended for the people we plan to house, the homeless in Lee Garner park, so we can simply approach them and interview them. However, our other questions must be sent out to city officials, police officers, and other people involved with housing the homeless in order to gain support, feedback, and hopefully funding for this project.
Reflection
As we finally enter our Capstone project, I am truly beginning to feel like an engineer. All of our assignments have relevance to our project and my group and I are becoming more productive. We are now better able to work on our assignments productively and complete them timely because it feels essential to our understanding of engineering. The work is also now more enjoyable because it feels as though we are working to complete something rather than to just do work. We as a group are now motivated, rather than just one member, so now everyone contributes somewhat to the assignments.
As for the content itself, it gives me a feeling of gratitude to know that not only am I helping homeless people, but I am taking their thoughts and feelings into consideration. It is all too important to be empathetic to the homeless and although a home in general is better than no home, it is still essential to take into account their needs in order to promote self betterment. These people must not only feel welcome, but safe in our community in order for our potential rehabilitation and therapy services to provide any real benefit. The more research we do regarding how best to help homeless people, the more tangible our idea becomes and it is a feeling of great satisfaction to help those who do not necessarily have the means to help themselves. Our only concern now is funding because in reality this will most likely be about a $10,000 project to build one home.