1. Capstone Design Project Course
ECE496
Capstone Design Project Course
ECE496 is a design project course that you will do next year. It has a weighting of one full course in each of two terms, in other words you will be expected to spend as much time on it as you spend on these other courses.
Time management is a huge factor here. We start now so that you can ‘buy’ time by starting early so when you get problem sets, tests, labs and so on from other courses, you can safely take time from this course.
Phil Anderson Feb/04

2. ECE496

3. Intro to Design

4. Design – A Very Brief Overview
Get a Project
This is the basic idea of design. You get a problem and you solve it.. But life never works in such a straight-forward manner.
Do It

5. Design – Rules: Find your mistakes early 2. PLAN & ORGANIZE
Get a Project
Get an idea of
how to do it
Work on
Idea
Rules:
This is how ‘green’ designers work. They grab a solution then start to work on it, only to find it doesn’t fit their needs. So they grab another and repeat the process. Huge amounts of time and energy are wasted, and the project is completed late or never.
The solution to this is two-fold: Use a strategy that allows you to find and correct mistakes early (including avoiding mistakes) and do the necessary planning and organizing to make the completion happen.
Find your mistakes early
Project
Complete
2. PLAN & ORGANIZE

6. Design – Reasonable Approach
Determine Main
Project Goal
Requirements
Analysis
System
Design X X X
Module
Test / Verify
Module
Synthesis
Detailed
Design X X X
Here is a more reasonable structure:
The goal of the project is carefully described.
The requirements are analyzed. This is what the user / client / stakeholders need – how the solution must perform.
Next the all-over system is designed, then that design is broken down into modules which undergo detailed design. In each step a test plan is developed that will show that the requirements of the modules and of the system are being met.
Then the modules are integrated and the system is tested and verified as a whole. Finally it is delivered.
With this system, hopefully most of the iterations are at a module level and these should be few with proper, systematic initial designs.
Sometimes an unanticipated problem arises that means we must go back to the system design from the module interations.
The red arrows show possible redesigns from later stages. These will hopefully not be necessary because the design is well done at the system level
Careful requirements analysis and system/module design steps will avoid excessive iteration, however your plan should allow for iterations!!
System
Integration
System
Test / Verify
Solution
Delivery

7. Design – Telling Others
Determine Main
Project Goal
Requirements
Analysis
System
Design
Goal
Req. Spec
Sys. Spec
Sys. Tests
Detailed
Design
Module
Test / Verify
Module
Synthesis
Prog. Rept.
Design Spec
Mod. Tests
At each step, communications are required. You must communicate with your group members so specs are clear and deadlines are met. You must communicate with others who are guiding and paying for your design work.
This shows the reporting at each stage. Even if these are not called for explicitly in this course, you should generate these documents!
System
Integration
System
Test / Verify
Solution
Delivery
Final Rept.

8. Design - Creative Steps
Research
Brainstorm
Analyze / Select
Some of the steps, the ones shown with bars on the sides, were creative. Creativity is the key to any good design.
The first part is research or information-gathering. Next you brainstorm the step to generate possible solutions. Lastly you analyze the solution possibilities and select the most likely to succeed as the basis for further work.
Any time you have a decision to make you can go through this process. For example, if you are trying to figure out where you should research the ideas prior to your project brainstorming, run through this same cycle where the aim is to find out where to go for the resources! You will see that the resources you need for the project are not just in books or on the web, and not just in electronics and computer science!
My experience is that most engineers, let alone students, do not do this cycle well. They do a bit of work, latch onto the first idea they have that might solve the problem, and spend a lot of time working on a poor solution, if it is a solution at all!
Repeat as necessary!!

9. Intro to '496

10. Purpose of Course Use what you have learned Learn about design
Develop communication skills
Self-organize in team environment
Purpose
Synthesize learning – actually do a real project or study
Learn about design – go through the design process on a larger project
Develop communication skills – learn oral and written engineering communication
Self-organize in team environment – do some longer term time management!

11. Human Components Group Supervisor Co-ordinator / Administrator
Kelly Chan
Simcoe Hall (Jennifer MacInnis)
Group – You need to be in a group of 2 to 4 people working on a project
Supervisor – A prof will be your supervisor. Your supervisor will probably propose the project, or you can propose it (it then must be acceptable to the supervisor). The supervisor will help you with organization and with your technical efforts.
Coordinator / Administrator – Several groups are assigned to a coordinator (you do not select your own). The coordinator is in charge of organizing the course and marking the presentation aspects of the course. The coordinator will also suggest technical marks for the group members which the supervisor uses as a starting point for the technical marking.
Kelly Chan – Kelly Chan is your contact for the administrative and organizational aspects of the course. You will register with her. She also maintains the website.
Jennifer MacInnis – Jennifer MacInnis represents the university with regard to any intellectual property that might be generated by your project. More on that later.

12. Sign-up Process Find a project, a supervisor and a group
Register with Kelly Chan
If you do not register you may lose the project!
Sign-up Process
Find a project, a supervisor and a group – these will be posted on the part of the course website.
Register with Kelly Chan – there is a registration form online. Make a copy, fill it out and then you and your supervisor must sign it. Then get it in to Kelly Chan.
If you do not register you may lose the project!
Do NOT assume that your supervisor will remember that you are working with her/him
Do NOT assume that your supervisor will remember that you are working with her/him

13. MARK DOWN THESE DATES! March 1 March 16-18 May 1 May 15
(Designated) Last posting day for project by supervisors:
March 1
Design Fair:
March 16-18
Last day to register a project:
May 1
Dates
Mar 1 – Supervisors should have their projects in by this date. Allow some time for professors that forgot and for posting. Check often.
May 1 – You should have registered by this date.
May 15 – Students and supervisors left over will be joined. You will not have a choice of group members or supervisor!
Assignments of unregistered students to supervisors under quota:
May 15

14. Opening Lectures
Early Saturday in September there will be a set of opening lectures (full day!)
* details on deliverables
* case studies / examples
* hints / guides / pointers / expectations
Opening Lectures
Early Saturday in September there will be a set of opening lectures (full day!)
* details on deliverables
* case studies / examples
* hints / guides / pointers

15. Rules 1. PEY applicants may NOT apply for a design project.
2. Withdrawals from school must comply with directions on website
Rules
1. PEY applicants may NOT apply for a design project.
2. Withdrawals from school must comply with directions on website

16. Intellectual Property Rights: Ownership of IP
concerns: patents and copyright
ownership and publishing rights of IP, etc. covered by UofT policy
ALL outside work must be cleared by Simcoe Hall
do NOT sign non-disclosure or other agreements with outside parties. Contact your coordinator. You are NOT free to make your own agreements.
Ownership of IP
patents and copyright
ownership and publishing rights of IP, etc. covered by UofT policy
ALL outside work must be cleared by Simcoe Hall
do NOT sign non-disclosure or other agreements with outside parties
if you deal with outside parties contact your co-ordinator. You are NOT free to make your own agreements.

17. Intro to Brainstorming

18. Sample Simply-Structured Session
We will be doing a session in the lecture.

19. Brainstorming Rules Postpone and withhold your judgment of ideas
Encourage wild and exaggerated ideas
Quantity counts at this stage, not quality
Build on the ideas put forward by others
Every person and every idea has equal worth
Constantly change your viewpoint of the problem
most from
Rules
Postpone and withhold your judgment of ideas
Encourage wild and exaggerated ideas
Quantity counts at this stage, not quality
Build on the ideas put forward by others
Every person and every idea has equal worth
from

20. Role of Brainstormers Your role as a participant is twofold:
To suggest ideas which will work as solutions
To suggest ideas which will stimulate solutions in others
from
Reasons to participate
Your role as a participant is twofold:
To suggest ideas which will work as solutions
To suggest ideas which will stimulate solutions in others
from

21. Available in presentation notes on course website
Links
Website devoted to brainstorming
Freesource mindmap software
How to brainstorm in groups
Available in presentation notes on course website
There are many sites devoted to brainstorming and many tools you can use to increase your number of ideas and the diversity of those ideas.
The information we used is from
A site for free idea management software is at freemind.sourceforge.net. These tools are great for brainstorming and organizing ideas. The one I use is at It is not free, but does have a large number of features.

22. Summary

23. Summary of 2dos Figure out what area you’d like to work in
Start looking for groups and projects
Target profs that will be supervisors in things in which you are interested
Be prepared to get a project set up before end of term
Buy time by starting over the summer
Reasons for selecting a certain area of work:
Meet potential grad school supervisor
Work in an area in which you want to get employment
Explore an area you are already interested in and want to do some ‘hands on’ work
Explore an area you want to find more about
Projects and supervisors go quickly. Check the website often. See profs that are not assigned to 6 students already. Find fellow students interested in what you are interested in.

24. Keep The Crazy fin Reasons for selecting a certain area of work:
Meet potential grad school supervisor
Work in an area in which you want to get employment
Explore an area you are already interested in and want to do some ‘hands on’ work
Explore an area you want to find more about
Projects and supervisors go quickly. Check the website often. See profs that are not assigned to 6 students already. Find fellow students interested in what you are interested in.
fin