In the Third Year Team Design Project the entire year is divided into teams which compete to design and construct circuits which enable team vehicles to perform assigned tasks on time and within budget. The project which is highly competeative changes every year and has industrial sponsorship.

Weekly

Wednesday 12pm - 1pm

None.

None.

Project work with staged milestones.

Components of assessment

Assessment is based on the overall performance of the group, with modifications for individual contributions

The aims of this course are to develop team and project planning skills in the context of the design and construction of an electronic system which must meet a given specification.

By the end of this course students will be able to:

■ plan and manage a project to specifications, deadlines, and keep within practical project constraints (including an assigned budget);

■ design, fabricate and test circuits and systems to a specification (including the design, population and integration of PCBs);

■ recognise the differing roles in a successful team, and their importance to team success;

■ use PERT techniques, including in the planning, monitoring and revision of project schedules;

■ organise functional project meetings (including the keeping of minutes);

■ separate a complete electronic design into functional units which may be designed independently;

■ keep a coherent laboratory day-book;

■ use electronic data books and application notes;

■ select analogue/digital electronic components for a specific task;

■ design prototype and final systems to a functional specification, taking note of safety, user interface and reliability/maintenance aspects of design;

■ organise clear oral and written presentations to describe personal and peer work;

■ evaluate personal and peer contributions to a substantive project, in writing;

■ apply creativity in the development of an innovative project feature.

Notes

A few lectures will be given near the start of the session. The class is divided into teams at the start of the first semester and thereafter, groups meet with supervising staff for one hour every two weeks on average. The course begins with a team building exercise. Teams are asked to select a team leader and the project work is divided amongst team members. Teams are expected to give short presentations on their progress at intervals throughout the course. Further details and a comprehensive timetable will be provided at the first briefing session. The course runs closely with ECS3 and both courses make use of the same teams. A formal project assessment will be made towards the end of the first semester and this will count for 20% of the overall marks. It is essential that all students make an early start to the practical aspects of the project.

Requirements for the award of credits

To ensure that a student will be awarded the credits for a course, he or she must complete the course and reach a minimum level of attainment. This requires that a student:

■ be present at lectures, laboratories and tutorials on at least 50% of occasions at which attendance is monitored,

■ satisfactorily complete the assignments in the laboratories,

■ attend compulsory lab sessions

■ make practical contributions to design and construction aspects of the project

Note that these are minimum requirements: good students will achieve far higher partici-pa-tion rates. Any student who misses an assessment or a significant number of classes because of illness or other good cause should report this by completing a Websurf absence report.