Preliminary Design Review

Schedule and Content Notes

ME/MET Capstone 1 Preliminary Design Review "PDR" project presentations are scheduled to be held in 7 concurrent sessions during the 3:10 - 5:00 PM regular lecture time on Tuesday 10/23/2018. Schedule and location per table, below:

Scheduling and Mechanics:

Students - All students are expected to share equal portions of their group presentation preparation and/or delivery workload, and each student is expected to attend ALL  presentations during the session in which they present. Presenting groups should bring a USB drive with all presentation contents: Be sure to check that all needed files are present and functional. [Special caution if using embedded videos: Be sure the source of the video is accessible, e.g. on the USB.]

Presentation Format:

• Target time of 20 minutes allocated for each group presentation, split ~12 minutes for discussion and ~6 minutes for interactive Q&A with audience, with a few minutes for transitions between groups
• MAXIMUM time is 20 minutes per group: In no case will a group be permitted more than 20 minutes, be sure presentation content fits these constraints!
  • (Groups will be cut off if presentation extends beyond this time limit, with significant point penalties for poor planning. Presentations with insufficient content/duration will also suffer point deductions.) 
• Student groups should invite advisors, sponsors, and any other interested individuals. 
• Dress code = business casual. 
• Powerpoint use is generally considered to be the standard method for conveying this type of information. Computer display required.
• In case of computer issues, be prepared! (Suggest bringing one hard-copy of presentation for display on document camera as a backup.)
• Other options include handouts, pass-around articles, video, etc...

Content:

At a minimum, your presentation/discussion should include the following elements

• Introduce your group members, faculty advisor, course and course #, and your project sponsor.
• Describe your project - What? Why? Where?
• Discuss your Level 1 Requirements, as negotiated with your sponsor.
• Concisely describe the Research your team has performed, discuss important or applicable findings, etc.
• Present your Design Specifications and explain how you derived them from Level 1 Requirements or from other considerations such as regulations, standards, competition rules, etc.
• Discuss Alternatives Considered. Several viable alternatives are expected, with professionally prepared graphical depictions clearly showing the concepts.
• Go over the methods used to Evaluate the alternatives, which led to your selected design.
• Present your 'Best' Alternative as the Proposed Solution. Describe progress to-date in moving towards that solution.
• Chart a timeline that will lead to success, from beginning thru the end of the project. This should not just show activities through this term, but also through project completion next term! (Your Gantt chart is a good source for scheduling information but a poor format for presentation.)

It is possible that some groups may have made progress beyond the above minimum level: For instance, analysis or modeling of the preferred configuration may be under-way. That is fine, as long as all intermediate steps have been properly addressed and presented:  You should consider the above list a minimum level of achievement at this stage of the term.

Evaluation:

Group PDR Performance will be evaluated by the instructor based on the content recommendations listed above. 
PDR accounts for 10% of the course grade, per the grading criteria stated in the course syllabus.

Written feedback from Capstone 2 attendees will also be provided to each team.