What Makes a Good Project

Michael A. MackeyAugust 27, 2004

What Can Make a Good Project Go Bad?

Michael A. MackeyAugust 27, 2004

“Turning ideas into reality”

- Slogan from National Engineers Week, Feb. 18-24, 2001

Outline

• Minimum requirements for an acceptable project

• Attributes of a good project• Pitfalls to watch for• Other comments

Minimum Requirements

• Every project should have:– Obvious potential for positive impact

on human health– Substantial engineering design

component– Some novelty or innovation– Constraints established the “real

world” – Commercial potential, or potential for

application in (bio)medical research

External Evaluators

• External evaluators rate project on scale of 1 to 6 in several categories

• They are asked to judge:– Technical content– Size and scope of project– Relevance to human health– Presentation skills

• Your grade in 51:086 is based, in part, on their evaluation!

Attributes of a Good Project

• Topic• People• Design Process

Attributes of a Good Project

• Topic• People• Design Process

Attributes: Topic• Obvious link to human health,

medicine, or bioengineering• Some innovation or novelty, not just

a rerun of a project from last year• Balance risk and payoff• Feasible: Can you do it constrained

by:– Time, cost, laws of physics, etc.

• Is the team really interested in this project?

Attributes of a Good Project

• Topic• People• Design Process

Attributes: People

• Enthusiasm• Synergy• Energy• Stamina• Teamwork• Leadership

Remember: the team includes the faculty mentor(s)!

Attributes: People

“A team that works well together is priceless.

Conversely, a team that can’t get along is disastrous no matter how good the topic is.

Don’t underestimate personality problems, and be proactive about trying to resolve them.

Recruit reasonable people.”

- Senior Design Engineer, Rockwell-Collins

Attributes of a Good Project

• Topic• People• Design Process

Design Process• Generate detailed “specific aims”• Be flexible in choosing methodology

– Thorough review of literature– Analysis of candidate approaches– Have rationale for approach selected– Be prepared to backtrack and try again

• How will you measure if you succeed?• What are your deliverables?• Have specific milestones (meet

them!)

Pitfalls to Watch For

• Picking a project that is – too big or too small for the group– not technically challenging enough

for two semesters of work– too technically challenging for two

semesters of work

Pitfalls to Watch For

• Underestimating time required for design, construction, debugging, testing, evaluation, writing, etc.

• Underestimating the cost of critical components

• Overlooking the need for specialized equipment, training, or other resources

Pitfalls to Watch For

• Over-reliance on one team member• Inability of the team to equitably

distribute the work• Expecting mentor to do all the work• No communication between team

members or between team and mentor

• Missing milestones, waiting until the last minute to complete tasks

Other Comments

• Things to consider:– How will you fund the project?– Will faculty mentor provide $$$, lab

space, logistical support?– Who has intellectual property rights?– Can you happily work with your

partners?– Are you all committed to the success

of the project?

Have Fun!

• Choose a project that is interesting and important to you - you will be spending many, many, many hours working on it

• Work hard to produce something you can be proud of on Senior Design Day

• Have fun!