Intro

The Art of Engineering
Endeavors
Lecture 1
Introduction
March 30, 2015
Rob Silverstein
Rob Silverstein 2007-2015 All Rights Reserved
Why are you taking

this course?
Rob Silverstein 2007-2015 All Rights

Reserved
Accreditation Board for

Engineering and Technology (ABET)
Ethics
Communication
Multi-discipline Teamwork
Global and Contemporary
Issues
Life-long learning
What Have I learned from

teaching?
Student Engineers avoid team projects

Virtually all engineering projects are performed by
teams
Student Engineers do not collaborate
Engineers who are the best collaborators are the
most successful
Student Engineers do not ask questions in class
Engineers who do not ask questions, fail
Student Engineers avoid communicating - writing and
speaking
Engineers succeed by communicating effectively
Student Engineers are not known for their
interpersonal and leadership skills
Successful Engineering Careers depend upon these
skills
Student Engineers are obsessed with Grades and GPA
Engineers are evaluated subjectively
Deros
My Goals for this Class

Help you to internalize the importance
of Ethics, Morals, Values, Character
and Integrity to a successful engineer
and person
Convey the vital nature of
communication skill in an engineering
career
Introduce and explore the Paradigm
Shift that will occur when you move
from school to work
What do I mean by Paradigm

Shift?
The real world of the Engineer
is almost entirely different
from the world of the student
Read Get A Grip, the first
chapter in Engineering
Stories by Ken Hardman
We will discuss this in class
next week and there will be a
quiz
My Goals for this Class

Prepare you to be
successful in your
transition to a work
environment
Impart the skills you will
need to have a successful
Engineering Career
Whats Important in this Class?

Concept learning rather than
testable facts
Classroom participation and your
questions
Team Project
The Writing Assignments
Midterm
Communication
Attendance
I will take attendance
Send me an email, in advance, if
you are going to miss a class
Classroom Etiquette
The Survival Guide will give you
a preview of what is expected
of you
I seriously want you to ask
questions and discuss the
material
I will post my slides on CCLE
No computers, tablets or smart
phones in class
Friday Discussion
Mandatory
The TAs teach, lead and assist
during the discussion period and
they are largely responsible for
the written aspects of the class
There is, inevitably, some
disjointedness between Lectures
and Discussion
Communicate with us and ask for
clarification if there are any questions
Grades
The Team Project (30%)

The Final Exam (30%)
Two Essays (30%)
Midterm (10%)
Subjective opportunities for
extra credit and grade
modulation (attendance,
class participation, etc.)
Office Hours and Access

I use CCLE and emails to communicate
Office Hours (Boelter 6417)
Monday 12 - 1PM
Wednesday 12 - 1PM
Or, by appointment (email me)
I really want to see you or get an

email from you if you have any
questions
When someone asks a question that
has broad relevance, I will answer it in
an email to all (without attribution)
Sign Your Work

Introduce yourself first and last
name
Put your name on your work
Put your name or team number in
the filename of submitted material
WongA assignment 1.doc
3team status1.doc
Etc.
In the workplace, its your

responsibility to make sure
Management knows who you are
The Team Projects
The Team Project is a Central Part

of 185
It is an emulation of a realworld
engineering experience
Teams
Six Teams 6 to 8 students

Multi-discipline
As heterogeneous as possible
Communication
Friday Discussion
Other face-to-face meetings
Emails
Texts and phonecalls
Collaborative tools (Google Docs,
FaceBook Groups, etc.)
Team Project Assignment

Select a new product
Weekly written status reports on CCLE
Interim Midterm Presentation (midcourse input from
Management)
15-20 minutes
3 team members
All in one day
Peer review
Final Presentation
30-40 minutes
All team members
Over two day period
Peer Review
Final Report
~50 Pages
All must contribute
Produce a Conceptual Design and Preliminary Business Plan
What is a Suitable
Product?
It should be something relatively small in size
and complexity (remember, we only have 10
weeks)
Something that might be sold in Best Buy, a
Hardware Store, etc.
Something that might be used by a consumer
Something that you could carry home from the
store yourself (relatively small in size)
Something that is an added feature to a
consumer product (a car, a refrigerator, etc.)
It needs to have both hardware and software
elements; products that are all software are not
good for this course
The Team Project

The Team will prepare what is called
a Conceptual Design and Preliminary
Business Plan
You will Present this to the class and
to me in a simulation of a Conceptual
Design Review
Your goal is to establish your
products feasibility and justify why
your investors and/or management
should or should not invest more
resources in continuing the design
Your Team will choose to be one of three types

of organizations
A Start Up
This product will be your Teams only product and its
development will be your companys only activity
The product development organization of an existing

company with other products
The Team will choose a real company to be part of and it
should be one whose other products would aid the market
for the new product (i.e. Apple developing the IPAD and
IPHONE based on its IPOD and computer business)
The development organization of an existing

company with substantial product enhancement
opportunity
Your product is a product enhancement to an existing
product (i.e. adding wifi connectivity to an Olympus digital
camera or lane-departure warning to a Honda Accord)
You cannot be a subsidiary of an existing company

or a partner to an existing company
What kind of ideas lead to good

products? (particularly for this class)
The unfulfilled needs or wants of a
large number of potential customers (the
better mousetrap or the first cell phone)
An existing product that has become
affordable for the masses due to
technological or manufacturing
breakthrough (enabling technology)
GPS navigators
MP3 Players
Digital Cameras, etc.
Unfulfilled Needs and Wants

Auto Safety
Elder care
Technology Access for Senior
Citizens
Health care
Privacy
Security
Conservation and Green
Personal Convenience (house,
garden, commute, workplace,
etc.)chore reduction
etc.
Available Enabling
Technologies
PC, Apple and Android devices and cell

phones with:
Bluetooth, GPS, wide band data, APPS, WiFi, Hi-Res Screens and touch input, high res
camera
Cloud Computing
Inexpensive digital micro-cams
Micro-Electo-Mechanical
Systems(MEMS); Gyroscopes,
Accelerometers, etc.
3D Printing/Additive Manufacturing
Radio Frequency Identification (RFID)
unpowered and powered
Nano-Technology
Available Enabling
Technologies
Organic LED (OLED) displays

Li-polymer Batteries and new
battery technology
Miniature fuel cells
Super Capacitors
Materials
Reinforced Plastics
Net plastic parts
Specialty Glass
Composites and metal-ceramic
composites
Adhesives
Sign up for technology digest

Emails
www.gizmag.com
www.sciencedaily.com
www.technologyreview.com
Daily digest emails from
professional
associations/societies
Considerations For New

Products
Product Objectives
What will it do?
If the customer read an ad,
listened to a commercial, or
read the box, what would they
believe it will do?
If you were a salesperson, what
would you say the product
does to get people to buy it?
Concept of Operation
How will the Product actually
be used?
How will the user satisfy the
objectives with the Product?
Market Demographic
Who would want this
product?
How big is this Market?
How many people/users
How many companies
How many households
Value Proposition
Why would someone want to buy
this product.
What are the value parameters
Size (smaller, more compact, holds
more)
Weight (lighter, better weight
distribution)
Savings (deferred expense, fewer
hours)
Cost (cheaper, lower life cycle cost)
Market Differentiation
Are there competitors that
perform some or all of the
product objectives?
How will our product differ; be
better?
If we are more expensive, why
are we worth the added cost?
Feasibility
A concept for the design which
supports its feasibility
Analysis of the concept of operation
Sketches, drawings and illustrations
that support the products
performance feasibility
Power for the period of operation

Size
Weight
Availability of key components; both
hardware and software
Etc.
Technical Risk
All programs have Risks
Technical Risks are different
Does our product rely on any
risky or unproven technology or
technology application?
Why do you believe that the risk
is manageable or acceptable?
Ethical Issues
Dangers to users or the
public
Legal, Patent, Copyright, or
Regulatory Requirements or
Issues
Privacy and Security
Financial Analysis
Can the Company afford to
complete the design of this
product?
Will the company make money
with this product?
Rough Order of Magnitude ROM

Conceptual Designs are a first order
effort
A small amount of investment is made
by the company for its completion
Only the important factors are taken
into account and even these are low
fidelity
At this stage, many questions still exist
Many Projects are halted at this

stage
Project Identification Schedule

Three steps
Individual Ideas (1-3) due tomorrow for
Wednesdays Class
By Thursday I will announce the Teams
Team Ideas (~3) Due Sunday, April 5th after
first Team meeting on Friday, April 3rd
Team project selection due on or before
Sunday, April 12th
After each submission, I will provide

feedback in class
I am available to meet or answer team
question emails to accelerate the process
END
Working as an Engineer
Post Graduate Options
Continue education
Get a job in private industry
Get a job in the public sector
Become an academic
Conduct research
Become a consultant
Become an entrepreneur
(start a company/develop a
product)
Choose something else
other than engineering
By far, the majority of

you will get a job in
industry
Lets start with an
industrial exercise
The Disposable Camera

Project
Scenario
You are a new engineer recently hired by a
company that manufactures consumer products
Your company is considering producing a
disposable flash camera similar to the one you will
been given
You are assigned to the exploratory design team.
Your task is to learn everything about the
competitions camera
You will be the only one with this assignment and
you will be responsible to answer any questions
the other team members have once the team
begins to meet
You are given your assignment one week before
the first team meeting
The price in the store of the camera is $2.00 - that
means it should cost about $0.50 to manufacture it
(I will explain this in class, but take it as a given)
Your Assignment
Disassemble the camera and
perform an autopsy on it
(think CSI)
Record your observations as you
move deeper into the camera
Write a Memo from You to
The Disposable Camera Project
Team with the subject of
Disposable Camera Analysis
(use a MS Word memo
template form)
Memo Content
1. Before actually taking the camera
apart:
Examine the Camera and packaging.
Describe what the Camera purports to
do
How does it function?
What are its limitations?
What were the performance
objectives what the customer will
see and experience?
Memo Content
2. As you take it apart:
Observe and list the design
decisions the engineering team
appeared to make as they
satisfied the performance
objectives
Pay particular attention to
observations that affect cost
Memo Content
3. List the parts as you take it
apart.
Make a list of every part
This is called a Bill of Materials
(BOM) and will be very
important to the cost of your
companys competitive design
Memo Content
4. Describe how you believe
the camera was assembled
What parts were put together
first?
How were those sub
assemblies put together?
Memo Content
5. List any other observations that
you think will be relevant to your
team members as the team
decides whether your company
should build a competitive
camera
Remember, the other members of the

team will not have a camera to take
apart
Only you will be able answer their
questions about the competitors
camera
Assignment Notes
Be careful! The camera has a flash

circuit that can give you a memorable
shock if you are not careful
Assignment Notes
There will be no grade on

this assignment
However, it serves a very
important function in the
course
Assignment Notes
I encourage you to collaborate as
you disassemble the camera.
You may collaborate with anyone
you like including friends,
roommates, etc.
But,
You must each write your

own memo on your own

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The Art of Engineering

Why are you taking

Rob Silverstein 2007-2015 All Rights

Accreditation Board for

Rob Silverstein 2007-2015 All Rights Reserved

What Have I learned from

Student Engineers avoid team projects

My Goals for this Class

Rob Silverstein 2007-2015 All Rights Reserved

What do I mean by Paradigm

My Goals for this Class

Rob Silverstein 2007-2015 All Rights Reserved

Whats Important in this Class?

The Team Project (30%)

Office Hours and Access

I really want to see you or get an

Rob Silverstein 2007-2015 All Rights Reserved

Sign Your Work

In the workplace, its your

The Team Projects

Rob Silverstein 2007-2015 All Rights Reserved

The Team Project is a Central Part

Rob Silverstein 2007-2015 All Rights Reserved

Six Teams 6 to 8 students

Team Project Assignment

Produce a Conceptual Design and Preliminary Business Plan

Rob Silverstein 2007-2015 All Rights Reserved

The Team Project

Your Team will choose to be one of three types

The product development organization of an existing

The development organization of an existing

You cannot be a subsidiary of an existing company

What kind of ideas lead to good

Rob Silverstein 2007-2015 All Rights Reserved

Unfulfilled Needs and Wants

PC, Apple and Android devices and cell

Organic LED (OLED) displays

Sign up for technology digest

Rob Silverstein 2007-2015 All Rights Reserved

Considerations For New

Rob Silverstein 2007-2015 All Rights Reserved

Rob Silverstein 2007-2015 All Rights Reserved

Rob Silverstein 2007-2015 All Rights Reserved

Rob Silverstein 2007-2015 All Rights Reserved

Power for the period of operation

Rob Silverstein 2007-2015 All Rights Reserved

Rob Silverstein 2007-2015 All Rights Reserved

Rob Silverstein 2007-2015 All Rights Reserved

Rough Order of Magnitude ROM

Many Projects are halted at this

Project Identification Schedule

After each submission, I will provide

Rob Silverstein 2007-2015 All Rights Reserved

Rob Silverstein 2007-2015 All Rights Reserved

Post Graduate Options

By far, the majority of

Rob Silverstein 2007-2015 All Rights Reserved

The Disposable Camera

Rob Silverstein 2007-2015 All Rights Reserved

Rob Silverstein 2007-2015 All Rights Reserved

Rob Silverstein 2007-2015 All Rights Reserved

Rob Silverstein 2007-2015 All Rights Reserved

Remember, the other members of the

Be careful! The camera has a flash