Skip to main content
College of Engineering
Capstone

Design Reviews

What to Expect for Design Reviews

  • Each Design Review (except the Winter Planning Review) will require:
    • A formal presentation
      • Teams should dress professionally and be a few minutes early to set up
      • All team members should be present
      • Requirements for slide contents for each review are listed in the Requirements and Grading Considerations section below
    • A written Executive Summary
      • The Executive Summary is just that - a summary of where the team is with the project written at a high-level with references to artifacts that go into more detail
      • The Executive Summary should be TWO PAGES OR LESS
      • Requirements for the Executive Summary for each review are listed in the Requirements and Grading Considerations section below
    • Supporting Artifacts
      • The Executive Summary summarizes your work; your artifacts detail what led you to your summaries, conclusions, designs, etc
      • Artifacts should be included in the order in which they are referenced in your Executive Summary.
      • Any artifacts not referenced in the Executive Summary but that you think are important to include can be added as an Appendix
  • Submitting your Executive Summary and Artifacts for Grading and Feedback
    • Submissions are due TWO BUSINESS DAYS BEFORE YOUR DESIGN REVIEW
    • Teams will submit the Executive Summary and Artifacts AS A SINGLE PDF
    • Submission of the Design Review PDF will be through deOpus
      • Click on the upload icon beside "Executive Summary" on the right hand side of deOpus under the design phase for which you're submitting
      • Upload your PDF containing the Executive Summary and Artifacts
      • Your submission will be TIME-STAMPED by deOpus. If you made an error and need to resubmit after the deadline, please contact your External Relations Manager.

Design Review Logistics

  • Teams schedule the Design Review with the Pod Instructor WHEN THE TEAM IS READY, and no later than the "no later than" due date.
  • Contact your Pod Instructor at least a week before you would like to have your review. That gives him the most flexibility to schedule necessary resources to make your review happen when you need it.
  • Teams are STRONGLY ENCOURAGED to move through the first phases as quickly as possible. If the nature of your project makes it reasonable to complete your preliminary and final designs by the end of October, do it!
  • If your Pod Instructor preemptively schedules a review date for your team, YOU ARE NOT BOUND BY THAT DATE. Communicate with your Pod Instructor if you are ready before a date he schedules to reschedule the review and keep your project moving.

REQUIREMENTS AND GRADING CONSIDERATIONS

data-content-type="section"

Requirements Analysis

Teams work with sponsors to gather and document detailed requirements, understand the sponsor's needs for the project, the impact to the sponsor, and metrics for evaluating the final product. During this stage, team members spend time learning any new concepts or technologies required to be able to fully understand the requirements for the project. This may include a literature review, interviews with the sponsor, workshops, and/or individual research.
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage= overrideTextColor= overrideTextAlignment= overrideCardHideSection=false overrideCardHideByline=false overrideCardHideDescription=false overridebuttonBgColor= overrideButtonText= overrideTextAlignment=
data-content-type="section"

Preliminary Design

Once the requirements are established, design concepts are considered and evaluated. A final concept for system design is chosen and it is decided how the system will be structured and how its components will interact to meet the specified requirements. Initial prototypes, code structure, operating environment, etc are included as part of this stage.
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage= overrideTextColor= overrideTextAlignment= overrideCardHideSection=false overrideCardHideByline=false overrideCardHideDescription=false overridebuttonBgColor= overrideButtonText= overrideTextAlignment=
data-content-type="section"

Critical Design

During this phase, the overall architecture of the system is designed to meet the specified requirements. This includes defining the system components, creating engineering models and drawings, defining a full software architecture, defining all interfaces, specifying operating environment, creating a bill of materials, etc.
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage= overrideTextColor= overrideTextAlignment= overrideCardHideSection=false overrideCardHideByline=false overrideCardHideDescription=false overridebuttonBgColor= overrideButtonText= overrideTextAlignment=
data-content-type="section"

Winter Planning Review

The Winter Planning Review is a simple check-in with the team to review your project plans for the remainder of the project. During this review, the team will present the detailed schedule for Winter semester and discuss any requirements shifts and/or roadblocks. This is an opportunity for the pod instructor and coaches to assist the team in ensuring a successful project outcome.
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage= overrideTextColor= overrideTextAlignment= overrideCardHideSection=false overrideCardHideByline=false overrideCardHideDescription=false overridebuttonBgColor= overrideButtonText= overrideTextAlignment=
data-content-type="section"

Project Build and Test

In this phase, the system design is translated into a physical and/or software solution. This will involve developing software, building hardware components, integrating off-the-shelf products, or a combination of these approaches (depending on the project). At the completion of this stage, the primary development work will be complete. Teams should have a functioning, though not yet optimized, prototype or demo that will be refined and fully tested for performance during the final weeks of the semester.
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage= overrideTextColor= overrideTextAlignment= overrideCardHideSection=false overrideCardHideByline=false overrideCardHideDescription=false overridebuttonBgColor= overrideButtonText= overrideTextAlignment=
data-content-type="section"

Final Project

The project is refined to optimize performance. The team determines how well the project meets the requirements through performance testing.
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage= overrideTextColor= overrideTextAlignment= overrideCardHideSection=false overrideCardHideByline=false overrideCardHideDescription=false overridebuttonBgColor= overrideButtonText= overrideTextAlignment=
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage= overrideTextColor= overrideTextAlignment= overrideCardHideSection=false overrideCardHideByline=false overrideCardHideDescription=false overridebuttonBgColor= overrideButtonText=