ge 121 – engineering design - 2009 engineering design ge121 reporting the outcome lecture 7a

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GE 121 – Engineering Design - 2009

Engineering DesignGE121

Reporting the Outcome

Lecture 7A

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Quizzes

Quiz 1 will be next lecture class (Thursday January 27th 2009)

Chapter 1Multiple Choice, with clickersBe sure to bring your clicker! No hand

written answers accepted!

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Reporting the Outcome

Presentation of Techniques for Reporting the Results of the design process

Some types of reporting:Final ReportsPresentationsDesign Drawings

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General GuidelinesTechnical Communication

Basic Elements of Effective Communication

Know your purpose – Design documentation examples

Seeks to inform client about features and design elements of selected design

May be trying to persuade client of best alternativeMay wish to report how design works, to users

Know your audienceWhat is the technical level of the target audience?What is their interest in the design being presented?May prepare multiple documents – Technical /

Management

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General GuidelinesTechnical Communication (continued)

Choose and organize content around your purpose and audienceSometimes reporting the design process is

important, other times, only the result is importantOrganizational Patterns (some options)

– General Overviews Specific Details– Specific Details General Overviews– Chronological (not recommended)– Describing Devices or Systems

Develop a unified, coherent document - avoid repetition

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Write precisely and clearlyEffective use of:

– Short paragraphs that focus on a single thesis or topic– Short, direct sentences that contain a subject and verb,

and allow the reader to clearly understand what is being said

Opinions should be clearly identified as such

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Design your pages wellUtilize your Media wisely

– Use Headings to support / extend structure of report (a long section divided into subsections helps sustain readers)

– Select Fonts to highlight key elements or to indicate different types of information

– White space helps keep readers alert

Careful planning of support materials (slides / transparencies)

– Font size and choice enhance readability– White space helps – try to limit words

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Think visually

Audiences are helped by judicious use of visual representation of information

– Design Tools that we have used in class– Detailed Drawings– Assembly Drawings

Tools readily available in most software – no excuse!

Be careful not to cloud your slides / report with distracting backgrounds or images

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Write ethically!

Present facts fully and accuratelyDon’t present only favorable results / test

outcomesGive full credit to authors or researchers whose

work you use

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The Project Report:Writing for the Client, Not for History

Communicate with the Client in terms that ensure the client’s thoughtful acceptance of team’s design choicesClear representation of the Design Problem

Analysis of the needs to be metAlternatives consideredBases on which decisions were madeDecisions that were taken

Clear, understandable languageHighly detailed or technical materials in

appendices

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Project Report (continued)

Best managed and controlled with a structured approach

Structure of the Report is not intended to displace initiative or creativity. One example:Determine purpose and audienceConstruct rough outline of overall structureReview outline with Team / Team ManagerConstruct Topic Sentence Outline / review with teamDistribute individual writing assignments, then

assemble, write and edit initial draftSolicit initial reviews from Managers/AdvisorsRevise/rewrite initial draft in response to reviewsPrepare final version of report and present to client

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Purpose of / Audience for Final Report

Final Report may be read by a much wider audience than simply the Client’s liaisonOther readers may have different level of technical

knowledgeClient liaison may be able to help guide

Must understand what recipients will do with reportMay have wanted to see many alternativesMay want to see only a single one that works

May have multiple audiencesCan start with general descriptions, then increase

technical level in subsections or appendices

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Rough Outline:Structuring the Final Report

Reports must be planned!First step is building a good rough outlineIdentify major sections

Major sections have been identified for our class project reports

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Rough Outline: Structuring the Final Report (cont’d)

Typically, some of these sections are:AbstractExecutive SummaryIntroduction and OverviewAnalysis of the Problem including relevant prior work

or researchDesign Alternatives consideredEvaluation of Design Alternatives and basis for

Design SelectionResults of the Alternatives Analysis and Design

Selection[Detailed Design][Acceptance Tests]Supporting Materials – Often in Appendices

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Rough Outline: Structuring the Final Report (cont’d)

Supporting Materials / Appendices (cont’d)Drawings and DetailsFabrication Specifications Supporting Calculations or Modeling ResultsOther materials that the Client may want

Each Section:Should be clear / coherent / stand by itselfShould tell a complete story of some aspect of

the project, and its resultsImportant to have an idea where you’re

going, and organize / assemble it along the way! Fewer last minute details for report

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Topic Sentence Outline:Every Entry Represents a Paragraph

Every single paragraph should have a topic sentence that indicates paragraph’s intent or thesis

Topic Sentence Outline (TSO) is very useful to identify and detail the themes or topics within each section of the report

Helps identify any issues that may not be addressed

Helps prevent duplicationForces Team to agree on topics to be coveredMakes it easier for someone to take over / finish

if someone else is unableMakes life easier for editor to ensure ‘one voice’

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First Draft:Turning Several Voices Into One

The larger the writing team, the greater the need for an authoritative editor

Editor’s Responsibility to ensure: Continuity

Logical Sequence, Follows Topic Sentence Outline Consistency

Common terminology, abbreviations, acronyms, notation, units – discrepancies noted and explained

Accuracy Technical work done and reported to professional standards

Completeness All topics in the TSO have been covered All references have been included All appendix material has been included

Speaks in a Single Voice Has to sound like it was written by a single person Formal and impersonal

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Activity

Write a topic sentence outline for your midterm reportYou may want to start with a brief team

meeting to update progress made since the last team meeting

The topic sentences should be worded to make clear how Section 2 is different than Section 1.

Each team member can be responsible for topic sentences for the portion of work that they have completed to date.

ge 121 – engineering design - 2009 engineering design ge121 reporting the outcome lecture 7a

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