Assessment of Project Completion for Capstone Design Projects

Abstract

Assessment of Project Completion for Capstone Design ProjectsAbstractThe Capstone Design project has become a significant educational experience for the student inthe application of their growing technical expertise and the preparation of their professionalskills. The typical design process experience includes Problem Definition, Concept Generation,Preliminary Design, Detail Design, and Communication of Results5. However, the end result ofthis process is ultimately Solution of the Problem which often receives little attention in theacademic setting.A successful Capstone Design program including companion design courses has beendeveloped1,2,3,4 that has become an integral and important component of the MechanicalEngineering curriculum. A variety of challenging projects are created each year to appeal tostudent academic and career interests. Students work in teams with the assistance of a facultyadvisor to tackle a significant Mechanical Engineering Capstone Design project. The designexperience and course experience includes defining the problems to be addressed with formalDesign Requirements and identifying how the problems will be solved with a formal ProjectPlan. As the design and the project evolve, the course experience includes a Design Review andan Engineering Report. For those students that have not had the benefit of professional workexperience or internships, these course deliverables provide an initiation and foundation for theirprofessional engineering careers.Objec…