Instructor: Dr.
George L. Donohue
Lecture: Science and
Tech II Rm 12
Time: MW
Office Hours: Monday
Wednesday
Text: Augustine’s Laws, Norman R.
Augustine, 6th Edition, American Institute of Aeronautics and
Astronautics, 1997.
http://www.ncees.org/exams/study_materials/fe_handbook/ (17.5 Mbyte pdf file)
Objective: These two courses, together, provide the Capstone experience to the Systems Engineering undergraduate program. It provides the students with the opportunity to put all of the course material that you have covered in the last 4 years into practice. It also provides the faculty with the opportunity to test your ability to have assimilated the course material and certify that you are ready to receive the Bachelor of Science degree in Systems Engineering. In addition to providing you the opportunity to utilize the systems engineering processes (e.g. requirements determination, work-breakdown structures, Pert Charts, test and evaluation, life cycle costing, etc.) it will require you to use your analytical skills in system modeling, simulation and decision making. Emphasis in these courses will also be placed on written and verbal communication skill development and the creative process of engineering design. You now have the basic skills that should allow you to create new systems that are technically sound, affordable, environmentally compatible and safe. You will be asked to determine whether a Business Case exits for your designs in the Program Proposal that you will submit in late November. You will be required to manage a complex, unstructured project using the management and teamwork skills that you have developed. The class will be divided into four project teams, each working on a real problem. Each student MUST maintain a personal log of all design activity, to be inspected upon demand. You MUST submit a weekly time sheet to your team timekeeper to be submitted at all major program reviews. All teams will be entered into inter-scholastic senior design competitions at the end of the Spring Semester. GMU has a history of doing very well in these competitions; I expect the same or better from you.
A significant part of your individual SYST 490 grade will be based upon your (4+ hour) mid-term comprehensive engineering fundamentals exam. This exam will help prepare those students electing to take the FE exam on Saturday Oct 30. You are all strongly encouraged to take the FE exam. Those who do (and submit their test results in Feb 2005) will receive an 0.5 increase to their SYST 495 grade. Those who pass the FE exam will receive a 1.0 grade increase in SYST 495. A separate FE exam review course is being offered as ENGR 400 on Saturdays leading up to the FE exam, you are strongly advised to take this review course to help you prepare for the mid-term and the FE exam.
Program Schedule:
Aug. 30. Introduction to the course, design problems and time-sheet system. Background discussions and data exchange. Four teams will be formed based upon personal interest and required team balance. Each team will select a Team Leader who has the best qualifications for leading the team to a successful project completion. The team should also have sub teams consisting of : 1) process and data analysis team and 2) an analysis/ simulation team 3) Graphics, web page design/implementation, and presentation team. Teams should insure that they have members who have completed Systems Engineering Management, Simulation and Decision Theory. It is anticipated that team leadership duties may rotate throughout the 9-month period of the project (based upon demonstrated performance and workload considerations). This is a 3 hour Lab course and thus a minimum of 9 hours/week is expected.
Each member of the class will give a substantial
presentation at some point in the project to faculty and outside project
sponsors. Each student will be graded upon his/her presentation ability. The Project Proposal and the final Project
Report will be graded for writing style and completeness. The total project grade will represent a
sizable portion of each student’s final grade.
In addition, each student will be ranked by each team member for total
contribution to the program outcome. Each team member should have completed
SYST 371 (Systems Engineering Management).
Each team should have students who have completed SYST 473 (Decision and
Risk Analysis) and OR 335 (Discrete Systems Simulation Modeling). Submit
ranked design problem preference at the end of class.
September 1. Review of Probability and Statistics Ch 6
September 6. Review Energy
and Work Concepts Ch 17
September 8 Review Concepts of Stress and Strain Ch 18
September 13. Review Concepts in Fluid Mechanics Ch 22 and 25
September 15. Review Concepts of Thermodynamics Ch 27
September 20. Review DC Circuits Ch 40 (guest lecturer)
September 22. Review AC Circuits Ch 41 (guest lecturer)
September 27. Review Computer HW and SW Ch 43 and 44
September 29. Review Measurement and Controls Ch 45 and 46
Submit Problem Definition and Preliminary
Requirements Document, Proposed SOW, Project Labor Cost Estimate for EVM
tracking. Present Initial Level 3 Work Breakdown Structure, Estimated Project
Time Schedule and Gantt/PERT/CP Charts.
October 4. Team A and B Presentation *
October 6. Team C and D
Presentation *
October 12. Review Cash Flow
and Depreciation Ch 47 and Ch 48
October 13 Review Comparison of Alternatives and Ethics and Ethics
Ch 49 and 50
October 18/20/25/27. Mid Term Exams
October 30. FE Exam
Nov. 1. Pass Back Exam and
Discussion mid term team self evaluation
Nov. 3. no class, schedule individual team meetings for reviews
Nov. 8. Formal Team Progress Presentations*
Nov. 10. Formal Team Progress Presentations
Nov. 15. Formal Team Progress Presentations
Nov. 17. Formal Team Progress Presentations
Nov. 22/24 . Individual project work week, consult with project sponsors
Nov. 29
Dec 1. Final Proposals submitted
for Faculty and Sponsor evaluation
Dec 6. Dry Run Presentations *
Dec 8. Dry Run Presentations
Dec 10. Final Proposal
Presentations to Faculty and Project Sponsors
Dec 13. Present first semester team self evaluation and Plan for second semester. Revised Project Milestones
*
Actual presentation order will be determined by random draw
Grading: Each student’s final grade will be determined as follows:
30% Mid-Term Exam
25% Project Proposal and Final Project report (written)
25% Faculty / Sponsor Evaluation of Team Presentation
10% Team Project productivity self evaluation
5% Individual presentations
5% Timesheets/Notebooks