GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY

SCHOOL OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND ENGINEERING

 

SYST 490/495 Senior System Design Project (2005/2006)

9/20/2005

Instructor: Dr. George L. Donohue

Office: Rm 121 S&T II

Lecture: ENT 275

Time: MW 15:00 – 16:15

Lab: Rm 15/16 Central Module

Office Hours: Tuesday 13:00 to 15:00,

                        Wednesday 13:00 to 15:00 and 16:30 to 18:00

TA: Mathew Fischl Central Module Rm 18

 

FE Review Manual, Michael Lindeburg, 2002

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.

 

You are all strongly encouraged to take the FE exam in the spring of 2006.  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. 29.   Introduction to the course, design problems and time-sheet system.  Background discussions and data exchange. Six teams will be formed based upon Team Leader selection on Wed. Aug. 31.  Each Team Leader will select from 4 draft rounds to assemble a team with the best qualifications for achieving a successful project conclusion.  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 of productive effort 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 has at least one student who has completed SYST 473 (Decision and Risk Analysis) and OR 335 (Discrete Systems Simulation Modeling).  Prospective team leaders have been identified and will meet at the end of this period for a separate discussion.

 

August 31. Lab construction and Team selection day.  Meet in CM RM. 15/16 with work closes and tools for assembly of computer work stations and chairs.(10:00 to 16:00)

September 6. Continued discussion of team projects

September 12.  Discussion of Team Projects and Project Scope

September 14.  Review Value Hierarchy, Requirements, Traceability (HOQ) and Life Cycle Concepts

September 19 TA Review WBS, PERT and Critical Path (GLD at NSWC)

September 21. Review Earned Value Management for Cost Control

September 26. Teams Present mini discussions of status to date

September 28.  Teams Present mini discussions of status to date

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 3. Team A and B Presentation *

October 5. Team C and D Presentation *

October 11. Team E and F Presentation *

October 12. Team G Presentation, Prelim Report Pass Back and MTE Review

October 17. Mid Term Exam (TA, GLD at NSWC)

October 19. Discuss Project Investment Decision Report Format

October 24. Pass Back Exam and Discussion mid term team self evaluation

October 26. meet with individual teams for progress discussions

October 31. no class, schedule individual team meetings for reviews

 

Nov. 2. no class, schedule individual team meetings for reviews

Nov. 7. TA meet with individual teams for progress discussions (GLD at NSWC)

Nov. 9. Formal Team Progress Presentations*

Nov. 14. Formal Team Progress Presentations

Nov. 16. Formal Team Progress Presentations

Nov. 21. Formal Team Progress Presentations

Nov. 28. Each team present EVM report

Nov. 30. Dry Run Presentations*

Dec 5.  Dry Run Presentations; Final Proposals submitted for Faculty and Sponsor       evaluation

Dec 7. Final Proposal Presentations to Faculty and Project Sponsors

Dec 19. 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

 

Team Assignments:

 

Team composition on Aug 31.

 

Project Sponsor Assignments on Sept. 12.