Syllabus

Information at a Glance

Course Description and Objectives

This syllabus covers a two-course sequence that forms the ECE Senior Design Project:

• ECE 415: The course requires students to work in small design teams to solve a significant engineering problem. Students develop, design, and implement a solution to the engineering problem in conjunction with a faculty advisor. The course reinforces principles of the engineering design process and serves as a capstone for electrical and computer engineering knowledge obtained in the ECE curriculum. The consideration of the ethical and social implications of technology and the basic concepts of business are also aspects of the course. Each student design team is expected to present information related to their project in both written and oral formats. Preliminary paper design is followed by implementation in the lab using digital and analog hardware design techniques and through software engineering. It is expected that a complete or partially working system will be demonstrated at the end of the course. Satisfies the Integrative Experience requirement for BS-CompE and BS-EE majors.
  Prerequisites: ECE 304. For EE and CompE majors only.
• ECE 416: Continuation of ECE 415. Design of small computer/electronic system built, refined, tested, and demonstrated. Final prototype is shown to meet initial specifications at final design review presentation.
  Prerequisite: ECE 415.

After successfully completing this course, you should be able to:

1. Apply engineering design principles to formulate problem statement, analyze requirements and produce a system-level block diagram.
2. Prototype an electronic and/or software system to meet given specifications.
3. Integrate knowledge from across the core CompE or EE curriculum.
4. Take a systems approach to problem solving.
5. Work productively in a team environment.
6. Effectively communicate technical ideas and concepts.

SDP21 Personnel

Course Coordinators:

• C.V. Hollot
  Professor
  Marcus Building, room 201F
  hollot@ecs.umass.edu
• Baird Soules Senior Lecturer II Director of Experiental Learning Marcus Hall Room 5J

SDP Technician:

• Francis Caron
  Marcus Hall, room 9A
  fkcaron@ecs.umass.edu
  Hours: Mon – Fri, 8:00 A.M. –– 4:00 P.M.

Course Deliverables

ECE 415 and ECE 416 require the preparation of several deliverables including:

• Slide Decks: from PDR, MDR, CDR, FPR
• Reports: draft report, midway report, and final report
• Project Website: up-to-date information on project and design documents
• Review Presentations
• Poster for SDP Day demo
• System Prototype

More details on each deliverable will be provided in class. See the schedule for dates and deadlines.

Documents

The creating of all documents is to be a team effort. You are encouraged to work closely with your advisor on these assignments, but remember that you, not your advisor, are responsible for them.

• Title and Abstract: You are asked to prepare a statement of the problem for the project you have chosen.
• System Specifications: You are asked to prepare a requirements specification for the project you have chosen.
• Block Diagram: You are asked to prepare a block diagram of a system that meets the specifications in the requirements specification document. A general description of how the system works should accompany the block diagram.
• Midway Report: One of the main deliverables of your project is a technical report that contains all the information on design, design tradeoffs, analysis results, implementation details, etc. You are required to develop this report over several iterations. Each submission has to adhere to the style and formatting guidelines provided in class. Your midway report should describe the methods that your group will use to develop your project and demonstrate the feasibility of each technique.
• Final Report: The final report should define the problem you have solved, explain how you solved the problem, and demonstrate the performance of your solution.

Reviews

Design review presentations are the main mechanism for evaluating progress in SDP. The twofold purpose of design reviews is for the team to gain experience in presenting their work and to receive feedback from the Faculty Review Board. Each team member participates in the preparation and delivery of the presentation. There are several review presentations scheduled during the year. Details on the process of each review will be provided in class.

• Preliminary Design Review (PDR): The PDR presentation in early fall should cover the project’s problem statement, requirement specifications, system-level block diagram and project specifications, as well as the team’s proposed MDR prototype specifications. The advisor and Faculty Review Board may suggest modifications to the proposed MDR prototype specifications at the PDR.
• Midway Design Review (MDR): MDR takes place before the Faculty Review Board and the team advisor near the end of fall semester (see schedule). The hardware and/or software prototype presented should demonstrate that the chosen design path is likely to lead to a completed project in April which meets or exceeds the project specifications.
• Comprehensive Design Review (CDR): At CDR, teams present the final design that has been chosen for prototyping to the review board. It is expected the all design decisions have been completed and can be justified at this point. The prototype at the CDR should demonstrate all major functionality of the finished project.
• Final Project Review (FPR): At FDR, teams present their completed system and its functionality. Teams should lay out how the prototyped software/hardware meets project specifications.

Other required presentations are the following:

• SDP Day: Senior Design Project Day is when each project is presented to your colleagues in the college of engineering. Teams present their final prototype with posters as presentation aids. Teams are judged for their overall accomplishments and presentation skills.
• ECE Projects Showcase: On the Saturday following SDP days, you will demonstrate your project to the broader community including family and friends.

SDP Process

To ensure a successful completion of Senior Design Project, the following process has been established and is to be followed by all teams.

Team Coordination

In order to facilitate team organization and communication, each team has one member who is designated as the team manager. Responsibilities of the team manager include

• functioning as liaison between the team, the advisor, and the course coordinators,
• ensuring that the team is prepared for the weekly advisor meetings,
• being responsible for assembling weekly team report, and
• being responsible for logistics and confirmations associated with weekly team meetings, weekly advisor meetings, the PDR, MDR, CDR, FPR, SDP Day, and the ECE Projects Showcase (this includes room and presentation equipment reservations).

Meetings

Weekly Team Meetings

Weekly team meetings are for the team members to meet with each other. This can be either before or after the weekly advisor meetings, but meeting the day before the advisor meeting is encouraged in order to be prepared to make best use of the time with the advisor. It is the team manager’s responsibility to set up these meetings.

Weekly Advisor Meetings

Each project team holds a weekly meeting with their project advisor. Ideally, these meetings should be schedule to take place the same time each week. The purpose of each meeting is to have each team member report on progress that has been made, barriers that have been identified and clarification of short- and long-term goals. It is the team coordinator’s responsibility to set up these meetings with the project advisor.

Course Meetings and Attendance

Course meetings and events are specified in the course calendar. Regular course meetings are held:

• Mondays, 4:00-5:15 p.m., Lectures: Hasbrouck Lab, Rm 124; Marcus 10/12.

Attendance at all course meetings, review presentations, and other events listed in the calendar is required. Attendance has an impact on final grades.

Supplies & Equipment

A wide range of supplies and equipment are available in the SDP lab. For parts that are not stocked, each team is assigned a budget for purchasing components and supplies for their project. For each requisition, a Purchase Order Request Form must be filled out, signed by the advisor, and given to Francis Caron. Purchases that do not follow the outlined procedures cannot be reimbursed.

Grading

The final grade for ECE 415 and ECE 416 will be a weighted average of the following three grade components:

• Advisor grade (50%): Given at the discretion of the advisor.
• Review Board grade (30%): Average of PDR and MDR (for ECE 415) or CDR and FPR (for ECE 416) grades.
• Course Coordinator grade (20%): Based on attendance, project documents, and performance:

Each Team member is graded individually.

Course Policies

The following course policies apply (in addition to all university, college, and department regulations):

• Late / make-Up policy: Assignments are due as posted. Late submissions will not be accepted except in medical emergencies or other extenuating circumstances. In such cases, late submission can be requested by contacting the instructors. Proof may be requested (e.g., note from a medical professional).
• Fall 2020 Modified Grading for UG Courses: Students will be allowed to select Pass/Fail grading for up to three courses in Fall 2020, including courses for satisfaction of major, School/College, and University requirements. For Fall 2020, a Pass will suffice in cases in
  which a minimum letter grade was required. The deadline to declare Pass/Fail will be extended to Friday, November 20th. Actual course grades may be needed for application to graduate school, medical school, professional programs, other post-baccalaureate purposes, and to meet scholarship eligibility requirements. Students have up to six months after graduation to revoke P/F grading before their University record/transcript is “frozen” and no further changes are allowed. (After this period, a student may request an official letter from the Registrar indicating the letter grade that was submitted by the faculty member.)
• Health and Wellbeing: During this time, you may be experiencing new stresses related to the COVID-19 pandemic in addition to other pressures such as health, money, family, and academic concerns or stress and trauma from societal inequities and violence. You are not alone at UMass – many people care about your wellbeing and many resources are available to help you thrive and succeed. The College recognizes that coursework is challenging and that classes are not the only demand in your life. Success in this course and the College of Engineering depends heavily on your personal health and wellbeing. Recognize that stress is an expected part of the college experience, and it often can be compounded by unexpected setbacks or life changes outside the classroom such as those related to COVID-19. I strongly encourage you to reframe challenges as an unavoidable pathway to success. Reflect on your role in taking care of yourself throughout the term, before the demands of exams and projects reach their peak. Please feel free to reach out to me about any difficulty you may be having that may impact your performance as soon as it occurs and before it becomes too overwhelming. I encourage you to contact support services on campus that stand ready to assist you. You can learn about the confidential mental health services available on campus by calling the Center for Counseling and Psychological Health (CCPH) by visiting their website at
  umass.edu/counseling. Within the College, you may reach out to your academic advisor, the Office of Student Affairs (http://engineering.umass.edu/current-students/academics-advising) or the Office of Community Equity and Inclusion (rees@umass.edu). There are many other resources on campus for students facing personal, financial or life challenges to find support, stay in school, and graduate (https://www.umass.edu/studentlife/single-stop). Please reach out to me for support finding the resources you need.
• Disability Accommodation and Inclusive Learning Statement: Your success in this class is important to me. We all learn differently and bring different strengths and needs to the class. The University of Massachusetts Amherst is committed to making reasonable, effective and appropriate accommodations to meet the needs of students with disabilities and help create a barrier-free campus. If you have a qualifying disability and require accommodations while participating in this course, please work with Disability Services to have an accommodation letter sent to me in a timely manner. If you have a disability but are not yet affiliated with Disability Services, please register with Disability Services (https://www.umass.edu/disability/students). Information on services and materials for registering are also available on their website www.umass.edu/disability. If you are eligible for exam accommodations, your exams will be administered by the exam proctoring center. Contact Disability Services immediately, and comply with their
  exam scheduling policies, including the requirement that you book your exams at least seven days in advance of the exam date. It is incumbent upon you contact me during the first few weeks of the semester, or shortly following registration with Disability Services, to ensure that your accommodations are being sufficiently met, including extra time and note-taking access, as applicable. Finally, beyond disability accommodations, if there are aspects of the course that prevent you from learning or make you feel excluded, please let me know as soon as possible. Together we’ll develop strategies to meet both your needs and the requirements of the course.
• Integrity: There is no place for a dishonest engineer! Please read and be aware of the academic honesty policy:
  http://www.umass.edu/dean_students/academic_policy. While this isn’t something that should arise, it is something we should be aware of and discuss as a class, as integrity is a core value of the engineering profession.
• Inclusivity: The diversity of the participants of this course is a valuable source of ideas, problem solving strategies, and engineering creativity. If you feel that your contribution is not being valued or respected for any reason, please speak with me privately. If you wish to communicate with someone else in the College, speak with Assistant Dean Dr. Paula Rees (rees@umass.edu). You may also report a Climate Incident to campus at umass.edu/diversity or anonymously through the College of Engineering Climate Concerns and Suggestions on-line form (https://tinyurl.com/UMassEngineerClimate) and/or the Positive and Negative Classroom Experience online form (https://tinyurl.com/UMassEngineerClassroom). We are all members of an academic community with a shared responsibility to cultivate a climate where all individuals are valued and where both they and their ideas are treated with respect.
• Pronouns and Names: Everyone has the right to be addressed by the name and pronouns that they use for themselves. Students can indicate their preferred/chosen first name and pronouns on SPIRE, which appear on class rosters. Please let me know what name and pronouns I should use for you if they are not on the roster. A student’s chosen name and pronouns are to be respected at all times in the classroom. To learn more, read the Intro Handout on Pronouns: https://www.umass.edu/stonewall/sites/default/files/pronouns_intro.pdf
• Gender Respect and Title IX: The University of Massachusetts Amherst aspires to be a university environment that is free of discrimination, sexual harassment, and sexual violence. Faculty have the responsibility to inform students of resources and reporting options. If you or someone you know has experienced sexual assault, sexual misconduct, or sexual discrimination please see https://www.umass.edu/titleix/what-to-do for information about resources and reporting options. A report to the Title IX Coordinator may be made at any time (including during non-business hours) by using the Title IX Coordinator’s email (TitleIXCoordinator@umass.edu), telephone number (413.545.6124) or mail. UMass Amherst is committed to supporting community members who report concerns of prohibited conduct. Please reach out to me if you would like assistance connecting with any of these resources/options.