Preparing Students for Senior Design with a Rapid Design Challenge

Joe Tranquillo

Biomedical Engineering

Bucknell University

BME-IDEA 2009

The course was good, but…

Students not used to courses like design

1st semester can be unsatisfying to students

All projects different – keep class unified

Need to balance planning vs. building

First exposure to entire formal step-by-step engineering design process

Some students hesitant to fabricate

The Design Challenge (DC)

Challenge: Design and build a liquid infusion device for use in a 3rd-world rural clinic that empties a 60 cc syringe in 10 minutes.

Limitations:1. No AC power 4.$100 budget2. No intervention 5. No IP protection3. Restricted shopping 6. ~3 weeks

.

+

Design Build Test Refine

Step 1/5: Who are the users and what do they need?

TOPIC(S) LECTURE TOPICS

ASSIGNMENT

•Users Needs

•Solution Concepts

•Users

•Users Needs

•Objectives

•Objective Tree

•ID Users

•ID Users Needs

•Objective Tree

•Preliminary Solution Concepts

Step 2/5: What it should do and how well it should do it?

TOPIC(S) LECTURE TOPICS

ASSIGNMENT

•Functions

•Specifications

•Functions

•Specifications

•Measurable specifications

•ID functions from needs & objective tree

•Categorize functions

•Determine 5 or more specifications

•Categorize specifications

Step 3/5: The best solution and how to get there

TOPIC(S) LECTURE TOPICS

ASSIGNMENT

•Identifying best solution

•Planning

•Choosing best solution (decision making methods)

•Good documentation

•Effective meetings

•Present all possible solutions

•Explain how best was identified

•Gantt Chart

•Sign-off meeting

If you build it,

it will work…

Build Prototypes!!

Step 4/5: It’s done! But it doesn’t work! What now?

TOPIC(S) LECTURE TOPICS

ASSIGNMENT

•Preliminary test results

•Planned changes to system

•Importance of iterative cycle in design (plan, build, test, analyze, reevaluate, modify design)

•Effective memos

•Build prototype

•Test prototype

•Report test results

•Analyze test results

•Planned changes w/ justifications

Step 5/5: Evaluate the design process

TOPIC(S) LECTURE TOPICS

ASSIGNMENT

•Evaluate process (look backwards)

•Importance of looking backwards

•Info learned here can be brought into senior design

•Compare solution to objectives, functions and specifications

•Evaluate team performance

•Reflect on individual performance

The DC Final Event

The Contest1. Each team explains their solution and runs their system under supervision 3. Closest to ten minutes winner4. Closest to 6 cc/min winner5. Most creative solution winner6. Overall winning team7. Prizes awarded

The Wrap-Up1. Congratulatory feedback 2. Transfer to actual design3. Build on positive feelings

NEXT STEP: Form year-long design teams & GO!

The 2008-2009 Teams and Their Systems

J. Tranquillo and D. Cavanagh, “Preparing Students for Senior Design with a Rapid Design Challenge” Proceedings of ASEE 2009

BME at BucknellMission: To provide a high quality, hands-on

education to a select group of undergraduates

Enrollment: 54 students in four-year program; 3 classes of alumni

Faculty: 5.8 FTEs

Degrees: BS in BME, minor in BME

Facilities: Hybrid Instructional Facility, Biomedical Teaching/Project Lab, College Facilities

BME Design at Bucknell Two-semester sequence

− 1st semester to identify problem and plan− 2nd semester to fabricate, test & deliver

Teams of 2-4 students matched by interest

Clinical Mentors from Geisinger Health System

Faculty adviser and course coordinator

Teams identify clinical problem, run meetings, manage budget, meet deadlines, etc….. They are in charge

First offering in 2006-2007

The DC Sales Pitch

On first day of class:

1. DC syllabus

2. IDEO video

3. Student-selected teams

4. Set 1st team meeting time

5. GO! -> 3 weeks to build, test, and delivera medical device.

-> Follow 5 steps process

Did the Design Challenge help?Faculty Observed Benefits

1. Students engaged on day one

2. Students designed twice in the year

3. DC acted as a common experience

Faculty Observed Limitations

4. Takes time away from full design project – students not always see the value of DC

5. Not all students realize the transfer of skills from the DC to the design project.

Did the Design Challenge help?Summary of Student Evaluations

1. Most students were able to identify weaknesses in their DC efforts and made suggestions on how to improve

2. Students found that a ‘simple’ project with clear goals was effective to experience design process

3. Students were eager to begin the actual design project

4. When asked about the value of the DC, the average score of 31 students was 3.9/5.0.

Broader Application IdeasAlternative Implementations

1. Introductory engineering courses

2. High school courses

3. Service learning courses

4. Courses for non-engineers

Alternative Formats

5. Vary the objective of the DC

6. Vary the limitations

7. Focus on specific aspects of design process

8. Many more…..