This theme of this essay assignment was to imagine that I was an engineer who had just been hired to design an exhibit for the Carnegie Science Center. The purpose of the exhibit is to have children learn about electrical and computer engineering by interacting with the exhibit. The specifics of the assignment can be viewed here. This essay also serves as a benchmark for the knowledge we will learn in the class about design and team/project work. I'll be writing a similar essay at the end of the semester that will (hopefully) improve upon the content expressed in the initial essay.
My first design essay, which appears below, is mainly based upon my experience in previous project courses, especially my Advanced Digital Design Project and two Engineering and Public Policy Project courses. It also includes some of the material I learned from Distributed Embedded Systems.
Here it is:
FIRST THINGS FIRST
First, I would need to gather the standards that Carnegie Science Center exhibits must follow. I'm almost certain that some kind of standards must exist that specify the requirements and limitations an exhibit must follow. For example, it must be easily transportable, it must not consume more than 100W of power, etc. I would read these standards first before I proceed any further.
Then, I would come up with the basic electronic principle that should be taught to the museum visitors using the exhibit. Assuming that I could educate children about any area within the electronics field, it should be something that they should be interested in and practical. But most importantly, it should be something they can interact with.
This electronics topic for the exhibit should be selected, even though it may only be a tentative selection. From there, the next step is to come up with a working prototype of what the exhibit looks like and how it will work. In order to create these, it is necessary to have a design team.
THE DESIGN TEAM
For this this design project, I see the need for three people...
Managing and Purchasing Guy: This person is in charge of the project and makes sure that it ultimately gets done in a satisfactory manner. To achieve this end, goals must be stated, deadlines must be set, and work needs to be supervised. These tasks are the primary responsibilities of the manager. In addition, there are various business duties associated with this project. It is up to the Managing and Purchasing Guy to buy the necessary building materials and other necessities for the project while staying within a predetermined project budget. Finally, the Managing and Purchasing Guy must act as the liaison for any administrative business between the design team and the Carnegie Science Center. This member must have a solid background with business and organizational affairs.
Hardware Guy: This member of the team possesses the most knowledge of electrical engineering and applies this know-how to create the prototype and, ultimately, the scientific framework for the exhibit. The design for the supporting features of the exhibit (case, networking, power supplies, etc.) is split between the hardware guy and interface guy. This member must have taken courses in electrical engineering.
Interface Guy: The final member of the team is solely responsible for the interaction between the scientific principles of the exhibit and the museum visitors. The basic goals for this person are to make it easy to use, easy to understand, fun, durable, and safe. This team member must have had some experience in communications design and construction.
DESIGN REVIEW BOARD
I think having a board to review our design and final product is a critical component of this project. Chances are that the members of the design team do not have extensive knowledge on how to build a museum project. Thus, it is imperative to have a board of museum experts to critique our design. The first review would take place once we have the design finalized.
The purpose of this initial design review is twofold. First of all, it is helpful to have the experts inform us of bases that we did not cover, as well as answering any questions we have. Also, the mere scheduling of a design review forces the design team to come up with a comprehensive model to present to the board. Without this review, the design team might slack off and find themselves rushing at the end. In addition, when you are forced to explain a product to other people, you tend to find problems with it that you previously missed or think of new ideas to add.
INFLUENTIAL FACTORS
The following factors are likely to influence the design process:
Time: Some exhibits are given a yearlong timetable for design. Others are given only a month. Needless to say, any extra time allocated for a project is better, but any museum work that requires more than a year to develop probably deserves a second look to see if that much time is needed.
Money: Again, a blank check would be nice, but exhibit developers are probably looking at a limited budget. Careful and material management and process efficiency will be necessary in order to meet all of the design goals when the income is thin.
Design Team Experience: When explaining a potentially complex electrical principle to young children, you often have to make compromises. Some of details that the scientific community may find the most interesting could be completely lost on the younger audiences. A competent design team must have the experience to include the relevant parts and sacrifice what they think will be too complex.
The following factors are likely to influence the final design:
Attractiveness: As one who frequents museums, I think it is crucial that the final product appeal to the senses of the museum visitors. There are going to be dozens of other exhibits on display there. A successful product must be able to draw attention and then sustain it.
Durability: Based on personal experiences, I can honestly say that nothing is more personally disappointing than going up to a promising interactive exhibit and realizing that it is broken. It is imperative that all exhibits are built to last. If it does ever break down, it should be easy to maintain and repair so that a museum employee can take care of the upkeep. Otherwise, the design team may find themselves making dozens of trips to the North Side to fix their exhibit.
POSSIBLE PROBLEMS
The most probable problem that may arise is that the project falls behind schedule. The worst way to deal with this situation is to add more people to the design team. Instead, the team should call a time-out and come up with a new schedule that is more realistic. If possible, they should also cut out an auxiliary feature to the design that will not take away from the basics of the exhibit. Perhaps these bells and whistles can be reincorporated into the design if there is more time later.
WHY PROTOTYPE? WHAT CONSIDERATIONS WOULD INFLUENCE IT?
The construction of a working prototype would be the ultimate
responsibility of the design team. Another team that is better suited for
the task would handle the exhibit construction. This task assignment
allows the design team to focus solely on the design. The resulting
prototype should contain the fundamental functionality of the exhibit. The
main consideration is that the review board should be able to play with
the main exhibit component to get the idea of how it works. Any extra
features should be laid out by the design group, but does not have to be
integrated into the prototype.
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