ME

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Problem Definition Assignment

Due Thursday, October 18, 2007 (by 5:00 p.m.)

(worth 5% of your overall grade)

A standard and important phase of the design process is the development of a clear problem statement. As discussed in class, the problem definition phase can be broken down into three essential phases:

· Clarification of objectives. I.e., break down the general design objective of building a contest winning entry into more specific and concrete objectives.

· Establishing functions and subfunctions. Work out a detailed list of the functions needed by your device(s).

· Setting specifications and constraints. Set specifications for as many of your objectives and functions as possible. Also, make a list of the overall constraints that have to be respected by your device(s).

In this assignment, you need to flesh out a detailed problem definition that covers these three key issues. You can use the structured design methods we briefly reviewed in class (objective trees, function input/out diagrams, or function trees). Or, you can use any other approach that you like. But, you need to cover at least these three areas. Your homework will be judged as follows:

· Did you really think through all of the objectives, or did you just go through the motions?

· Did you really flesh out the key issues?

· Are the functions you chose really meaningful for the contest, and did you really capture all of the functions needed for competition.

· Are you specifications complete and realistic? Will you be able to measure or test your device against your specifications?