ME

72

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 sub-functions. 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?