A common project assignment in engineering courses is a complete design project, from defining the problem through presentation of the design .  A complete design project requires students to simultaneously focus on project-management tasks, design-process tasks, and business-related tasks.  A complete design project is an authentic task in engineering, yet that can overwhelm students.  An alternative is to assign parts or sub-tasks of a complete project to better focus students' attention on particularly difficult sub-tasks.   

Ideas for Learning Tasks (i.e., Assignments) that Support Assessment

• Types of design project
  • "Clean sheet" design OR redesign
  • Product design AND/OR process design
  • Hardware design  AND/OR software design 
  • Individual work OR teamwork
• Possible formats for student work
  • Design notebook
  • Annotated drawings or computer code
  • Technically-based business communications
  • Technical or scientific report
  • Oral presentation
  • Portfolios, cognitive maps, and free-writing (pdf)
• Sub-tasks in design (assign one or more of the following)
  • Define the problem, including gathering information
  • Write specifications and requirements for detailed design
  • Generate alternatives using a process of synthesis & creativity
  • Develop selection criteria
  • Evaluate design alternatives, based on criteria
  • Select a design concept for further development 
  • Write a test plan for prototypes
  • Plan the manufacturing process
  • Make dimensioned drawings
  • Select materials
  • Make fully documented calculations, where necessary
  • Make a prototype product or process
  • Present a concept or detailed design to stakeholders
• Sub-tasks in project work (assign one or more of the following)
  • Write a plan for the tasks involved in conducting the project
  • Create a schedule with task assignments for the project
  • Make a budget for the project, providing rationale
• Sub-tasks in the business aspects of design (assign one or more of the following)
  • Assess market requirements, including key features and target selling price
  • Write a business plan, including initial investment (development costs), pricing, and return on investment

Making Scoring/Grading Useful for Assessment

• General principles for making scoring/grading useful for assessment (rubrics)
• Attributes of engineering design that could be used to construct a rubric
• Attributes of software design that could be used to construct a rubric
• Attributes of engineering reports that could be used to construct a rubric   
• Example rubrics 
  • For a design project #1
  • For a design project #2