ET410 Technical Project Management

The project completed in this course should be a work product that you can
show to a future employer or client. It should showcase the knowledge
learned in the Engineering Technology program.
Working with other team member: You may choose to work in teams if
you and your partner plan to take ET450 at the same time.
Working with the employer:
While you may do a project as part of your work with your employer, you
must be the principal individual responsible for the design, construction, and
testing of your project. Your employer will need to submit a letter at the end
of your project with a statement stating the work you have done on your
project and the responsibility that you had. Replacement projects will
generally not satisfy the capstone requirements nor projects in which you are
helping an engineering on a project.
Capstone Project Scope:
Your capstone project should be capable of solving a real world problem or a
scaled version of the problem. The project will be later implemented in
hardware and software in the ET450 Capstone course. Thus, you must be
able to purchase the parts and build and test the project by the end of
ET450. The project should be relatively complex and go beyond lab type
projects, incorporating skills and knowledge gained in a number of different
courses. In general, projects will have several subsystems. It shouldnt have
to be said, but buying and building a purchased kit or building a project
based on designs from the internet are not capstone projects.
Good capstone projects will typically have
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)

A practical application
Designed and implemented from scratch
Incorporates a variety of parts or subsystems
Often interfaces to the real world
Packaged with a nice user interface
Examples of projects which are not capstone projects:

1)
2)
3)
4)

A breadboarded amplifier or filter

Replacing a transformer in a power plant
Inserting a switch in a process
Applying a voltage source to run a motor
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ET410 Technical Project Management

Restrictions: High power projects are not allowed.

Classification of Capstone Projects
Electronics or Electrical systems
o These types of projects easily reduce to not being capstone projects. So it is
important to make sure that the project is complex enough to not be a lab
project. A key here is often to design a project to solve a real world problem
with several subsystems. Think about whether it would be reasonable to add
a digital component to the project in order to showcase skills in that area.
o Perform calculations and analysis before designing the application and
running the software simulation (Multisim/MATLAB) and then use the
hardware to implement it.
o The following hardware may be used to create a project if they meet
requirements.
NI myDAQ (be careful with current draw, power availability)
Breadboard
Power supply/battery
Other electrical components
Control Systems
In this project, control theory is used to control a system or motor.
Analysis will require characterization of the system to be controlled.
Perform calculations and analysis before designing the application and
running the software simulation (Multisim/MATLAB) and then use the
hardware to implement it.
o The following hardware may be used to create a project if they meet
requirements.
NI myDAQ
Breadboard
Power supply/battery
Motor
Other electrical components

o
o
o

Mechanical or Instrumentation Systems

o These projects involve or include the monitoring or open loop control of
sensors. These projects can reduce to simple projects, so it is important to
make sure that the scope of the project is not simply to provide power to a
sensor. Again, solving a real world problem will often help in ensuring the
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ET410 Technical Project Management

required project complexity. This category of projects can include sensor
networks and related security issues.
o Perform calculations and analysis before designing the application and
running the software simulation (Multisim/MATLAB) and then use the
hardware to implement it.
o The following hardware may be used to create a project if they meet
requirements.
NI myDAQ
Breadboard
Power supply/battery
Microcontroller (Arduino)
DC Motors
Sensors
Other electrical components
Microcontroller-based applications
o Perform calculations and analysis before designing the application. Run the
software simulation (IDE) and then use the hardware to implement it.
o A project like this can easily NOT be a capstone project. This needs to be an
engineered project and involve more than connecting a fan, motor, or sensor
to a microcontroller. It should not copy software and ideas from the internet.
The microprocessor should be part of a larger project, or the software should
use advanced features or involve more complex programming than that
found in the labs. Also, using a microcontroller like the microchip PIC would
add complexity if that is not used in your coursework and may allow for more
advanced demonstration of your microcontroller knowledge and
programming.
o The following hardware may be used to create a project if they meet
requirements.
LED array controller
Microcontroller (Arduino)
Power supply/battery
Other electrical components
Modern Digital Design Applications
o This type of project uses an FPGA board to implement a real world problem.
This usually involves analog and digital concepts.
o Perform calculations and analysis before designing the application. Run the
software simulation (IDEs) and then use the hardware to implement it.
o The following hardware and software may be used to create a project if they
meet requirements.
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ET410 Technical Project Management

FPGA board
VHDL/Verilog
Power supply/battery
Other electrical components

Signal/Audio Processing
For these projects, an algorithm is developed and implemented for
processing a signal.
Perform calculations and analysis before designing the application and
running the software simulation (Multisim/MATLAB/IDEs) and then use the
hardware to implement it.
Employ the following hardware to create a project.
DSP board or analog filters
Image/signal as data
Display/speaker for results
Power supply/battery
Other electrical components
Course Plan
The following is the scope of the project and expectations for the next seven
weeks:
Perform research and gather information to identify and state the problem
that you will solve in your capstone project. Brainstorm ideas that will solve
an engineering design problem. Remember that the project should address a
real-world problem. Develop a lessons learned document that you will edit
each week based on your observations and lessons learned from that week.
Describe the scope of the project, requirements, expectations and limitations
of the project based on the stakeholders needs. Identify the type of the
project (use list above). Identify alternative solutions to the problem that will
be helpful in developing a design.
Prepare a project proposal and submit it in the course to your instructor and
also email it to this address ETCapstone@grantham.edu from your Grantham
email.
Next, identify the requirements for your project and perform a System Design
Review.
Working on the project management side of your project, complete a work
breakdown structure (WBS).
Based on project scheduling techniques and theory of constraints, add a
schedule to the WBS.
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ET410 Technical Project Management

Work on cost of labor, cost of material, cost of equipment, direct and indirect
costs, recurring and nonrecurring costs, and fixed and variable costs to add
the cost estimation and budgeting to the WBS.
Learn to identify the risks associated with your project and analyze and
mitigate the risk using the strategies, and list major risk factors for your
project.
Assign resources for your project and prepare the Gantt chart for the
resource management.
In ET450, you will submit the project proposal, system design review
document, and lessons learned document in week 1. You will use your
schedule and budget later in the course to compare your progress to
planned.
In your project, you need to be consider and include the ethical and
professional issues associated with your project:

The professional, ethical, legal, security and social issues and responsibilities
associated with developing engineering systems.
The global and local impact of systems on the individuals, organizations, and
society.
The engineering design standards relevant to electronic/electrical projects.