Computer Engineering
Senior Pre-Thesis and Pre Project
CE 3992 - Spring 2022

General Information:

Title: CE 3992 - Senior Pre-Thesis, Spring 2022
Instructor: Ken Stevens, kstevens@ece.utah.edu, MEB 2254, 585-9176
Classes: Tue/Thu 10:45 an - 12:05 pm, WEB L 112
Office Hours: by appointment
Web Page: www.eng.utah.edu/~kstevens/3992/
Prerequisites:    ECE/CS 3710 and ECE/CS 3991
Co-Requisites:    ECE/CS 5780

Course Description:

This course is for students with major status who are seniors within one year of graduation. In this course each student defines an engineering project that is selected with approval of the instructor. This project is planned and executed to completion over the course of two semesters.

There are several major goals for this project, which will prepare the students for industry or graduate work:

  1. Define and complete a significant engineering project
  2. Develop proposal and presentation skills
  3. Project organization, planning, and teamwork skills

Recommended Textbook

William Strunk and E. B. White, Elements of Style

Course Information

  1. Assignments will all be turned in via canvas.
  2. You will create a web page, use a project management tool, or employ an approved repository where your project will be documented in real time.
  3. You will be required to attend one session of the ECE technical open house as part of your participation grade.


Assignment Details

Engineering Observations Assignment:
Engineers improve the life of those in the world around them by improving interfaces, adding capabilities, and fixing things that are broken. For this assignment you will keenly observe the every day world around you and determine what you, as a computer engineer, could do to improve it. Carry a note pad or cell phone and make notes of all the things that you observe over the next week. Turn in a report of identifying the improvement and sketch out your initial thoughts on how you would engineer a solution. The solutions should be realistic and feasible. Practice problem solving at a high level of abstraction and general project planning.

You will be graded on the problems set you identify, the problems having engineering solutions that you can identify, and your ability to define a reasonable project solution approach and effort estimate.


Resume and Elevator Pitch:
Create a short resume and quick elevator speech (no slides) that describe why other students in the senior project section would want to "hire" you into their team. Include the engineering skills that you enjoy and that you feel you excel at. You may also want to include areas where you have interest in growth and learning. List any time or accessibility constraints you might have. These would include that you already have a team and your project is half done, you have a work schedule that limits availability, etc. Also, provide a quick overview of interesting design ideas that you are keen to pursue.

Have fun. This must fit on one page, and the presentation may not be more than two minutes. Extra points for serious creativity.


Proposal Draft:
This document will consist of a 5 to 10 page draft of your final proposal. This draft will clearly identify the key idea of your project, why it is interesting, and add substantial detail on how it will be implemented. The draft will contain relatively complete and polished versions of the following sections: abstract, introduction, background and bibliography for sources used in these sections. A draft of the proposed work, schedule, and required resources need to be included. Be sure to include a risk assessment as part of the proposed work.


Grading Policy:

Refer to the College of Engineering Guidelines for more detail on appeals, disabilities, adding, and withdrawing from courses.

Incomplete Policy:   You can't get an incomplete unless you have a documented medical or legal emergency.
Add/Drop Policy: The standard University Policy is applied.
Disability: If you have a condition that merits consideration, you must contact the instructor at the beginning of the course.

Grade Evaluation
Engineering Observations Assignment10%
Resume and elevator presentation10%
Class participation10%
Documentation Repository / Project Management      10%
Initial Proposal Presentation and Documentation10%
ECE Technical Open House Review10%
Project Risk Reduction10%
Full Proposal20%
Project Proposal Presentation10%

Detailed report requirements for the proposal and presentation.


Class Schedule and Assignments:

The class will be driven by your ability to define and manage your time and progress toward your project deliverables. If the class can work independently we will meet less often. My role is to serve as a resource to help you succeed, and will be more hands off if you can take control of your project. As such, our schedule will evolve with how the class progresses.

MAJOR PROJECT ASSIGNMENTS AND DUE DATES

Jan 11, 13, 18, 20: In person class

Jan 18
Engineering Evaluation turned in via Canvas.
Jan 18, 20
Resume and Elevator Pitch in class

Feb 1, 3: In person class

Feb 21 Project repository set up with access to instructor. Email location and access. Weekly logs due starting this week.

March 10 Proposal Draft Due via Canvas.

April ~18 Technical Open House. You are required to attend one session and turn in a small report on the projects that were presented in that session. Turn in via Canvas.

April 21, 26 Final project presentations. Include details of project status and risk reduction.

April 26 Full proposal including risk reduction report due.


Downloads:

You will need to use something to track the progress of your project. This must be visible to all members of your project plus the instructor. You can use a web page on the CADE as a server for your project, any of the free or commercial web based project management solutions that area available, or another method that you approve with the instructor.

Following are some of the solutions you can use:


Helpful Information:

Local Sources for Parts, Electronics, and Tools

On-Line Sources for New Equipment On-Line Surplus Stores Industrial / Mechanical
Project Links

This is a list of previous projects design reports and documentation.



These are the projects from the 2020 course.



These are the projects from the 2015 course.


 

These are the projects from the last time I taught this course in 2007.


 

Copyright © 2017 - All rights reserved
Last Modified: