ELEC 493/494
Design Documentation Package

Due:
In installments, at various times during each semester.
Purpose:
Document your design. Provide a summary of the the work that went into your design and the path you took to get there. Provide reference material and a head start to any subsequent group that decides to tackle this project.
Audience:
Project supporters, product users, service technicians, future design groups, and the course instructors.
Length:
Whatever it takes. Be complete but don't ramble: too long can be as bad as too short. Between 5 and 20 pages for each chapter is probably reasonable. The appendices should be as long as necessary.
Format:
The individual chapters submitted for grading during the semester may be in any reasonable format. They should be submitted in printed form to allow for the writing of comments. Each submission should be a complete document. In particular it should contain the name of the project, the names of the team members, and any references for the chapter.

The "final" version submitted at the end of each semester should be a polished, professional product. It should be bound, with covers, and be organized with the following structure:

Title Page.
Executive Summary.
Table of Contents.
Body.
See Chapter 1 - Chapter 6 below.
Appendices.
See below.
Content:
The Design Documentation Package is divided into several chapters. While these are not strictly independent, each can be written and essentially completed in order, starting early in the first semester. This allows you to distribute the production of what will be a fairly lengthy document uniformly over the span of this course, rather than having to do a marathon writing session at the end of each semester.

To insure that you don't put off writing until the end of each semester, we will ask you to submit individual chapters at regular intervals throughout the course. Each submission will focus on one part of the package.

It is not necessary to use the exact structure given in this outline, but each chapter should adequately address all of the issues presented here.

Chapter 1: Problem Definition.
A. Problem Statement.
Briefly state the problem you intend to solve.
B. Background.
What is the history of this problem? Why is it important that it be solved? What are its economic, social, or environmental impacts? What does the literature have to say about it?
C. Problem Requirements and Specifications.
List everything that is required for the solution to be successful. Give both qualitative requirements (e.g. must be waterproof) and quantitative specifications (e.g. frequency response of 20 Hz to 20 kHz).
D. Existing Technologies.
Survey existing solutions and previous work and indicate why they are inadequate and how you intend to improve upon them.
Chapter 2: Problem Analysis.
A. Problem Decomposition.
Describe how you have chosen to decompose your problem into a set of subproblems or subsystems. If you have not done this, explain why it is not appropriate for your problem. Subsequent sections of this Chapter should address both the problem as a whole and each subproblem or subsystem.
B. Design Criteria.
Define your design target: Summarize and prioritize the constraints and scope of the project. Enumerate the requirements that your design will satisfy. Give a detailed set of specifications. State and justify assumptions.
C. Analysis.
Summarize any analysis required to support the parameters in the previous section.
D. Research.
Summarize the research you have done so far. List the topics which remain to be researched, i.e. things which you don't currently know but will need to know in order to complete your project.
Chapter 3: Project Plan.
A. Plan of Attack.
Lay out the design problems to be solved and indicate how you intend to solve them.
B. Schedule.
Prepare a list of the major tasks required to complete the design. Produce a set of milestones to serve as indicators that a particular task or phase has been completed. Give a schedule showing dates on which these milestones will be completed.
C. Resource Allocation.
Indicate the division of labor among the team members. Using a Gantt chart or other technique, show how you are going to allocate the available resources of time and personnel to achieve the schedule in the previous section. Be sure to allow time for delivery of parts and other external delays. Produce a proposed budget indicating how much you expect to spend on each aspect of the project.
Chapter 4: Design Analysis.
A. Proposed Solutions.
Give a brief description of each solution concept that has been proposed during the design process. Include any analysis which was performed during evaluation.
B. The Chosen Solution.
Describe the chosen solution or set of solutions in detail. Explain why it was chosen and how it compares to the other proposed solutions.
C. Pending Alternatives.
For those parts of the design which are not yet finalized, list the alternatives that are being considered and the criteria that will be used to evaluate them.
Chapter 5: Prototype Characterization.
A. Test Procedures.
Describe the procedures you will use to verify and evaluate the performance of your prototypes and your final product.
B. Prototype Performance.
Give the results of your prototype evaluations. If you have not constructed any prototypes, describe the means you have used to verify that your ideas will work (e.g. simulations, tests of the partially completed system, analytical evaluations, etc.).
C. Refinement.
Based on the results from the previous section, describe the changes you will make to improve the performance of your design.
Chapter 6: Design Description
A. Description of Design.
Describe how your design works. Start with a broad scale overview of the entire system, and then describe in detail how each component or subsystem works. If your design has a significant software component, describe the overall program structure and the function of each major routine. Justify the choices you have made (algorithms, materials, dimensions, gains, clock rates, etc.). Include block diagrams, flow charts, drawings, sketches, circuits, etc. as necessary.
B. Specifications.
For each of the parameters in your design specification, compute the expected performance of your design. When available, measure the actual performance of your prototype. Compare the performance of your design with the problem specifications from Chapter 1 and account for any discrepancies.
C. Analysis.
Summarize any analysis required to support statements in the previous sections. Lengthy calculations should be placed in an Appendix.
D. Summary/Conclusions.
Summarize the major features of your design. Discuss how (or to what extent) it meets the design objectives set out for the project. Describe how it could be improved and what you would have done differently if you were to do it again.
Appendices: Supporting Material.
Supporting material containing a high level of detail or which does not fit the flow of the body of the report should be gathered together into a set of appendices. This should include, but need not be limited to, the following:
Team Roster.
Identify the members of your team. Give each member's areas of responsibility.
Engineering Drawings.
Include complete circuit diagrams, assembly drawings, part drawings, etc.
Program Listings.
Include listings of all the software components in your design. If this is too large to incorporate in printed form at a readable scale, include a CDROM containing the software files.
Vendors.
List the sources for all components other than commodity items (resistors, screws, etc.). Include company name, address, phone number, URL, email address, contact name, etc.
Budget.
Give an account of all expenditures related to the project.
Supporting Calculations.
If a lengthy calculation is necessary to support a point, include the details here and reference the result in the body of the report.
Bibliography.
Any books, articles, etc. referenced in your report should be cited here.