Ecosystem for engineering design learning: a comparative analysis

• Autores: Baldur Steingrimsson, Robert Jones, Faryar Estesami, Sung Yi
• Localización: The International journal of engineering education, ISSN-e 0949-149X, Vol. 33, no. 5, 2017, págs. 1499-1512
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • Design is a human activity that encompasses a broad array of tasks. In engineering design, individual efforts can beaggregated into teams to maximize collective progress. Effective teamwork, however, requires extensive management,organization and communication. Furthermore, modern challenges encompass complicated multi-disciplinary problemswith faster schedules, fewer resources, and greater demands. Design, as a process, can be dissected into characteristicphases. Within each phase, design solutions are gradually developed. Technological tools have prioritized the structuredanalyses of the detailed and final design phases and have proven to be powerful multipliers for effective design efforts. It haslong been the case, however, that major commitments of intangible resources are made as a result of efforts in the lessemphasizedearlierphases. These commitments and lack of modern toolsets for requirement development and conceptualdesign activities materialize as major sources of design pitfalls, both in industry and on student design projects. This paperpresents a digital Ecosystem for Engineering Design Learning as a comprehensive, yet flexible, framework for capstonedesign teams. The digital Ecosystem has been developed as a feasible technology to bolster student informationmanagement, teamwork, communication, and proficiency in fundamental design principles, and as a technology capableof alleviating rework and process-related productivity interruptions. Its primary innovation, for capstone applications, isthe ability to assess design work automatically against the design process, as well as against ABET compliant learningobjectives, and provide prompt advisories in case of design oversights. The digital Ecosystem is compared to tools forproject management, team communication, and requirement management.