ECE 4512: EE SENIOR DESIGN I

Professor Joseph Picone
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Mississippi State University

email: picone@cavs.msstate.edu
phone/fax: 662-325-3149; office: 413 Simrall
URL: https://www.cavs.msstate.edu/research/isip/publications/courses/ece_4512

EE Senior Design I is the first course in a two-semester sequence that constitutes the capstone design experience for undergraduate electrical engineers. In the ABET handbook on accrediting engineering programs, it states: Your design project is expected to address as many of these issues as possible. In this portion of the course, students will be expected to identify a team project, and complete the design and simulation phases of the project. The course will culminate with a presentation of the proposed project to a design review committee, a demonstration of a hardware prototype, and a detailed design document that clearly documents all aspects of the design process.

The course objectives are as follows:
  1. explain the difference between a team and a workgroup

  2. list characteristics of successful teams

  3. distinguish five modes of handling team conflicts and how they may be useful or harmful

  4. list characteristics of effective leaders

  5. identity key reasons why projects fail or succeed

  6. write a team charter

  7. implement ground rules for effective meetings and demonstrate their use

  8. explain the motivation for using standards

  9. classify the cost components in a design and project a realistic price to the customer

  10. optimize a design for sustainability

  11. present a professional presentation with strong technical content and audience inter-action

  12. execute efficient and effective team meeting and maintain meeting minutes

  13. interact efficiently and effectively with faculty advisor

  14. formulate a defensible design approach

  15. evaluate, design, and optimize custom hardware and software individually and as a team

  16. create an objective, testable design specification

  17. create and follow a test plan leading to a functional design

  18. write a professional project report

  19. design and create a project poster

  20. create a professional team Web site

  21. apply critical path scheduling

  22. apply entrepreneurial thinking in the context of a design project
The structure of the course for electrical and computer engineers is essentially the same since we follow the same design process. Computer engineering projects, however, must have both a software and hardware component. Electrical engineering projects most often have both, but occasionally focus only on hardware.

Questions or comments about the material presented here can be directed to ies_help@cavs.msstate.edu.