Integrating project management, product development and senior capstone into a course sequence that creates new products and patents for students

Abstract

The competitive pressures of the global market have brought into sharp focus the need for creativity, problem solving and teaming skills in our engineering graduates. Industry surveys and the ABET requirements clearly confirm that need. For many students this is a culture change requiring them to think out of the box and into the real world of engineering where needs and requirements must be concretely defined and the selection of design solutions is not black and white. This paper discusses a new course sequence that brings together the basic tools of project management with the creative process of developing new products. The two semester course sequence applies project management techniques such as work breakdown structures, Gantt charting, scheduling and quantitative trade-off studies to the process of developing a new product. Specifically, the new product is the subject of the students' senior capstone project which is pursued in teams and addresses specific products to improve healthcare and aging-in- place and products that improve the lives of persons with disabilities. These needs were identified by healthcare professionals in focus group discussions. The teams are mentored throughout the development process by the professionals that initiated the need. The role of these professionals is that of an active and vital voice of the customer fully integrated in the development process. Over the past three years sixty students have followed the senior capstone course sequence and six patentable products have been created. © American Society for Engineering Education, 2009.