Propose a design project for the semester. Explain who is the customer and what needs/requirements they have. Define the project so that it is sufficiently specific to build a team around it, but without necessarily having picked a specific technology. Explain how you would like to contribute to the team. Explain what skills you would like to put to use in the process of working on this project (you could talk about NE electives you took, software you know, familiarity with specific technologies, or skills you don’t have yet that you’d really like to learn in this class). Explain what skills you would like your team-mates to have.

Reading: Design Thinking. This assignment represents the Emphasize and Define steps of the design thinking process.

Learning objectives:

1. Practice defining a project.
2. Practice planning for building a team.
3. Practice applying Design Thinking.

Grading Rubric:

1. 3p. Clearly defined customer. Clearly defined needs.
2. 3p. Clearly defined project – i.e. at then end, it’s clear what success means for the project. Note: you do not need to make your project definition technology specific. I.e. “Design a PWR” is not a clearly defined project. Sometimes are good reasons to be technology-specific, and in those cases make sure that those reasons are driven by the customer and they are clearly explained in your Assignment.
3. 2p. Description of your contributions to the team.
4. 2p. Description of your criteria for selecting your team. Note: you can include here specific technical skills; you can also include team-working skills that you think would be useful for a good overall team dynamic.
5. 1-2 bonus points: creativity.

Instructions:

Due Fri., Feb 2nd at 11am. Submit the assignments to me on Slack, either in #NE412-Assignment2, or in a private message. You can send me drafts for comment up to Thurs. at 12pm. 

Formatting:

Your proposals should be about 1 page, 2 pages at the most, 11pt. font, Times New Roman, 1″ margins all around. Include your name, date, and relevant title. Any text in figures and tables should not be smaller than 9pt Times New Roman, and all figures and tables need captions.

Late submissions:

I will not accept late submissions. If you need a deadline extension you must request it no later than 24 hours before the deadline. 

Related Lecture: Professor Todd Allen. 21st Century Nuclear Energy. You Are In Charge of Creating It.

Related Post: Thoughts on Recruiting a Team