Author Archives: wjendres

PPD Section 5 — Term-II Timeline

1 Organization and Formatting

1.1 General (same as for other B-Sheets; follow this link for easy reference)

1.2 Sheet-Specific — Making it All Fit

Insert a graphical rendering of your Term-II Gantt chart showing as much detail as possible while maintaining legibly-sized text. If necessary (occasionally, but not often needed), roll-up (minimize) lower-level subtask details to preserve legibility.

2 Content Presentation

There is no specific Page Input textbox/content to be addressed for this page.
Like Term-I, this is presented as a Gantt chart, which should be produced in MS Project.
At the Project Continuation Review (PCR) stage, the Term-II chart should include the following:
- from the Term-II task list, all main tasks as well as subtasks, focused on the remainder of the project (Term-II)
- from the adjusted/updated milestones list, all milestones falling in the Term-II timeframe
- task-to-task dependencies/connectivity
There is no specific Page Output textbox/content to be addressed for this page.

3 Examples of Great Work

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Updated September 09, 2022

PPD Section 4 — Term-I Timeline

1 Organization and Formatting

1.1 General (same as for other B-Sheets; follow this link for easy reference)

1.2 Sheet-Specific — Making it All Fit

Insert a graphical rendering of your Term-I Gantt chart showing as much detail as possible while maintaining legibly-sized text. If necessary (occasionally, but not often needed), roll-up (minimize) lower-level subtask details to preserve legibility.

Correct-Content Reminder: Milestones show on a Gantt chart as a point in time, not a horizonal bar spanning time. Milestones usually show as a black diamond, and this is accomplished in MS Project by entering them as milestones, not as tasks (rather, a zero-duration task). If your Gantt chart shows horizontal bars at the rime of submitting your PUD, you entered them as tasks. We are not looking for tasks at the PUD, just a good effort on milestones and the set-up of the timeline in MS Project.

2 Content Presentation

There is no specific Page Input textbox/content to be addressed for this page.
This is presented as a Gantt chart, which should be produced in MS Project.
At the Problem Understanding Document (PUD) stage, it will show only the milestones listed on the PPD cover sheet.
At the Concept Selection Review (CSR) stage, it should be a substantial update from that presented in the initial PPD submission at the PUD stage. It should include the following:
- from the Term-I task list, all main tasks as well as subtasks, focused on the remainder of Term-I
- from the adjusted/updated milestones list, additions and/or deletions of milestones falling in the Term-I timeframe
- task-to-task dependencies/connectivity
At the Problem Continuation Review (PCR) stage, the focus is on Term-II, so no changes are expected here.
There is no specific Page Output textbox/content to be addressed for this page.

3 Examples of Great Work

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_Project_{is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation.}

Updated September 09, 2022

PPD Section 3 — Task Descriptions

1 Organization and Formatting

1.1 General (same as for other B-Sheets; follow this link for easy reference)

1.2 Sheet-Specific — Making it All Fit

This one should be straightforward — two boxes to fit tasks for Term-I and Term-II.

2 Content Presentation

There is no specific Page Input textbox/content to be addressed for this page.
In the pre-titled Task Descriptions textboxes, present the main tasks for the respective term.
- At the Problem Understanding Document (PUD) stage, no tasks should be included.
- At the Concept Selection Review (CSR) stage, all Term-I tasks from the CSR week to the end of Term-I must be identified and documented here (in the Term-I textbox). These should be fleshed-out (i.e., full detail) focused on the remainder of Term-I, nothing prior to the CSR week.
- At the Project Continuation Review (PCR) stage, all Term-II tasks must be identified and documented here (in the Term-II box). These should be fleshed-out (i.e., full detail) focused on the remainder of the project (Term-II). Un-started Term-I tasks should be moved here and uncompleted Term-I tasks should be copied here (by name with referral to the Term-I listing for their descriptions) for their continuation to completion.
Present the main tasks by name (create a short descriptive name) and with a short description as follows:
- The description should expand on the task name by adding more info than the name itself; do not just add fluff words if the name is fully self-descriptive.
- However, in most cases, it is helpful in the description to state the actual work to be done, software to be used, tools to be used, and/or facilitates to be used (not consider that list exhaustive). You should be giving a description of what you will be doing, how you will be doing it, and with what. A maximum of 3 – 4 short sentences for each task should suffice.
There is no specific Page Output textbox/content to be addressed for this page. However, this content is used elsewhere. It represents, along with milestones, the input information to the Gantt charts for Term-I and Term-II.

Updated September 09, 2022

PPD Section 2 — Design-Project Failure Modes and Effects Analysis

1 Organization and Formatting

1.1 General (same as for other B-Sheets; follow this link for easy reference)

1.2 Sheet-Specific — Making it All Fit

The DPFMEA table should be legible at the scaling required to make it fit across the width of the sheet. That is generally not a problem. You can split it vertically (an upper and lower portion, though each with headings) across two pages if needed.

Correct-Content Reminder: The DPFMEA is not related to what you are designing; that will come later and is called your DFMEA (no “P” after the leading “D”). Your DPFMEA is for your Design Project itself, identifying potential failure modes of the project.

2 Content Presentation

There is no specific Page Input textbox/content to be addressed for this page.
In the open space on the sheet, insert a graphical rendering of your DPFMEA table (or portion thereof if spread across two sheets) showing RPNs and all information that leads to their calculation. It should be sorted from highest RPN to lowest RPN.
In the pre-titled Recommended Actions box, present the ways in which the higher RPNs will be reduced (i.e., actions to be taken, meaning countermeasures to be put in place).
- In the template is an example of putting a three side-by-side textboxes within the larger Recommended Actions
- You need not adhere to that format, but it may be useful given the aspect ratio of a typical DPFMEA table being short-by-wide.
- If you work your recommended actions into the DPFMEA table, that is fine as an alternative; delete the Recommended Actions group at the bottom, or use it to expand on what is in the table as that is often brief to the point that someone not immediately associated with the work would not be able to make sense of.
There is no specific Page Output textbox/content to be addressed for this page.

3 Examples of Great Work

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_Project_{is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation.}

Updated September 09, 2022

PPD Section 1 — Work Breakdown Structure

1 Organization and Formatting

1.1 General (same as for other B-Sheets; follow this link for easy reference)

1.2 Sheet-Specific — Making it All Fit

Your work breakdown structure diagram should have plenty of space here. Feel free to add any additional notes if you think they will be helpful to interpreting the diagram. You may have significant whitespace remaining. That is fine, just do not make your graphic too small to read, but also don’t make it obnoxiously large just to use the space. Use good judgement.

2 Content Presentation

There is no specific Page Input textbox/content to be addressed for this page.
Insert a graphical rendering of your diagram (produce it in any software you wish).
There is no specific Page Output textbox/content to be addressed for this page.

3 Examples of Great Work

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Updated September 09, 2022

PPD Cover Page — Milestones

1 Organization and Formatting

1.1 General (same as for other B-Sheets; follow this link for easy reference)

1.2 Sheet-Specific — Making it All Fit

The table of contents is fixed in terms of its entries. Therefore, there should be no need for it to increase in size. It should also not be decreased in size. It should also remain in the exact position as received. There should be plenty of room in the box/area/space provided for the Project Milestones to list the milestones.

Correct-Content Reminder: Milestones should be major accomplishments, not only “syllabus items,” and definitely not every little step along the way; for instance, the PUD-related milestone would likely be “Problem Understanding Document delivered/released to customer” and not have all the internal submissions as milestones (or sub-milestones, which is not an actual thing). Note here that your customer does not know all the acronyms, so spell them out here (and put the acronym in parenthesis if you wish to refer to it later by that acronym). The focus should be on accomplishments over and above the PUD, CSR, PCR, etc.

2 Content Presentation

There is no specific Page Input textbox/content to be addressed for this page.
In the pre-titled Project Milestones box, present the milestones.
- At the Problem Understanding Document (PUD) stage, this includes the customer release of major known deliverables provided in the course schedule (see Canvas course modules) and (more so) other major accomplishments you anticipate/foresee at this point — a couple examples (among others!) to get you thinking: “main system functions defined” and “final system-level solution chosen” and…
- At the Concept Selection Review (CSR) stage, all Term-I milestones must be identified and documented and you should have a good cut at Term-II milestones as well. A couple Term-II milestone examples (among others!) to prime your thinking: “major components ordered” and “function-level and subsystem testing completed” and …
- At the Project Continuation Review (PCR) stage, all Term-II milestones must be identified and documented here.
Present the milestones as follows:
- Use any desired (hopefully effective) format; tabular might be a good choice (a bullet-point list is in the template, but by no means is that required as the format nor considered the best, just a placeholder).
- Include target date (such that you adhere to the course schedule and weekly accomplishment targets and goals) and the actual achieved date (to be entered once achieved) for each.
- The project timeline found in the project brief can be helpful, but copy and paste of it is not acceptable — that is a timeline an much of what is in that table/timeline are not actually milestones! (more than a couple teams have done this, so it has to be stated)
- Prior to achieving a milestone, keep a space/placeholder for entering the achieved dates as they are achieved — as indicated, the milestone list will continue being refined/updated over time, such as at the CSR and the PCR.
There is no specific Page Output textbox/content to be addressed for this page.

3 Examples of Great Work

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Updated September 09, 2022

PUD Cover Letter

Do NOT edit any of it, with the following exceptions:

Replace the placeholder “Xxxxx” in the salutation with the name of your main/technical contact in whatever way you are referring to him/her — for example:
- Dear Mr. Smith (the formal default)
  – OR –     Dear Richard (if now on a first-name basis)
  – OR –     Dear Rich (if he also goes by a “nickname” he has shared)
  – NOT–     Dear Mr. Richard Smith (awkward, form-letterish)
- Dear Ms. Jones (the formal default)
  – OR –     Dear Susan (if now on a first-name basis)
  – OR –     Dear Sue (if she also goes by a “nickname” she has shared)
  – NOT–     Dear Ms. Susan Jones (awkward, form-letterish)
- In other words, if you are not on a first-name basis and, thus, refer to him/her with Mr. or Ms. or Dr., etc. being a title of respect, then just use their last name, not first and last. Note that professionally, Ms. is often used over Mrs. or Miss and eliminates the risk of inaccurately identifying her as married or unmarried, respectively. Of course, Dr. is the appropriate professional title for someone, male or female, with a doctorate degree (Ph.D., D.Ed., M.D., D.O, D.D.S, etc.) and there are other more specific ones like Prof., Dean, Judge, Senator, … that may be appropriate.
Replace the placeholder “Dddd” with the weekday name (e.g., Monday, Tuesday, …) corresponding to the day of the week that you send it; i.e., if you send it on a Tuesday, then Dddd would be replaced with the word Tuesday.
If the name at the upper left (as part of the contact information) is incorrect, please change it and let the SCD program director know your technical contact has changed (and to whom).

Again, do not edit the body other than the day, as noted. It has specific messaging intended for your customer to help him/her understand the progression of your work. It also is intended for your eyes for the same purpose; as such, you should each read this letter to reinforce in your mind where you are headed in the coming weeks. Finally, it also serves as an example; as your project progresses you will need to write more and more of the release cover letters on your own.

Updated August 18, 2022

PUD References

Your full references list is built up and maintained in the TAD. If you cite any references in this document, copy the citation entry from your TAD reference list to here. Select the text in the TAD, copy it, then, to retain the correct formatting in the FRD file, paste into the FRD file by right-clicking at the desired entry location and, from the popup menu, select Paste without formatting.

If you have no references cited in this report, which could happen but is sort of unusual, then delete the sentence “Those specifically cited in this document are also listed below.” Also, delete the placeholders “[FML##] Xxxxxx.

Updated September 07, 2022

PUD Section 5 (or 4) — Engineering Requirements

As indicated in the template, this section should begin with the following sentence: “The engineering constraints and objectives are shown in Tables 1 and 2, respectively. Further details, such as reasoning for their inclusion and related information sources, can be found in Subsection 1.2 of the accompanying Technical Archive Document.” It should be adjusted only in those rare (but occasional) projects where there may be more than one line of design or independent subsystem of design, each line having its own set of constraints and its own set of objectives. One example would be a static version of a test fixture that must be designed, and a non-friction roller-type version of a similar test fixture that must be designed. Another example, one for three lines of design, might be one line of design being an auxiliary power supply, which drives the second line of design, a lifting system, with a third line of design being a test system for the other two. Again, these cases where there are multiple lines of design requiring separate sets of constraints and objectives are not the norm; don’t go this direction without advice of your primary advisor and/or consulting with the SCD program director. But, if you think it might make sense, then ask!

In these cases, for instance for two lines of design, change the “and Table 2.” to “through Table 4, covering the constraints and objectives associated with the two lines of design that make up this project.”

The template provides some placeholder examples of tables with their table captions above them. Replace the example graphics with your tables. For second and third lines of design, put a page break between so the pair of tables for each line of design are alone on their own page. Since the table captions indicate what they are (i.e., engineering constraints and engineering objectives), there is no need to have those titles in the table images you copy from DP Manager (i.e., use the “Copy Table Only” button in DP Manager).

Do not add explanatory text here. More explanation is available in the various textboxes on the TAD sheet; your reader can refer to that for those details.

Updated September 07, 2022

PUD Section 4 — Initial Ideas

Initial ideas of interest here are only those that have survived the problem understanding activity. If, by the time you reach this point in understanding the problem, any ideas that surfaced along the way and were jotted down are no longer relevant… we don’t want to hear about them here.

This section is OPTIONAL. So, if you don’t have any initial ideas for a solution, then delete this section by selecting the section heading down to but not including the page break before the next section (“Engineering Requirements”). Google Docs will automatically change the “Engineering Requirements” section number from 5 to 4.

If you do have some initial ideas you would like to put forth for some initial feedback, as indicated in the template, this section should begin with the following sentences:

“While developing our understanding of the problem, some initial ideas for a solution began to surface. They are offered here in brevity, seeking (a) early-stage validation that we are understanding the needs and wants, and/or (b) correction on how and where we are off track.”

You will have space for up to two (2) at a size large enough to be meaningful. For each idea, provide a brief verbal description and a neat, annotated sketch. Note the emphasis on the word “brief.” The textual portion of this section must not exceed ¼ page; this section should be no more than one (1) page with graphics — graphics are GENERALLY helpful in engineering when annotated; neat hand-drawn sketches are fine here.

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Updated September 07, 2022