KYAN SADEGHILARI
Kyan's Senior Design Portfolio
PERSONAL REFLECTION
What I Learned
Over the course of MAE 451 thus far, has been helped me grow as an engineer by being able to convert an idea into a functional working product. By being able to convert customer requirements into engineering specifications in order to outline the requirements for a working product that will make the consumer happy. The course in general exposed me different types of design elements and brainstorming techniques that can be implemented into any real engineering project. Being able to work on the senior design project along with learning the course material has been beneficial in the development of the senior design project.
One key concept that will stick with me was learning techniques for time management by utilizing a Gantt chart. The Gantt chart has proven to be efficient in managing project deadlines and at the same time, giving the group a sense of awareness of the timeline. It aids in being able to coordinate and task deliverables and how they relate to each other in an organized fashion. This technique is something that can be applied and should be utilized in every engineering project.
Another technique that has proven beneficial is QFD analysis along with the development of the House of Qualities. These focus on relating customer needs into engineering specifications and also displaying the interrelationships between the requirements and assessing their importance. Although, a time consuming task it has proven essential for our group as we often refer to frequently to see if our designs have met the requirements needed. To be able to judge which requirements are met with respect to the design solution can be utilized with a Concept Screening Matrix which quantifies each design into numerical numbers making it easy to show which design is most effective in meeting the requirements.
​During the second half of the course, I learned just as much as the first half. In my opinion, the one thing I will take away most from this class is the chapter in which we learned engineering economy. The one truth about this world, is that it runs around money, and with that every major engineering has a budget. Engineers play a major role in the investment, due to the fact that their decisions are based on the economic analysis of the budget available, and the design considerations needed. As an engineer, one must be able to reflect on the best choice of how to best utilize the invested funds, by choosing the proper alternative out of many choices. Whether you are working for a small business, large corporation, or government agency, the fact of the matter is that you will routinely be faced with making challenging decisions when selecting the best choice for a project. These decisions on how to best your given capital is an integral part of being an engineer. Thus, during this course, I learned how several methods on how to analyze this based on compound interest, which I will be able to leverage in my future engineering career
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MY DESIGN PHILOSOPHY
Having an engineering focus in my current and future career, I tend to focus more on the technical and analytical aspects of design. In projects, my strength lies in being organized and time managing the group, making sure the tasks and deliverables are being completed which ties into my philosophy of utilizing all techniques to maximize design capabilities. The purpose for design and learning about it is to be able to satisfy the customer’s needs. However, certain criteria must be implemented to measure if the design has met the consumer’s most basic demands. Depending on the satisfaction of the consumer, the design may be deemed either good or bad. Good designs can be defined as leaving the customer satisfied with the product and an overall satisfactory experience. On the other hand, the criteria that defines a bad design is that they leave the customer unsatisfied with the overall experience. Moreover, bad designs do not meet the consumer’s most basic demands and functionality requirements. Key constraints for customer demands include, but are not limited to the safety of the product, integration of key components, not going over budget, and how fast the design can be made. Other includes its manufacturability and meeting with the rules and regulations of law agencies. These are not set defined constraints of customers, since depending on the difficulty of the design, some products may require more constraints than others.
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