Department of Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Phone: (405) 744-4337

Oklahoma State University Fax: (405) 744-6059

Stillwater, OK 74078 EMAIL: mstone@ceat.okstate.edu

MEMORANDA

Date: November 21, 2005

To: BAE 1012

From: Marvin Stone, Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering

Subject: Project Assignment

Objective:

The objectives of the term project are many and include: giving you experience in applying software tools in engineering problems, and specifically to analysis of data and reporting results, allowing you to gain experience in a team approach to problem solving, exposing you to contemporary biosystems engineering problems, and allowing you to interact with faculty and students in Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering.

Topic Assignments:

The topics are provided by faculty consultants from within Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering. We have selected team members for each of the topics as a part of class. Those selections along with the faculty consultants are posted on the web at: http://bioen.okstate.edu/Home/mstone/1012/outline/AnalysisProjects.htm

The nine topics are unique, so it's not possible to provide a standard "formula" for carrying out the assignment. Each team is expected to meet with its faculty consultant this week. The faculty consultants are willing to provide additional background on the topics, identify data sources, suggest reference materials, answer technical questions, etc. You should come to an agreement with the faculty consultant regarding the topic and work to be done. The faculty mentor is not expected to spell out every project detail for you. In other words, this project is the responsibility of your team, with the faculty, and Dr. Stone, available as resource persons.

Teamwork:

Teamwork is very important, both in getting the work done and in doing a quality job. The scope of work is quite reasonable for a four-week project undertaken by a team of three to four students, but the work load would be excessive for an individual student. It is up to the members of each team to decide how to organize themselves to tackle the project. You should organize yourselves to function even in the absence of effort of a team member. You will be faced with the opportunity to evaluate your own performance as well as that of your team members at the termination of the project.

Time management

Time management is also critically important in a term project, particularly one that involves a team of students. SOME SUGGESTIONS: (1) Meet early and often (this is much more involved than one of our weekly laboratory assignments!). (2) Coordinate responsibilities. (3) Maintain careful written records. (4) Check with your faculty consultant to determine his/her availability and travel schedule. (5) Don't wait till the end to begin preparing the written report and poster presentation. (6) Remember that time is more likely to be limited as we approach the end of the semester.

Project Notebooks:

Each member of each team must maintain a notebook throughout the project. You are responsible for acquiring the notebook. It need not be expensive, but it must be a type that is permanently bound (not spiral bound and not a 3-ring notebook). In this notebook you must keep a record of all your activities related to the project (meeting notes, library notes, team decisions, action items, time schedules, sketches, reminders, etc.). All entries must be dated and they should flow in chronological order. It is helpful to number pages so that you can cross-reference entries. Project notebooks are individual creations -- don’t expect all notebooks from the same team to look alike. If you prefer using a computer to record some of your notes, it is permissible to glue or tape computer printouts in the notebook. However, you will certainly not be penalized for going with handwritten notes (as long as they are readable!). Project notebooks will be turned in at the end of the project.

E-Mail Progress Reports:

By no later than 5:00 p.m. on Friday of each week through the rest of the semester, an e-mail progress report is due from each team. The report is to be sent to your faculty consultant and to me (mstone@okstate.edu). These reports should briefly summarize the activities and accomplishments of the team during the preceding week. All team members should provide input to the reports, but there must be only one report per team.

Written Reports:

In the “real world”, the output of team efforts is nearly always a single group report (rather than several individual reports). Therefore, each project team is responsible for preparing a single written report, due on Wednesday, December 1. With all team members contributing, there will be fairly high expectations for the quality of the report. Both the content and appearance of the report are important. Although there is not a rigid format, the following is a suggested outline for the major sections:

Cover Page topic, team members, course, date, etc.

Introduction statement of the problem and its importance, objectives and scope of the study, etc.

Background physical relationships, review of relevant literature, etc.

Methods approach to the problem, analytical procedures, etc.

Results presentation and discussion of the findings including graphs and tables as appropriate

Conclusions what was learned from the results, what it all means

Acknowledgments thanks to those that provided assistance

References bibliographic list of literature used (please follow the format used by our professional society, ASAE)

Appendices (optional) any information that should be included, but that is too voluminous or detailed for the main body of the report

Poster Presentations:

At professional meetings and in other settings, posters have become a fairly common way of communicating technical information. Each team will present a poster summary of its project to the Department and invited guests during our regular Final Exam period on Friday, December 16. All six posters will be set up in a room, and the members of each team will be stationed by their poster. Those attending will move among the posters, discussing the various projects with the team members, and asking any questions they may have. The posters should be carefully designed and constructed. They should look professional, and convey the important aspects of each project.

Grading:

As indicated in the syllabus, the term project accounts for 25% of the course grade. Scoring for the term project will be based on the following criteria:

30% Technical analysis (approach, accuracy, thoroughness, etc.)

25% Written report

25% Poster presentation

15% Project notebook

5% Weekly team reports (e-mail reports of progress)

With the exception of the project notebook, the grading criteria reflect overall team performance rather than individual performance. However individual members of the same team can receive different scores, based on their relative contributions. For example, it is theoretically possible for a major contributor on a "low-performance" team to receive a higher score than a minor contributor on a "high-performance" team. Estimates of the relative contributions of individual team members will be based on the content of the project notebooks, confidential input from the team members themselves, and observations made by the faculty and student consultants, instructor, and teaching assistant.

PROJECT DATES

Fri.	Nov. 18	Progress Report Due
M	Nov. 21	Poster Presentation lecture
Th-F	Nov. 24-25	Thanksgiving Holiday
Fri	Dec. 2	Progress Report Due
M	Dec. 5	Work Session on Term Projects
T,W,Th	Dec. 6,7,8	In-Class Preview of Poster, Work Session on Term Projects
Fri.	Dec. 16, 2:00-3:50 PM	Final - Poster Presentations, Written Reports and Notebook Due