Vaughn BetzECE 297 Design and Communication

Engineering is Design Much of your training –Analyze how something works But in your career don’t want to analyze someone elses creation  make your own –Design! Still need to analyze choices –But design is harder –Requires creativity  no one right answer –Requires breadth  solve problems that span many areas Vaughn BetzECE 297

Design is a Process Some flashes of inspiration But more hard work! Agile development –Design approach we’ll use Vaughn Betz Test & Evaluate Refine Prototype ECE 297

Communication Crucial to your career Communicate: –Within your team (informal, fast) –To your management (more formal) –To clients / customers (why should they choose you?) Vaughn BetzECE 297

Design and Communication: Importance Vaughn BetzECE 297

I. Getting a Job Your transcript: do you know the basics? Resume & interview 1.Can you design / problem solve? On a problem you have not seen before 2.Can you communicate? My favourite interview question What is your proudest design achievement? Vaughn BetzECE 297

II. Starting a Company Last summer: mentored 2 U of T hatchery students Design: smart, heated clothing for skiiers –Many iterations (washable, feedback control, comfortable) Communication: –Indiegogo campaign: why do you want this?Indiegogo campaign –Final pitch: won the $20,000 Lacavera Prize Vaughn BetzECE 297

III. Building a Company Vaughn BetzECE 297 Co-founded start-up to create better Computer-Aided Design Tools for FPGAs Design: better software –30x faster (8 hours  fifteen minutes) –Circuits ran 38% faster  charge twice as much for chips

III. Building a Company Vaughn BetzECE 297 Design: Altera paid $2M for prototype software –Offered ~$10M more to buy company Communication: presented to CEO & COO –You have the wrong chips for our software –Let us design the chips & software –Altera will make billions  pay us much more than $10 M!

IV. Building a Better World Tesla Motors Design –Re-imagined & re-designed the electric car Communication –Made electric cars cool –tesla battery swaptesla battery swap Concretely shows how Tesla has overcome a weakness Vaughn BetzECE 297

Course Goals & Overview Vaughn BetzECE 297

Course Goals Gain experience with engineering design and the design process –Including team-based design Enhance your communication skills –Written –Oral Learn more complex software development Vaughn BetzECE 297

How? Lectures will cover principles and key skills –Design (Vaughn Betz) & communication (Ken Tallman) –Course much more difficult if you don’t attend! Deeper learning is through doing –Develop a complex C++ software application In a team of 3 Four major development milestones –Communicate effectively 2 written documents 2 oral presentations –The more effort you put in, the more you’ll learn Vaughn BetzECE 297

Design Project: Mapping Application Vaughn BetzECE 297

Mentoring and Evaluation Detailed grade breakdown in syllabus –50% on design / coding (communication helps!) –50% on communication (helped by a good design!) –No midterm or final exam Mentored by a TA –Engineering grad student –Represents engineering manager, evaluates design Mentored by a CI –Communications Instructor –Represents client / project manager, evaluates communication Vaughn BetzECE 297

Major Milestones Milestone 1: choose / code data structures Written Doc 1: graphics proposal Milestone 2: graphics Oral 1: graphics presentation Milestone 3: find paths Milestone 4: courier company route Written Doc 2: Final Report Oral 2: Final Presentation Vaughn BetzECE 297

First Two Weeks Learn key software tools (milestone 0)milestone 0 –Show a TA you know how to use them –2% of final grade, done individually –Labs start today! –Going through the tools / tutorials fully will help you greatly during the project You will work on the ECE ug machines –Login is your utorid –Initial password is your student number –Change password with passwd right away! –Can work remotely using vncvnc Vaughn BetzECE 297

By Third Week (Monday, Jan. 19) Have to form team of 3 –Must be in same lab time slot (not room/section) –Will also be in same tutorial time slot –Choose wisely! Same work ethic Complementary skills Can get along –Team selector and list of students per time slot on course web site at Vaughn BetzECE 297

Third Week Onwards Meet with your TA during your lab time slot –Every week –Have written status report, on a wiki page (4% of final mark) –Get feedback on your design –Ask for help –Some weeks: demo your design / be evaluated Vaughn BetzECE 297

Third Week Onwards Meet with your CI at a mutually convenient time –May be during your tutorial time slot –Every week, unless cancelled by CI –Go over written status on your wiki page (another 4% of mark) –Get feedback on design documents and presentations as you develop them –Some weeks: will make your oral presentation Vaughn BetzECE 297

Tutorials First 3 weeks: tutorials will teach more advanced C++ –Templates –Standard Template Library (STL) Some knowledge of STL necessary to complete project –To communicate with the support code we give you More knowledge of STL makes project much easier –Can create basic data structures much faster  finish program more quickly You should attend! Friday, 9 – 11 am, GB 412 tutorial is cancelled –Go to Friday, 9 – 11 am GB 244 tutorial instead Vaughn BetzECE 297

Academic Integrity General discussion is OK, copying is not –All reports will be run through turnitin.com –All code will be run through an automated program similarity checker –Both copying and allowing copying will be penalized The Code of Academic Discipline will be strictly enforced “Integrity takes a career to build and a moment to destroy.” –Misha Burich, former CTO of Altera Vaughn BetzECE 297

Resources & Advice Your CI and TA are there to mentor you  ask for help! Discussion board available on course website –Ask anything, but don’t post code please Anytime you find me, you can ask a question –Or for an appointment Don’t fall behind –Milestone 0: due by Friday, Jan. 5 pm –Have team chosen by Monday, Jan. 19 –Will release milestone 1 next week  can start early Vaughn BetzECE 297

Feedback This is a “reboot” of this course –We want feedback on how it’s going! Tell us about any issues / improvements –In person or –Or by anonymous feedback link on course website Mistake bounty –Point out a mistake in a lecture  –3 mistakes in 1 lecture  for everyone next lecture Vaughn BetzECE 297