ECE791

1. ECE791 Senior Design Experience Project Progress Reports

2. ECE Senior Design Project Description • The project must involve design and should build on past course work (mathematics, basic sciences, the humanities and social sciences, engineering topics, communications skills, etc.). It should involve many of the following features: synthesis, analysis, construction, testing, simulations, and evaluations; and should take into account realistic constraints such as time, economics, safety, reliability, functionality, social implications, etc. The implementation aspect of the project may take a variety of forms such as development of a computer program, development of a hardware prototype, development of a LabVIEW simulation, etc. However, all projects should have the following common aspects: Design – Plan – Implement – Test – Evaluate - Report • Every project must have an ECE Department faculty project advisor.

3. Project Related Courses • ECE694 – 1 Credit C/F – Semester II Junior Year • Discuss project concepts and requirements. • Identify project topic and faculty project advisor. • ECE791 – 2 Credits – Semester I Senior Year • Plan project, prepare and present project proposal. • Work on project and prepare progress report. • ECE792 – 2 Credits – Semester II Senior Year • Complete project. • Present project results in UNH undergraduate research poster session. • Prepare final report.

4. Project Related Courses • ECE791H – 4 Credits – Semester I Senior Year • Senior honors thesis research must include all of the elements (Design, Plan, Implement, Test, Evaluate, Report) of other senior projects. • In addition, senior honors thesis research must include a more extensive background review and an aspect of independent research not typically required for senior projects. • The required elements are the same as for ECE791 (written and oral (group) proposals, written (group) project report). • ECE792H – 4 Credits – Semester II Senior Year • Each senior honors student must prepare and present a separate research poster, possibly in addition to a group project poster. • Each senior honors student must prepare a separate written senior honors thesis, possibly in addition to a group final project report. • ECE791H and ECE792H together satisfy one professional elective requirement from the standard academic program.

5. Nominal Project Time-Line RED tasks are required. BLUE tasks are suggested.

6. Required Header for Progress Report ECE791 Semester Progress Report Project Title: An Informative Project Title Project Team: John Smith, Jane Jones, Peter Rabbit ECE Faculty Advisor: W. T. Miller Other Advisors: (only if relevant) Current Date: December 12, 2010 Project Completion Date: May, 2011

7. What should be in the written progress report? • Each student/team must write a project report before the end of the semester, which must be approved by the project advisor and ECE 791 instructor. The progress report should include at the beginning: the project title, author, other team members, faculty advisor, courses involved, current date, and planned finish date. This should be followed by a brief summary of the general problem definition, specific project objectives, the design process and the implementation and testing plan (which is likely still ongoing). It is not necessary to repeat the entire proposal, but there should be enough background information to assist in understanding the remainder of the document. The bulk of the progress report should accurately summarize the progress made to date, any unexpected problems encountered, and an evaluation of the progress made to date in terms of the proposed project schedule. Although the student/team is allowed latitude in the preparation of the progress report in consultation with the project advisor, it is expected that each progress report will contain the major sections that are outlined above.  The progress report must be submitted as both a printed document and in electronic format, as either a PDF or MS Word document file. The electronic version of the progress report should be emailed to the ECE791 instructor prior to the end of the semester. This document will be posted on the class website.

8. What should be in the written progress report? • Remember that this is a senior design project. Your project effort started with general goals and then you made design decisions about how best to achieve those goals given existing constraints such as the project time limits, team size, team skill set, financial considerations, etc. Your progress report should describe that evolution from general goals to design specifics, don’t just focus on describing the final design adopted. • Project teams should prepare and submit a single progress report. However, all team members should have individual responsibilities relative to the project, and all team members should contribute to the writing of corresponding section(s) of the progress report. A separate section of the report should summarize the specific responsibilities of each team member in the overall project and in the preparation of the progress report.

9. Step-By-Step Progress Report Process • Complete draft version of the written progress report. • Submit draft version to your project faculty advisor for review. Consult with your project advisor concerning when this draft version should be submitted since your advisor will need time to read it thoroughly and return it with comments for improvement. • Update draft version based on advisor’s comments. • Submit final version of written progress report to faculty advisor. NOTE: Your project faculty advisor may well have a more aggressive schedule than that below for receiving the final copy of the progress report (i.e. an earlier due date). • Submit final electronic version (Word or PDF file) of progress report to ECE791 instructor by 3:00PM on Friday, December 17. Send it as an email attachment to tom.miller@unh.edu.