IMS035 Project industrial design engineering

Note: a pdf version of this syllabus is available in the course files.

Study periods 1&2 2019, 15 credits

Department of Industrial and Materials Science

Division of Design and Human Factors

Examiner: Bijan Aryana: bijan@chalmers.se

Introduction

The course focuses on integrating and expanding previously learned knowledge and skills in a practical development project. This means that the student will have both freedom and responsibility to plan and focus both project and learning. Students are expected to extract relevant knowledge from previous courses, identify and add missing pieces, and apply these together in the planning, execution and communication of the project. As a part of this, the course will support reflection on progress and learning, as well as guide the student to develop their own approach to design through individual work. 

The lectures in the course will support the main project and cover areas such as systems theory and research-through-design to open up the understanding for the design space; company preconditions, IPR and marketing communication to effectively collaborate with a client; as well as compromising and prioritising to increase capability to deal with complex design problems.

The solutions can cover a wide range of designs including but not limited to systems, products, services, processes, visualizations, and experiences.

Aim and learning outcomes

The aim of this course is that students should integrate and further develop the knowledge and skills gained within their previous education. Within a systems approach, they should learn to handle the uncertainty and complexity associated with industrial design engineering problems in a real-life setting, as well as reflect on current and continuous learning in the future.

Learning outcomes (after completion of the course the student should be able to):

• Define and reframe a design problem and draw the relevant system boundaries
• Understand the characteristics of the stakeholder organisation, including its internal possibilities and external restrictions, and how these affect a development project
• Individually handle a design problem and develop confidence in own capability
• Adapt the design process (including choice of approach, theory, and methods) to the problem 
• Balance multiple and contradictory requirements from different focus areas, such as technical, ergonomic, communicative, and aesthetic requirements, in a way that leads to a sustainable and ethical solution 
• Handle compromises and conflicting demands that arise during group cooperation 
• Use situation- and audience-adapted forms of communication with external stakeholders 
• Reflect on own professional progress, and identify needs and strategies for future learning

Organisation

The course centres around a development project, typically run in collaboration with an external stakeholder. The project is carried out in a group, but with individual problem areas. Support is given throughout, both in peer-to-peer supervision groups and with expert consultancies. Furthermore the course includes a lecture series with content that support the project, and individual reflection assignments.

In study period one, the course is focused on developing a theoretical foundation for the project, as well as giving freedom to participants to explore the problem and define a clear design brief. Therefore, this period mainly includes lectures, seminars and activities. In contrast, the second study period includes supervised individual and group project work. 

Sensitive information, intellectual properties and patent issues

Sometimes the project teams will have to handle sensitive information in order to carry out their tasks. It also occurs that the project work results in patentable inventions. Unless you sign any contracts with the companies

you will have full rights to the results you produce in your student team. Each student has the responsibility of not distributing received information or results to third parties. In addition, it is possible for an involved company to ask students to sign a secrecy agreement. Note that, such an agreement may consider sensitive information received from the company as well as results produced by the student team. Be aware of contracts that make you give up the right to the results, including presenting them, produced by the team. 

To give you the best possible opportunity to benefit from and spread your results, Chalmers has guidelines that apply to co-operation between industry and the university. Normally, questions about intellectual property rights and secrecy are best managed by discussions between the project team, supervisor and company. If you need assistance in a more formal sense your supervisor and examiner will be able to support you.

The written report produced by each team is not published and thus not open to the public unless agreed by the author and involved company, but are to be considered an official document. Thus, it may be subject to external review if someone explicitly requests to see it. If the report contains information received from organizations, such information may be considered confidential if within the prerequisites of the Public access to information and Secrecy act. This legislation protects business interests of companies and organizations in collaboration with the university. The document should be marked as “secret” or “confidential” to facilitate the handling.

The oral presentation and showcase is in practice are public events, which means that sensitive information should be avoided. In case there are patentable inventions, it is necessary to submit a patent application before the final presentation or mask the particular invention. As a general rule, patent opportunities and intentions regarding the student’s results shall always be discussed and agreed with the company in advance.

Teaching team

 

Name	Role in the course	Email
Asif Akram	Tutor, organizer	asif.akram@chalmers.se
Bijan Aryana	Course examiner, tutor and supervisor	bijan@chalmers.se
Cecilia Berlin	Guest lecturer (qualitative data analysis)	cecilia.berlin@chalmers.se
Elin Kristell	Supervisor	elin.kristell@publicissapient.com
Lars-Ola Bligård	Guest lecturer (systems thinking)	lars-ola.bligard@chalmers.se
Ralf Rosenberg	Supervisor	ralf@designkonsulterna.se

Examination and grading 

The course is graded: fail, 3, 4 or 5. The grade will be based on three individual assignments and one group report. Attendance at peer-to-peer supervision groups and expert consultancies is compulsory. 

The assignments and their share of overall mark are as follows:

 

Title	Pct %	Deadline	Indv /Grp	Format	Content
A1: Story of the perfect day presentation	20	14 Oct 19 Or  17 Oct 19	Indv	- 5 min individual presentation - No limitation in format: e.g. role playing, storyboard, multimedia, conventional presentation	After gaining a clear understanding of the problem, you will share your story of the “perfect day” in which the identified problem has been solved. This assignment helps you to present your ideas for a wide range of audiences coming from different disciplinary backgrounds using a non-technical language. Telling the story of the perfect day assists you to envision the problem and solution in a holistic way as ordinary users often do. The individual stories also help you as a team to understand which aspects of the problem will be addressed by whom.  Assessment is based on clarity of the story for the public, the quality of the presentation itself (effective use of visuals, information flow, etc.), and meaningful connections between the story and previous activities including user research, value proposition, and self reflection.
A2: My solution report	40	21 Nov 19	Indv	- Digital submission PDF - “Maximum” 2000 words - Flexible layout and format - Effective use of visuals expected - External multimedia contents via link in the PDF file (optional)	This report includes: - Introduction to the client and the context of project (including value proposition and initial brief) - Your design approach  - Your insights from user research - Your individual reframed problem - Testing and prototyping  - A detailed presentation of your individual design solution  * Please note that you are free to have your own headings and outline, the above list only shows the required contents.
A3: Our Solution Report and showcase	P/F	16 Dec 19	Grp	-Pass/fail assignment, not calculated in the final mark, but must be passed for completion of the course - Digital submission PDF - “Maximum” 3000 words - Flexible layout and format - Effective use of visuals expected - External multimedia contents via link in the PDF file (optional) - Complementary showcase, details to be announced	This report includes: - Executive summary - A clear description of the problem and its context - Summary of research conducted - Summary of preliminary design solutions (individual designs) - Explanation of the way these solutions are used for developing the final design outcome - Evidences and data from prototyping and testing - Clear presentation of the final design * Please note that you are free to have your own headings and outline, the above list only shows the required contents. * As a prerequisite of grading, you must get prepared and participate in the final showcase
A4: A4: Travelogue report	40	17 Jan 20	Indv	- Digital submission PDF  - “Maximum” 2000 words - Flexible layout and format - Effective use of visuals expected - External multimedia contents via link in the PDF file (optional)	-Try to look at your learning and practice journey from various perspectives and talk about your experience, examples include but are not limited to:  what you learned what you did, what you would like to do in similar situations in the future possible improvements in the learning process, suggestions for improving processes and tools -You need to use the outcome of the reflection activity in week 36 (beginning of the semester).  -In the assessment we will look at the number of aspects you addressed in your reflection, as well as the clarity of your presentation.

 

Schedule

TimeEdit

Notes:

• There might be minor changes in the plan in order to facilitate the progress of your projects and overcome unexpected challenges. Such changes, if happen, will be informed by email prior to the event.
• It is your responsibility to arrange time and location for meetings with supervisors and company reps. In case of any difficulties to do so please contact Bijan ( bijan@chalmers.se ).
• Please check the venue of each event as there are alterations through the term. You can find venues using https://maps.chalmers.se and the room name provided in the schedule.

SP1

Week 36

Monday 2 Sep 19 - Venue MC 

13:15 -14:00: Introduction to the course

14:15 -16:00: Supervisors’ intro - Q&A

Thursday 5 Sep 19 - Venue SB-M022

09:00 - 10:45: Reflection: Reflect on yourself - What can you do? Who are you? 

11:00-11:45: Forming groups based on reflections and topic areas

Milestones: 

• Having a clear idea about what you can do at this point of your professional journey
• Joining a group

Notes:

Take record of your activity. This will be used in your A4 reflective assignment

Week 37

Monday 9 Sep 19 - Venue MC 

13:15-15:00: Clients’ presentations

15:15-16:00: Working on a value proposition canvas

Thursday 12 Sep 19 - Venue SB-M022

09:00 - 11:45: Action Research: How does action research relate to design? Use your project as an example

Milestones: 

• Communication channels to be established. 
• Initial meeting with companies and supervisors to be arranged. 
• Gaining an overall understanding of the client’s intended added value
• Ask companies about the possibility of accessing users in SP1

Week 38

Monday 16 Sep 19 - Venue MC

13:15-15:00: User Research recap: What type of user research technique will you use? Plan your  user study

15:15-17:00: Qualitative Data Analysis: What type of data will be gathered? How will you use that in your work?

Thursday 19 Sep 19 - Venue SB-M022

09:00 - 11:45: Systems Thinking: How can you apply systems thinking in your project?

Milestones: 

Planning and initiating user research. 

Notes:

Remember that you can benefit from qualitative analysis and systems thinking in your work.

Week 39

User research in progress 

Supervisory meetings by appointment

Milestones: 

User research should be started this week.

Week 40

Monday 30 Sep 19 - Venue MC

13:15 -17:00: Compulsory group presentations ( time slots will be assigned on Monday or Thursday)

Thursday 3 Oct 19 - Venue SB-M022

08:00 - 11:45: Compulsory group presentations ( time slots will be assigned on Monday or Thursday)

Milestones: 

Having a clear idea about the use context, and also ideas for further in-depth user studies if needed

Week 41

Monday 7 Oct 19 - Venue MC

13:15 -14:30: Design thinking as a business development tool: reframe your problem and think about the stories of the perfect day

14:45- 16:00: Evolutionary framework of system development and emerging design: What is the best role of design in your project?

Thursday 10 Oct 19 - Venue SB-M022

09:00 -11:45: Project management: identify your project management approaches and tools

Milestones: 

• Making sure you are solving the right problem, which is not always the same as the client’s initial brief
• Identifying the best role of design

Week 42

Monday 14 Oct 19 - Venue MC

13:15 -17:00: A1 Individual Presentations: What will the “perfect day” look like (Individual time slots will be assigned on Monday or Thursday. Company reps will attend relevant presentations).

Thursday 17 Oct 19 - Venue SB-M022

08:00 -11:45: A1 Individual Presentations: What will the “perfect day” look like (Individual time slots will be assigned on Monday or Thursday. Company reps will attend relevant presentations).

Milestones: 

• Having a clear vision of what you will achieve after solving the right problem
• Presenting A1: The Perfect Day

Notes:

This is an individual presentation. If you prefer to use methods like role play in your time slot, you can get help from other members of the team, considering the fact that “you” are the one who is being assessed, mainly based on the content and structure of the presentation. 

Week 43

Monday 21 Oct 19 - Venue SB-M022

13:15 -15:00: An overview of the rest of the process, and what is expected to be done. You need to identify responsibilities, each member should address one aspect of the problem, also tell us how you will collaborate to combine these solutions in order to present a final solution.

Thursday 24 Oct 19

Self study

Milestones: 

Having a clear plan for solving the problem on both individual and group levels

Week 44

Self study

SP2

Week 45

Supervisory meetings

Milestones:

• Think about possible methods for test and evaluation
• Other milestone to be defined based on each project’s preferences - Attach to your plan from SP1

Notes:

Measures for test and evaluation should be defined based on what you have done in the past including, but not limited to value proposition canvas and your reframed brief.

Week 46

Supervisory meetings

Milestones:

Milestone to be defined based on each project’s preferences - Attach to your plan from SP1

Week 47

Monday 18 Nov 19 - Venue Vasa C

13:15 -17:00: Peer review: brought your design solution to class and give/ receive feedback to/ from your peers (time slots will be assigned on Monday and Thursday)

Thursday 21 Nov 19 - Venue SB-H3

08:00-11:45: Peer review: brought your design solution to class and give/ receive feedback to/ from your peers (time slots will be assigned on Monday and Thursday)

Milestones:

A2 Submission: My Design

Week 48

Supervisory meetings

Milestones:

Milestone to be defined based on each project’s preferences - Attach to your plan from SP1

Week 49

Supervisory meetings

Milestones:

You should have a clearly defined design at this point so the remaining time could be spent on presenting your design.

Week 50

Supervisory meetings

Milestones:

• Finalising the design
• Getting ready for the show case

Week 51

Final designs showcase and A3 assignment

Milestones:

• More details about the showcase to be shared prior to the event
• A3 Our Solution to be submitted

Week 2 (2020)

Self study

Week 3 (2020)

Self study

Milestones:

A4 Travelogue to be submitted

The relation between learning goals, teaching elements, and examination

The relation between learning goals, teaching elements, and examination is provided in the following table.

 

	Teaching element					Examination element
Learning goal	Lectures	Workshops	Seminars / Presentation	Supervisory meetings / tutorials	Project work	Individual presentation A1	Individual report  A2	Group report A3	Individual reflective report A4
Define a design problem from a systems perspective and draw the relevant system boundaries	x	x	x	x		x	x
Understand the characteristics of the stakeholder organisation, including its internal possibilities and external restrictions, and how these affect a development project			x	x	x	x	x	x	x
Individually handle a design problem and develop confidence in own capability	x	x	x	x	x	x	x		x
Adapt the design process, including choice of approach, theory, and methods, to the problem and focus at hand		x	x	x	x	x	x	x
Balance multiple and contradictory requirements from different focus areas, such as technical, ergonomic, communicative, and aesthetic requirements, in a way leads to a sustainable and ethical solution	x	x	x	x	x	x	x	x	x
Handle compromises and conflicting demands that arise during group cooperation	x	x		x	x			x
Use situation- and audience-adapted forms of communication with external stakeholders			x	x	x	x	x	x
Reflect on own professional progress, and identify needs and strategies for future learning	x	x	x	x	x	x	x		x

Modifications compared to the course in 2018

The course has been updated in many ways since the course was last given. The course is also given by a new examiner. The major changes are as follows:

• new intended learning outcomes updated to reflect the changing role of the designer and the updates to the master’s programme
• a new focus on producing individual contributions to the design project, as well as on merging and compromising between ideas
• more emphasis on peer review and helping each other develop skills and concepts through constructive feedback
• more emphasis on reflection and developing yourself as a designer alongside the project, as well as strategies for future learning
• new learning activities and lectures to support the new learning goals and updated focus.

Course Literature

Brown, T. (2008). Design thinking. Harvard business review, 86(6), 84.

Burns, D. (2013). Systemic action research: Changing system dynamics to support sustainable change. Action Research, 12(1), 3-18.

Checkland, P. (1999). Systems thinking. Rethinking management information systems, 45-56.

Cross, N. (2011). Design thinking: Understanding how designers think and work. Berg.

Engeström, Y. (1999). Activity theory and individual and social transformation. Perspectives on activity theory, 19(38).

Gharajedaghi, J. (2011). Systems thinking: Managing chaos and complexity: A platform for designing business architecture. Elsevier.

Hands, D. (2017). Design Management: The Essential Handbook. Kogan Page Publishers.

Kemmis, S., & McTaggart, R. (2005). Participatory action research: Communicative action and the public sphere. Sage Publications Ltd.

Kimbell, L. (2011). Rethinking design thinking: Part I. Design and Culture, 3(3), 285-306.

Koskinen, I., Zimmerman, J., Binder, T., Redstrom, J., & Wensveen, S. (2013). Design research through practice: From the lab, field, and showroom. IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication, 56(3), 262-263.

Lawson, B. (2006). How designers think. Routledge.

Loch, C., & Kavadias, S. (2008). Handbook of new product development management. Routledge.

Manzini, E. (2015). Design, when everybody designs: An introduction to design for social innovation. MIT press.

Nardi, B. A. (1996). Activity theory and human-computer interaction. Context and consciousness: Activity theory and human-computer interaction, 436, 7-16.

Poggenpohl, S. H., & Satō, K. (Eds.). (2009). Design integrations: research and collaboration. Intellect Books.

Schön, D. A. (2017). The reflective practitioner: How professionals think in action. Routledge.

Simon, H. A. (1996). The Sciences of the Artificial. MIT Press Books, 1.