Faculty of Engineering
Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering
IE3100R / IE3100M Systems Design Project (SDP)
Module Outline AY2016 / 2017
Modular Credit
8 MCs for IE3100R (Students admitted in AY2013/2014 and before)
12 MCs for IE3100M (Students admitted in AY2014/2015 and after)
Hours per Week
10hrs (Sem 1) and 10hrs (Sem 2)
Duration
2 semesters
Pre-requisite
ISE Engineering Year 3 & 4 Standing
Module Advisors
Prof Andrew Lim (isealim@nus.edu.sg)
Prof Ang Beng Wah (iseangbw@nus.edu.sg)
Prof Tang Loon Ching (isetlc@nus.edu.sg)
Prof Goh Thong Ngee (isegohtn@nus.edu.sg)
A/Prof Chew Ek Peng (isecep@nus.edu.sg)
A/Prof Chai Kah Hin (iseckh@nus.edu.sg)
A/Prof Chia Eng Seng, Aaron (iseches@nus.edu.sg)
A/Prof Lee Loo Hay (iseleelh@nus.edu.sg)
A/Prof Ng Kien Ming (isenkm@nus.edu.sg)
A/Prof Ng Szu Hui (isensh@nus.edu.sg)
A/Prof Ng Tsan Sheng, Adam (isentsa@nus.edu.sg)
A/Prof Poh Kim Leng (isepohkl@nus.edu.sg)
A/Prof Tan Kay Chuan (isetankc@nus.edu.sg)
Dr Chen Nan (isecn@nus.edu.sg)
Dr He Shuangchi (isehes@nus.edu.sg)
Dr Michel-Alexandre Cardin (isecma@nus.edu.sg)
Dr Tan Chin Hon (isetch@nus.edu.sg)
Dr Liu Yang (iseliuy@nus.edu.sg)
Dr Ye Zhisheng (iseyezh@nus.edu.sg)
Dr Haskell William Benjamin (isehwb@nus.edu.sg)
Dr Yap Chee Meng (iseyapcm@nus.edu.sg)
Course Co-Ordinator
Dr Bok Shung Hwee (iseboksh@nus.edu.sg)
Module Administrator
Mr Steven Chiang (isebox1@nus.edu.sg)
Website
B.Eng. (ISE) Students Website
https://www.ise.nus.edu.sg/beng_students/index.html
1 Engineering Drive 2, Singapore 117576
Tel: (65) 6516 5497 Fax: (65) 6777 1434
Website: www.eng.nus.edu.sg/ise
Page 1 of 12
Faculty of Engineering
Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
The Module Outline (this document) gives the student important information about the module,
guidelines, assessments, schedules and project allowance.
Note that important information including announcements, forms and guidelines can be found on
the B.Eng. (ISE) Students Website: https://www.ise.nus.edu.sg/beng_students/index.html
I. MODULE DESCRIPTION
Pre-requisites: IE2100, IE2110, IE2140
Co-requisite: IE2101
The objective of Systems Design Project (SDP) is to provide an opportunity for students to gain
practical design experience in an actual industry setting. The students will also experience a
broader scope of industrial engineering by applying a range of IE-related concepts rather than
concentrating on one particular subject area, thus gaining an aptitude in a problem-solving context
in a real world setting.
The Systems Design Project module is carried out over two semesters. It is offered at the beginning
of every academic year. This module provides the students opportunity to:
(1) Study, formulate and analyze an actual industrial problem with the goal of recommending,
implementing and validating a practical design solution to the industry;
(2) Apply knowledge learnt in the classroom to an actual problem in the proper context;
(3) Inculcate intangible attributes such as professionally working in a team, and practical
experience that cannot be taught in a classroom environment; and
(4) Practice and improve the skills of technical report writing, oral presentation and good
communication.
(5) Learn about case study and teaching note development, which is essential to distilling good
problem-solving lessons framed through a human-based narrative structure.
After completing the module, students should have improved their skills in the following:
(1) Systems Analysis and Design
This includes the ability of the student to:
(i) define a problem in an Industrial Engineering context and plan a study
(ii) collect and analyze relevant data
(iii) formulate the model of the problem
(iv) identify and apply appropriate methodologies
(v) develop, evaluate and select suitable and effective alternatives to meet the objectives
(2) Team Work
This includes the ability of the student to:
(i) interact with people from diverse backgrounds
1 Engineering Drive 2, Singapore 117576
Tel: (65) 6516 5497 Fax: (65) 6777 1434
Website: www.eng.nus.edu.sg/ise
Page 2 of 12
Faculty of Engineering
Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering
(ii)
(iii)
(iv)
(v)
resolve conflict when disagreement arises
co-ordinate and plan activities
share / delegate responsibilities
work harmoniously or professionally with each other and with people of different
seniorities / functions in industry
(3) Technical Report and Case Study / Teaching Note Development
This includes the ability of the student to:
(i) acquire strong writing and communication skills,
(ii) document, interpret and explain the results,
(iii) gain experience by observing / comprehending the industry or domain problem, and
(iv) translate/formulate suitable case studies and teaching notes to capture useful
engineering problem solving rationale and strategies from a human-centered
perspective.
(4) Communication
This includes the ability of the student to:
(i) present in a clear, concise and convincing manner
(ii) “sell” the ideas with rationale and manage expectations
(iii) respond to questions with proper justifications
(iv) handle company and project information with professionalism
Formation of Project Teams and Selection / Allocation of Projects:
The Department has decided to revise the formation of teams and allocation of projects in order to
better manage and position SDP.
The revision is based on considerations of team size consistency, composition and other practical
considerations that may arise from company requirements. As for project allocation, the
department consideration is that every student should welcome and be able to handle a given
project with the attitude of learning and improving his or her skills in the abovementioned areas of
systems analysis and design, team work, report writing and communication.
In addition, companies, universities and people already live and work in a global environment. In
this regard, the department has received general industry feedback that it is both desirable and
pertinent for our students to widen their outlook by working and interacting in a multi-national
environment as industrial and business practices go.
In this context, once students have registered for this module, the department will form the teams
based on criteria such as:
1. Student Year
2. Team Size
3. Team Composition
4. Project Complexity
5. Company Requirements
1 Engineering Drive 2, Singapore 117576
Tel: (65) 6516 5497 Fax: (65) 6777 1434
Website: www.eng.nus.edu.sg/ise
Page 3 of 12
Faculty of Engineering
Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering
Depending on the number of students who have indicated their intention to register for the
module, the Department will propose a certain number of projects with companies. Students may
also approach the Department to propose a project with a company.
The Department will then proceed to finalize the team formation and project allocation in order to
balance the abovementioned criteria. Module advisors will oversee the progress of each project
team. Each company will also have assigned a company liaison / advisor to the respective team.
Upon the first briefing, each team will decide on their team leader who will also act as a point of
contact by first informing the advisors. The team leader will initiate contact with the company and
his project advisors to coordinate and arrange the kick-off meeting at the company premises
immediately after the first briefing.
The team is thereafter expected to liaise with the company advisor and carry out the project
independently. The role of the module advisors from the Department is generally to provide advice
and direction during the course of the project. There should be regular meetings with all advisors
at least on a bi-weekly basis, to report/monitor on the team’s progress.
It is important that you see the Schedule on the last page and refer to the Department SDP
webpages accordingly. The Department office will from time to time use email to update all SDP
students.
II. IMPORTANT DOCUMENTS
Please note that students are to submit the following documents on the stated submission dates
to ISE department. All forms can be downloaded from the B.Eng. (ISE) Students Website.
1. Form of Undertaking of Confidentiality & Non-Disclosure
Each student must submit to the company a Form of Undertaking of Confidentiality & NonDisclosure at the start of the project to honor any valid disclosure or use restrictions on
confidential information between the student and the participating company. The company
may provide its preferred documents for Confidentiality and Non-Disclosure.
2. IE3100R Peer Evaluation Form
Each student must complete an evaluation form to evaluate themselves and their team
members so as to honestly and professionally ascertain their personal contributions and
their team members’ contributions to the project. Do not discuss your evaluation with your
team members prior to submitting the form. The form must be completed beforehand and
submitted personally to the ISE Department at the end of the final oral presentation. Details
of the form would be kept confidential although the supervisor(s) may discuss general
observations and recommendations with you and your team members. Please note that
SDP is a group-based project, it is paramount that the group works well as a team so that
the best possible results can be achieved with the fairest assessment for all.
3. Payment Voucher (Refer to section III below)
1 Engineering Drive 2, Singapore 117576
Tel: (65) 6516 5497 Fax: (65) 6777 1434
Website: www.eng.nus.edu.sg/ise
Page 4 of 12
Faculty of Engineering
Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering
Students may claim purchases on consumables for the purpose of research for the project.
Claims must be accompanied by original receipts and submitted to the ISE Department by
the end of each month for crediting into the payee’s bank account within one month of the
claim unless notified otherwise.
4. Transport Claim Form (Refer to section III below)
Students may claim for travelling expenses for the purpose of research for the project.
Claims must be accompanied by original receipts and submitted to the ISE Department by
the end of each month for crediting into the payee’s bank account within one month of the
claim unless notified otherwise.
III. PROJECT ALLOWANCE
Students are allocated a maximum sum of S$400 per team for local transport claims and
reimbursements for materials used during the research and for the completion of the project. The
transport claims are pertinent when the company is located quite far away from campus. Generally,
the mass rapid combined with bus transport should always be the primary means used unless there
are good reasons for using the taxi from campus to project site, such as adverse weather conditions
or early morning hours, or when the project site is highly inaccessible and remote from the nearest
station.
Please attach original receipts to the forms and submit your claims by the end of each month for
crediting into the payee’s bank account within one month of the claim unless notified otherwise.
Students may claim for expenses directly related to the project, such as travel, photocopying of
journal papers, surveys forms, mailing, etc. However, students cannot claim expenses on the
photocopying and binding of copies of the project proposals. These cost should be borne by the
students.
Other costs and expenses not stated here will be dealt with on a case by case basis and is subjected
to Department’s approval. The Department’s decision is final.
Guidelines for transport claims
Students may claim for travelling expenses incurred for the journey made from NUS to location of
research and then back to NUS. Students may not claim for travelling expenses incurred during
routine journeys between their homes and NUS. Note that claims can be made only for trips to
companies for meetings and carrying out project works.
a) Students travelling for the purpose of research for the project may claim according to bus
fare or MRT fare rates if they use public transport. When making a fare claim, please state
the time / place of the start and end of the journey in the form. No receipt is required for
travel by bus and MRT.
1 Engineering Drive 2, Singapore 117576
Tel: (65) 6516 5497 Fax: (65) 6777 1434
Website: www.eng.nus.edu.sg/ise
Page 5 of 12
Faculty of Engineering
Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering
b) Travel by taxi is only allowed when students have to travel to remote / inaccessible places,
or during adverse weather conditions or early morning hours for the purpose of research
for the project. Each team is expected to travel together. Therefore, only one taxi receipt
can be submitted per trip unless there are more than four students in a team. When
claiming reimbursement for taxi-fare, receipts issued by taxi drivers must be attached to the
claim form. Note that booking fee for taxi is not claimable.
c) Students may claim for Electronic Pricing Fees (ERP) fees when travelling for the purpose of
research for the project. Such claims should be accompanied by supporting documents like
ERP receipts.
d) Students may claim for mileage, if they use their private vehicles for travelling for the
purpose of research for the project, at the following rates:
Motor car: $0.60 per km
Motor cycle / scooter: $0.20 per km
IV. EVALUATION OF PROJECTS
The assessment of the project proposal comprises of two parts:
1. Preliminary Examination (10%)
Interim Report
Students are required to submit an interim report to their supervisor(s) and examiner(s)
according to the schedule below.
The objective of the report is to determine how well you have understood the problem and
to assess the practicality of your proposed approach together with the progress made thus
far. At the same time, SDP is one of the few opportunities available to ensure that good
report writing standards are upheld.
Guideline to Interim Report
Contents
• Composition of Team Members
• Background of Company
• Problem Definition
• Proposed Approaches
• Milestones and Project Timeline
Report Format
• Report should be written professionally, clearly and concisely, with the objectives
stated and terms defined.
• Report should be typed on one single side of A4 or 8 x 11 inch good quality white
paper, double-spaced throughout, including the reference section. The report
should not be more than 10 pages.
1 Engineering Drive 2, Singapore 117576
Tel: (65) 6516 5497 Fax: (65) 6777 1434
Website: www.eng.nus.edu.sg/ise
Page 6 of 12
Faculty of Engineering
Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering
•
Section headings should be numbered sequentially, using a decimal system for subsections.
Preliminary Oral Presentation
Teams are required to give a preliminary oral presentation on the progress and status of your
project. Each team will be given 20 minutes for the presentation of the project and another
10 minutes for question and answer. Each team member is required to present. Teams are
advised to adhere strictly to the time limit to avoid penalty.
A LCD projector and a PC / notebook will be provided in all examination rooms. Teams may
bring their own notebook but they must ensure that it is compatible with the projector
provided. Please save the presentation materials in a thumb-drive or save it in the
equipment provided before the start of the presentation round.
2. Final Examination (90%)
From AY2015/16 onwards and given the growing importance of SDP, the final assessment of
the project (with submissions) includes the following items:
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
(iv)
(v)
(vi)
(vii)
(viii)
Individual Working Attitude (25%)
Awarded by supervisor(s) only; feedback from participating company will be solicited
and taken into consideration
Project Execution and Achievement (25%)
Feedback from participating company will be solicited and taken into consideration
Report Writing (10%)
Case Study (10%)
Teaching Note (5%)
Oral Presentation - Project (5%) and Case Study (5%)
Project Poster (5%)
Peer Assessment and Company Feedback – These can and will be taken into account.
Guideline to Final Report
Contents (including but not restricted to)
• Executive Summary
• Background of Company
• Problem Description
• Methodologies / Approaches
• Comparison of Design Alternatives
• Recommendations and Conclusion
• References
• Appendices
Report Format
• Report should be written professionally, clearly and concisely, with the objectives
stated and terms defined. The proposals and arguments should be substantiated
with good supporting evidence such as sound data analysis and experimental
designs.
1 Engineering Drive 2, Singapore 117576
Tel: (65) 6516 5497 Fax: (65) 6777 1434
Website: www.eng.nus.edu.sg/ise
Page 7 of 12
Faculty of Engineering
Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering
•
•
•
Report should be typed on one single side of A4 or 8 x 11 inch good quality white
paper, double-spaced throughout, including the reference section.
Main report should not be more than 25 pages (excluding references and
appendices). Executive summary should not exceed one page.
Section headings should be numbered sequentially, using a decimal system or subsections.
Guideline to Project Poster
Each team is required to submit an A1-sized (594mm x 841mm) poster about your project.
Your poster should be a summary of your project, enhanced with high-resolution pictures,
graphics or tables. It will usually be presented first during the Industry Showcase in April.
Please ensure that your poster includes the following:
 Project title
 Names of group members
 Names of supervisor(s)
 Department name
 Module title (i.e. Systems Design Project)
 Company / Organization name & logo (if any)
 NUS logo (Download from: http://www.nus.edu.sg/identity/)
Please ensure that the company has approved the content of the poster to be suitable for
public display.
Guideline to Case Study / Teaching Note Development and Requirements
To facilitate proper case study / teaching note development, lectures will be conducted and
at the same time, the project team is to obtain feedback and advice from their project
advisors.
The purpose of writing a case study is to express and reflect how ISE concepts apply in a real
life business situation involving human players. A case study should provoke questioning and
critical thinking on the part of the reader by posing a few crucial questions requiring human
decisions through a protagonist character. Therefore, it is important to be able to distil the
complexity and difficulty of the actual SDP project experience into an easy to understand fact
/ data-based, albeit fictional, case study narrative. The key is to captivate or engage the case
study reader whose intended role is to participate in a subsequent workshop.
Corresponding to the case study is a teaching note that crystallizes for a user/instructor how
a workshop should be carried out to enable a group of reader-participants to fully benefit
from the case study. This is always done in an interactive format whereby Q&A and active
discussions through exercises and teaching aids to provoke learning and establish conclusive
lessons.
1 Engineering Drive 2, Singapore 117576
Tel: (65) 6516 5497 Fax: (65) 6777 1434
Website: www.eng.nus.edu.sg/ise
Page 8 of 12
Faculty of Engineering
Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering
Hence a well-crafted and written case study together with a good teaching note for
instruction are the vital criteria for a successful participant-centered workshop.
The team is expected to consult their project advisors in case study and teaching note
development.
Please note that case writing is not the same as report writing. The nature of it would enable
the team to also learn good communication by thinking and crafting a non-fictional narrative
incorporating facts / data and the use of ISE concepts and methodology.
Last but not least, a poster to summarize a case study is required for the Industry Showcase
event in April.
Oral presentations will also be required in the final examination. A role play format could be
used. Please consult your advisors as well as see the Schedule. There will be a set of rubrics
guiding the assessment in this category.
Prizes
From experience and anecdotal evidence, SDP achievement and its impact on the industry
need to be appreciated. Therefore, through the assessment scores, the top group will be
decided in the following categories:
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
Overall SDP
Project Execution
Case study and teaching note efforts.
Submission of Final Report and Electronic Copy for Examination
Each team is required to submit the final report, case study and teaching note upon approval
by your supervisor(s) according to the schedule below. It needs to be reiterated that the
department expects the highest standards possible from the standpoint of good formal
writing and speaking that are well prepared and organized.
Please ensure that each supervisor and examiner receives a copy of each. Depending upon
prior arrangements, copies of the project may have to be submitted to the company
concerned through the supervisor(s).
In addition, the final report, case study and teaching note in their Word and PDF formats
together with all the other relevant materials or information (posters, presentation slides
etc) must be saved in CD-ROM and submitted to the ISE Department at the end of the final
examination.
A duplicate of this CD-ROM should also be submitted to the company at the end of the SDP
project.
1 Engineering Drive 2, Singapore 117576
Tel: (65) 6516 5497 Fax: (65) 6777 1434
Website: www.eng.nus.edu.sg/ise
Page 9 of 12
Faculty of Engineering
Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering
Final Oral Presentation and Peer Evaluation
Each team will be given the following planned times (the order of which is to be decided by
the SDP Group) :
1. Project
a. 20 minutes for Oral Presentation
b. 15 minutes for Q+A
2. Case Study
a. 15 minutes for Case Study Presentation via Role Play etc
b. 10 minutes for Critique
Each team member is required to present and they will be graded individually.
Teams are advised to adhere strictly to the time limit to avoid penalty. It is necessary for the
team to plan and rehearse their presentation and case study role play (props or aids can be
employed) very well beforehand not just to meet the times stated but also to ensure that
essential key points and information/results are covered in the most necessary and effective
manner. The perfunctory and irrelevant should be avoided as much as possible. It is useful to
evaluate beforehand how the listener or examiner could fully comprehend the intent and
meaning or value of what is presented orally or in the slides. This is after all a vital
communication skill, which is what SDP is about.
A LCD projector and a PC / notebook will be provided in all examination rooms. Teams may
bring their own notebook but they must ensure that it is compatible with the projector
provided. Please save the presentation materials in a thumb-drive or in the equipment
provided before the start of the presentation round.
Each team member must also submit a peer evaluation form to the ISE Department Office
after their presentation. Peer evaluation forms should be kept confidential. As SDP is based
on team efforts, the purpose of peer assessment is to allow team members to be fair and
objective to each other.
V. FAILURE
In the event that teams fail to achieve a pass mark, they will be required to re-write the report
and/or make more progress (depending on the recommendation of the supervisor/s and examiner)
before re-submission.
1 Engineering Drive 2, Singapore 117576
Tel: (65) 6516 5497 Fax: (65) 6777 1434
Website: www.eng.nus.edu.sg/ise
Page 10 of 12
Faculty of Engineering
Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering
PROPOSED SCHEDULE FOR IE3100R / IE3100M SYSTEMS DESIGN PROJECT *
AY2016/2017
1.
SDP Introductory Briefing and Project Team
Deployment & Results of Project Group Allocation
Monday, 8 August 2016
2.
Submit liability & NDA forms
Friday, 26 August 2016
3.
Case Study Development Lecture 1
Monday, 22 August 2016
4.
Case Study Development Lecture 2
Monday, 26 September 2016
5.
Submission of Interim Reports
Monday, 9 January 2017
6.
Preliminary Oral Presentation
23 Jan (Mon) – 26 Jan 2017 (Thu)
7.
Case Study/Teaching Note Proposal Presentation 3
(Followed by Subsequent Consultations)
Wednesday, 01 February 2017
Submission of Posters for Showcase Event:
8.
•
•
Project Posters – PDF softcopy to be saved in
thumb drive, with A1 size and
Case Study Posters with A1 size – Template to be
provided.
Monday, 13 March 2017
Submission of Final Reports:
9.
•
•
Hardcopy of Final SDP report for grading by
supervisor/s and examiners.
Hardcopy of Case Study and Teaching Note for
assessment and grading.
Monday, 13 March 2017
Oral Presentation and submission of peer
10. Final
evaluation forms
20 March (Mon) – 24 March 2017
(Fri)
SDP Showcase:
11. SDP Industry Showcase event with Poster and Case
Study Exhibition
Friday, 7 April 2017
1 Engineering Drive 2, Singapore 117576
Tel: (65) 6516 5497 Fax: (65) 6777 1434
Website: www.eng.nus.edu.sg/ise
Page 11 of 12
Faculty of Engineering
Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering
Submission of CD-ROM:
• CD-ROM labeled as “SDP Final Report” with
group details, academic year, semester and the
project title containing softcopies of the final SDP
report, PPT files, Case Study and Teaching Note.
Please organize the materials in proper folders.
12.
•
Suggestion of Folder structure in CD-ROM:<Project/Report> <Project/PPT>
<Project/Poster> <Project/Source Code_Program
Files_Data> and
<Case Study/Case Study Paper and Handout>
<Case Study/Teaching Note and Files>.
Monday, 10 April 2017
The CD-ROM should be as comprehensive as possible
containing the abovementioned and any other
relevant information/files.
* The schedule is fixed unless otherwise advised by the Department.
1 Engineering Drive 2, Singapore 117576
Tel: (65) 6516 5497 Fax: (65) 6777 1434
Website: www.eng.nus.edu.sg/ise
Page 12 of 12