The Concept Design Review
(CDR)
ECE 498A
Spring 2007
Copyright 2004
Arizona Board of
ECE 498B
CDR: Who, What & Where?
• The Concept Design Review is a formal
presentation delivered to your peers,
faculty, and customer.
• The CDRs will be 25 minutes with an
additional 5 minutes for Q&A.
• All members of the team will participate
equally in the CDR.
Copyright 2004
Arizona Board of
ECE 498B
CDR: How, Why & When?
• For the Concept Design Review, you will need
a well-organized set of Power Point slides that
will focus your concept review presentation.
• The goal is to clearly and efficiently present
three concepts, which your team has
determined to best meet the requirements of
the project.
Copyright 2004
Arizona Board of
ECE 498B
CDR
• You need to explain the strengths and
weaknesses of each concept based on
decision analysis results (which may be
based on some early prototyping and
“back-of-the-envelope” calculations.
• A suggested template follows.
Copyright 2004
Arizona Board of
ECE 498B
Customer
• Define the customer
• Define and explain the customer needs
Copyright 2004
Arizona Board of
ECE 498B
The Problem
• Explain the problem/need
• Explain the context in which the
problem is occurring
• Quantify the negative impact the
problem is having on the customer with
data
• Explain prior art/ other attempts that
have been made to solve the problem
Copyright 2004
Arizona Board of
ECE 498B
Project Requirements
• Discuss and explain all of the technical
requirements contained in the team’s
Requirements Specification table
• Explain how each requirement was
weighted
Copyright 2004
Arizona Board of
ECE 498B
Concepts
• Explain the three concepts you
considered in some detail with
functional decomposition
• Explain your concept analysis in relation
to the technical requirements
• Present the decision matrix to support
your analysis
Copyright 2004
Arizona Board of
ECE 498B
Tips
• Examine competitive or similar products
• Look at analogous problem or system
solutions
• Benchmark
• Research the market
• Do a thorough literature and patent
search
Copyright 2004
Arizona Board of
ECE 498B
Proposed Concept
• Describe the proposed concept and how
it will be implemented
• Need to be very specific in explaining
HOW each design task will be
accomplished
• You are trying to convince your
audience that you have a reasonable
and feasible design process
Copyright 2004
Arizona Board of
ECE 498B
Considerations
• Think about which sub-systems of your
concept could be bought for your
prototype, and which would need to be
made. Discuss this output at the CDR.
• Consider how you might proof the
concept or test the prototype. Discuss
this output at the CDR.
Copyright 2004
Arizona Board of
ECE 498B
Schedule and Budget
• You will need to present a Gantt chart
and briefly explain it
• You will also need to present the
budget for the project with real costs
Copyright 2004
Arizona Board of
ECE 498B
CDR: Strategies
• Aim your presentation at an audience familiar
with technical subjects, but not your
particular project (e.g., a class mate)
• You need to provide enough information and
communicate that information effectively
enough so that the audience at the review
can provide a meaningful critique.
Copyright 2004
Arizona Board of
ECE 498B
Preplanning
• Your team will have a maximum of 25-minutes for
the presentation, which will be followed by an indepth period of critique.
• All members of the team are required to participate
in the presentation.
• Remember that this review is for your benefit, and
that it’s better to find the holes in your design now,
rather than at the end of the semester.
Copyright 2004
Arizona Board of
ECE 498B
Practice your Presentation
• Critique each other’s presentation skills
• Time your group’s presentation
• Have someone who doesn’t love you critique
your group’s presentation
• Practice smooth and logical transitions
between speakers
Copyright 2004
Arizona Board of
ECE 498B
Delivering your Presentation
• Overcoming anxiety
• Before the presentation tell yourself that you
are over prepared and have something of
value to share with your audience
– Being prepared means: know your material cold!
• During the presentation concentrate on
speaking slowly and clearly
– Remember to breathe
Copyright 2004
Arizona Board of
ECE 498B
Presenting (cont.)
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Breathe
Stand erect
Pause between main ideas
Release tension by using hand and arm
gestures
• Move from one side of the screen to the
other side
Copyright 2004
Arizona Board of
ECE 498B
Body Language
• Don’t shuffle, pace, click pen, click or wave
pointer, play with clothes or hair or face or
notes
– P.s. be careful waving the laser around – your
audience won’t concentrate if they’re ducking!
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Use gestures
Avoid fig. 1 and 2 positions
Keep hands out of pockets
Don’t cross arms in front of your body
Copyright 2004
Arizona Board of
ECE 498B
Body Language (cont.)
• Make eye contact with the entire
audience
• Be enthusiastic
• Use the pointer properly
• Ask the audience questions
• Refer to things they are familiar with to
explain unknowns
• Get the audience involved
Copyright 2004
Arizona Board of
ECE 498B
Voice
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Speak slowly and clearly
Vary your tone,volume and pace
Avoid a monotone voice
Ask if everyone can hear you
Avoid uhs, uhms, you knows, likes etc.
– Better to have a pause while you organize your
thoughts
• Never read your notes
– Back to the previous comment about knowing
your material
Copyright 2004
Arizona Board of
ECE 498B
The Critique
• Remember that the design is being critiqued,
not the team
• Peer review teams are responsible for
keeping detailed notes of points raised during
the critique and suggested action
• Do not irrationally defend your design simply
because you have fallen in love with it
• Listen carefully to each point that is raised
before responding
Copyright 2004
Arizona Board of
ECE 498B