QATAR UNIVERSITY
College of Engineering
Mechanical and Industrial Engineering Department
Industrial and Systems Engineering Program
Guidelines for the Implementation and
Preparation of Industrial System Design
Projects
Prepared by Industrial and Systems Engineering Program (February 2010)
Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering
Page 2 of 8
1
INTRODUCTION
Senior design experiences are both a graduation requirement for undergraduate engineering majors and for
ABET accreditation of these programs. A Senior Project course is typically the last bridge for students between
undergraduate education and the engineering profession in their respective disciplines.
The Industrial Systems Design project is the senior project for Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISE)
program. It is an engineering project that is related to the student’s field of study and must be carried out by
the student as partial fulfillment for the award of the bachelor’s degree.
This document aims to guide final year undergraduate students of the ISE Program though the Industrial
Systems Design Project process. It contains information on the stages of the project, indicating when reports
are due, how to get something made up in the work shop and most importantly how to write concise and
legible documents with good literary style, presentation and layout. It is important to note that each report
must be original. Remember irrelevant information and trivial statements are of no value. It is important not
to underestimate the amount of time it takes to write the report.
2
2.1
GENERAL GUIDELINES
Project Topics Profile
The ability to design is one of the measures that helps define if a graduate is truly prepared to practice
engineering. It is an ability defined by the engineering profession as a “black or white” skill needed by every
graduate of an engineering program. A graduate must show that he or she has had “a major design experience
based on the knowledge and skills acquired in earlier course work and incorporating appropriate engineering
standards and multiple realistic constraints. Therefore, it is the policy of the department to encourage projects
related to actual industrial problems. Although the projects are normally offered by the faculty members, the
department encourages students to come up with their own engineering problems of interest in consultation
with faculty members or industry. These could arise from their industrial training experience or their personal
communication with an industry. In this case, the student(s) should secure the approval of a faculty member
who is interested in the topic and is willing to supervise the project.
2.2
Project Assignment Summary
Projects offered by faculty members should be accompanied by a short description according to the format
listed below in this section. The short summary is needed for the following reasons:
 To help both the student(s) and the adviser(s) define the project scope so that no open-end problems
are assigned.
 To clarify the objectives so that the student will be made accountable for achieving or working
towards those objectives.
 To give an initial guideline so that the student will assess her/his capability against the given project
requirements. This will help the students in making the right choice.
 To justify the number of students assigned to each project.
For projects suggested by the students a similar summary is prepared in collaboration with the faculty
member(s) who wish to supervise their projects.
The project short description should include the following items:
1. Title
2. Advisor(s) name(s)
3. Number of students needed and their major specializations.
4. Problem statement
5. Objectives
Guidelines for INDUSTRIAL SYSTEMS DESIGN Projects
Revised: February 2010
INDUSTRIAL SYSTEMS DESIGN Coordinator
Next Review: February 2011
Page 3 of 8
6.
7.
8.
9.
2.3
Approach/Tasks
Prerequisites (the student background and skill needed)
References (minimum of one reference)
Search keywords
Project Offering, Announcement, and Assignment Dates
The following is a recommended timetable starting at the end of the semester preceding the project initiation.
 11th Week: Submission of titles and short summaries.
 12th Week: Approval by the department board and announcement to the students.
 13th Week: Filling and submission of Project Selection Form by students.
 14th Week: Project assignment by the Industrial Systems Design Project Coordinator.
2.4
The Logbook
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2.5
Conditions for Completion and Extension of Project
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2.6
Keeping a day to day record is a very useful practice when carrying out a major investigation task.
Each student or team should arrange for a weekly meeting with their advisor(s).
Each project student of a team should maintain a Logbook to document all project activities, i.e.,
minutes of meetings with the advisor or co-advisors, action plans, and % of task completed and any
notes regarding the assignments given by the advisor(s) and so on.
Notes about the meeting should be recorded in the Logbook in addition to the date of each entry.
The students' advisors are expected to see the logbook when meeting with students and this can
show the advisor how the project is progressing and what kind of guidance is needed.
The senior project coordinator collects the logbooks, registers the grade and keeps samples for
display.
The advisor(s) must sign the logbook minutes every time they meet with their students.
A template of the logbook will be available online on the Blackboard Portal.
In general, a project extension is not allowed. Extensions will only be allowed for medical reasons or
any other unforeseen circumstances.
Projects should be completed within one normal semester.
Students seeking an extension should write a letter addressed to the Chairman of the Department,
Final Year Project Committee, through their respective project advisors. Students have to apply for
the extension prior to the dateline. Hence proper time and project management is vital.
The College Final Year Project Committee will only give project extension if the committee is satisfied
with the student’s justifications/reasons.
Instructions and Deadlines
Final year project students should adhere to the regulations and deadlines regarding the Industrial Systems
Design Project execution. Failure to respect these rules and deadlines will result in grade reduction or possible
withdrawal from the Industrial Systems Design Project. The following important deadlines are designed to
follow up the progress of the Industrial Systems Design Project and ensure its successful completion.
The following are the important deadlines and tasks for the project execution:

Week 1: Industrial Systems Design Project coordinator meets with final year project students and informs
them about Industrial Systems Design Project regulations and deadlines and semester meeting sessions
schedule.
Students must write a short project description with the advisor. The project description should
be uploaded to the course web page on the Blackboard Portal.
The coordinator should upload the guidelines and all of the related documents and templates on the
Blackboard Portal and fills in the course calendar. The students are expected to monitor the calendar and
the specific deadlines through the Blackboard.
Guidelines for INDUSTRIAL SYSTEMS DESIGN Projects
Revised: February 2010
INDUSTRIAL SYSTEMS DESIGN Coordinator
Next Review: February 2011
Page 4 of 8

Logbooks – due first week of each month
Each student in the group must submit a logbook for the past month to the project coordinator
individually with the advisor’s sign by the first week of each month.

Progress Report 1 – due week 8
Assessment will be based on the following:
• Ability to identify and discuss work procedure, analysis and approach
• Ability to discuss expected output of project
• Ability to present a good report
• Physical setup, language, tidiness
The report will be allowed a maximum of 20 pages (Excluding appendices). The template for the progress
report will be made available to students through the Blackboard. The report should be submitted to the
industrial systems design project coordinator by the stipulated dateline.

Final Report – first draft: due week 14; final draft: due last day of finals
Students should submit the draft of their final reports by the Sunday of the last week of classes. Each
group should submit:
 An online copy of final report on the Blackboard (preferably in pdf format)
 Two hardcopies: one to the project advisor, one to the project examiner.
The report will be allowed a maximum of 40 pages (Excluding appendices). The template for the project
will be provided to the students by the project coordinator. The project advisor(s) and examiner(s) will
review the report, grade, and provide feedback to the students by the Sunday of the first week of finals.
The students should revise their reports based on the feedback and submit the final draft of the final
report by the last day of final examinations. Each group should submit:
 One soft copy of the report in pdf format uploaded to the Blackboard
 Three hardcopies binded in blue hard cover.
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Industrial Systems Design Project Day – last week of classes
This day will be held either on Wednesday or Thursday (depending on the student availability) of the last
week of the classes. On this day, each project group will present their projects to the audience. Faculty
members, personnel, families, and students are most welcome to attend the event. Groups will also
present their projects with a poster. The project presentations will be followed with a lunch and free
discussion.
One soft copy of the presentation slides and poster must be submitted to the project coordinator.
D. Deadline Summary
Week
1
Deliverables
Short Project
Description
Progress
Report 1
Submit to
Format
# of copies
Blackboard
Softcopy
1/group
Blackboard, Advisor
Softcopy,
Hardcopy
5, 9, 13
Logbooks
Project Coordinator
Hardcopy
14 Sunday
Final Report
First Draft
Blackboard,
Advisor, Examiner
Softcopy,
Hardcopy
1 softcopy, 1
Hardcopy
1/Each
student
1 softcopy, 2
hardcopies
14
Wednesday
Presentation
Blackboard
Softcopy
1/group
9
Final Report
Blackboard, Project Softcopy, 1 softcopy, 3
Final Draft
Coordinator
Hardcopy
hardcopies
Late submission will be subject to a penalty of 10% per day.
Finals 2
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Guidelines for INDUSTRIAL SYSTEMS DESIGN Projects
Revised: February 2010
INDUSTRIAL SYSTEMS DESIGN Coordinator
Remarks
Work with the project
advisor
Advisor’s sign needed
Approval signatures
needed
Next Review: February 2011
Page 5 of 8
2.7
Examination Committee
At the beginning of the examination period, the project coordinator will assign examination committee for
each project, which consists of two staff members and the advisor(s). The members should have expertise
close to the project subject. After the advisor approval of the project report the examiners will receive their
copies for evaluation accompanied by the Report Evaluation Form. The results will be forwarded to the Project
Coordinator for processing. The examination committee will examine the students during the presentation
session.
2.8
Project Evaluation
Assessment of the final year project will be based on the stages completed in the research/study or design
carried out. It is also based on the ability of the student to manage the logbook, prepare reports; relate
literature review and other works to defend or create ideas, which are related to the output of the project.
A. Evaluation Criteria
The assessment will be based on the seven (7) considerations as follows:
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Advisor Evaluation:
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50%
Logbooks (individual)
Progress Report (group)
Final Report (group)
Overall Performance (individual)
Oral presentation:
Examiner Evaluation:
Coordinator Evaluation:
- Logbook Submission (individual)
- Reports Submissions (group)
- Overall Participation (individual)
Project Realization:
Peer Evaluation (individual)
Total:
5%
10%
20%
15%
20%
10%
10%
3%
3%
4%
5%
5%
100%
B. Letter Grades and their Corresponding Grade Points
90
85
80
75
70
65
60
0
- 100:
- 89:
- 84:
- 79:
- 74:
- 69:
- 64:
- 59:
A (4.0)
B+ (3.5)
B (3.0)
C+ (2.5)
C (2.0)
D+ (1.5)
D (1.0)
F (0.0)
C. Sample of the Senior Project Evaluation Sheet (Appendix III)
D. Peer Evaluation
At end of term, students will rate the lab performance of each team-mate.
In exceptional cases a student's project grade may be adjusted up or down relative to their teammates.
Guidelines for INDUSTRIAL SYSTEMS DESIGN Projects
Revised: February 2010
INDUSTRIAL SYSTEMS DESIGN Coordinator
Next Review: February 2011
Page 6 of 8
3
3.1
PROJECT REPORT FORMAT
Production Specifications
The report should be written in English, and its length is limited to a maximum of 40 pages. This excludes
appendices, contents, dedications, acknowledgements and nomenclature. This figure is a maximum and it is
expected that the majority of reports will be shorter than this limit. Conciseness together with sufficiency of
detail should be foremost in the author’s mind.
The specific details about the report format are provided along with the template. The students are required
to strictly follow the specifications. In addition, there are a few basic rules to follow. The reports should use a
formal language, avoiding long sentences and big words. Avoid
 Colloquial words and phrases (e.g. lab results, stats),
 Technical jargon if possible
 Asking rhetorical questions or using exclamation marks
 Contractions (e.g. didn’t, can’t, it’s etc.)
 Be precise, concise and objective.
 The report should be written in the third person. Do not use personal pronouns (i.e. I, we, our, you, us)
Guidelines for INDUSTRIAL SYSTEMS DESIGN Projects
Revised: February 2010
INDUSTRIAL SYSTEMS DESIGN Coordinator
Next Review: February 2011
Page 7 of 8
4
ORAL PRESENTATION
The oral presentation occurs during the MIE Industrial Systems Design Project Day, which is held in the last
week of final examinations. The presentation consists of a 20-30 minute presentation, and a 5-10minutes of
Q&A session following the presentation. Each student must arrive for the presentation and participate for the
presentation.
3.1 Evaluation Criteria
The presentations will be evaluated based on the criteria provided below. An evaluation checklist will be
distributed to each evaluator, who can be a faculty member, TA’s, or (if possible) an industry collaborator, This
evaluation is two-fold: group evaluation and individual evaluation. At the end, each individual student will
receive a grade from each evaluator. The presentation score of each student will be the average of the grades
she received from each evaluator.
The evaluation criteria are:
Organization:
- Did the speakers state their topic appropriately?
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Was the presentation clearly organized into a few sections?
Was there a main point?
Scientific Presentation
- Was the scientific problem clearly defined and appropriate background information presented?
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Did the speakers back up their analysis with enough fact, figures, statistics, and other materials?
Did the speakers draw the results and conclusion appropriately?
Use of visual aids
- Did the speakers use visual aids effectively?
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Minimum typos, spelling errors?
Did the slides support the problem clearly and graphics were readable?
Relating to audience
- Did the speakers have good eye contact with audience members?
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Could the audience hear what the speakers were saying?
Q & A: Did the speakers effectively answer impromptu questions from the audience?
Time management
- Was the presentation finished within the time limit?
Overall presentation rating as a team member (individual evaluation)
4.2 Useful Tips for Better Presentation
Producing slides using Microsoft PowerPoint:
 Use size 24pt font minimum.
 Clear font, such as Arial/Helvetica.
 Clear layout.
Guidelines for INDUSTRIAL SYSTEMS DESIGN Projects
Revised: February 2010
INDUSTRIAL SYSTEMS DESIGN Coordinator
Next Review: February 2011
Page 8 of 8
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Don’t put the whole story on the slides. Use bullet points and headlines only.
Do not clutter slides.
Ensure consistency of color and format, or design, throughout the presentation.
If displaying graphs or pictures ensure that the person furthest from the screen will be able to see
them clearly.
If you will be printing black and white transparencies then ensure that all items can still be read, e.g.
lines on graphs, images etc.
If you are showing your Gantt chart, or project plan, you may need to break it up over a number of
slides to ensure that it is legible.
Make sure there are no spelling mistakes or typos!
Presenting:
 Rehearse your presentation prior to delivery.
 Speak slowly (aim for 100 words per minute)
 Use a pointer (such as a pen) on the overhead projector, or a laser pointer on the screen - don’t stand
between the projector and the screen
Guidelines for INDUSTRIAL SYSTEMS DESIGN Projects
Revised: February 2010
INDUSTRIAL SYSTEMS DESIGN Coordinator
Next Review: February 2011