ENME 600
Engineering Design Methods
Fall 2008
ENME 600: Engineering Design Methods
Fall 2008 Course Information
Catalog Description:
Engineering Design Methods is an introductory graduate level course in critical thinking about
formal methods for design in Mechanical Engineering and other disciplines. Course participants
gain background on methods and the creative potential each offers to designers. Participants will
formulate, present, and discuss their own opinions on the value and appropriate use of design
methods for mechanical engineering. Each participant will demonstrate understanding of
methods by applying them to an individual design project.
Course Classification: Graduate Standing or permission of instructor (3 semester hours).
Instructor: Dr. Linda Schmidt, lschmidt@umd.edu, Room 0162 GLM
Meeting Times: Mondays, 12:30pm-3:15pm, Room ITV 1100
Textbook: There is no single, universally accepted text on mechanical design. There is no single
textbook that includes material on all the design methods to be covered in the class. Students will
be directed to course notes, instructor copies of design texts, and other repositories of knowledge
for design materials. Students are expected to be able to conduct independent research to locate
and acquire reference material suitable for course assignments.
Web Site: Registered students are directed to the University of Maryland Blackboard course site
(https://bb.eng.umd.edu) for access to online course information. This site includes an up-to-date
course schedule of lecture topics, assignments, due dates, and more. The site also provides
communication and productivity tools for student teams.
Course Description: Engineering Design Methods will introduce course participants to a
number of contemporary philosophies and methods of performing engineering design. Emphasis
will be given to the methods that are becoming “mainstream” in mechanical engineering
curricula (e.g., Axiomatic Design, Systematic Design with Functional Decomposition,
TIPS/TRIZ). The course will focus on design methods for the earliest stages of the design
process, sometimes called conceptual design. Important design methods have both evolved from
use and been proposed in an intentional way. Methods in each category will be presented in the
course, discussed, and applied to design problems.
General Course Objectives:
 Given a career full of design challenges, participants will be able to start their work with
confidence.
 Given any of the design methods presented in the course, participant will be able to
demonstrate an understanding of the method by:
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ENME 600
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Engineering Design Methods
Fall 2008
o Describing the method as a series of instructional steps and draw relationships between
the method-specific steps and the general engineering design process.
o Applying the method to an un-familiar but well-described mechanical design task to
create a feasible solution
o Work with a group of class colleagues to present a case study on a particular method and
lead a class exercise that can be accomplished in 20 minutes.
Given a published account of a design process, participants will be able to identify the type
of design method or practices proposed by the authors, and critique its potential usefulness
for different design scenarios. Course participants will also be able to make suggestions on
the application of additional design methods to improve the process outcome.
Given a written view or position on a design method or a class of methods, participants will
be able to compare and contrast the author’s perspective to those proposed by adherents to
other methods of design.
Grading Policy:
 25% Individual Writing Assignments: A series of essays will be required over the course of
the semester. Each essay must be original work. Electronic submission via the online course
site is preferred. (It will allow me easier access than paper copies.)
 25% Individual Design Problem Performance: A series of four problems will be assigned for
completion by each student. This is to encourage sketching, commentary, and revision.
Students are encouraged to establish a design journal for these assignments and photocopy
the appropriate journal pages and turn them in on due dates.
 25% Final Report: A Case Study on Design and Design Methods: Details will be provided
throughout the semester on this individual assignment.
 15% Individual Presentation of Design Method Applications: Students will be selected for the
presentation of a design method as applied to their case study subject. The class audience and
the instructor will assess the quality of the team’s work.
 10% Individual Contribution to Course Quality: This course is a learning community. All
course participants are expected to participate in the learning process and contribute to it.
Contributions will be solicited in online discussions, small group discussions, sharing journal
assignments with group members, and writing assignments. Course activities are varied so that
participants will be able to use different communication methods according to their strengths.
The following rubrics will be used to assess all assignments (e.g., writings, design problems,
presentations).
 Completeness and Effectiveness – the degree to which participant performance satisfies
the required elements of the assignment.
 Clarity – the degree to which the writer or speaker and presents the work in a logical
order that can be understood by an engineering graduate student.
 Scholarship -- evidence of thoughtfulness, originality or critical assessment
 Professionalism – quality of the communication including fundamentals of expression
(e.g., grammar, spelling, sentence construction, effectiveness of visual materials)
It is the policy of the course instructor to apply the same performance expectations to all course
participants regardless of their academic, employment, or linguistic background.
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ENME 600
Engineering Design Methods
Fall 2008
Academic Integrity and Academic Dishonesty: Plagiarism in any form will not be tolerated
All work presented to the instructor is assumed to be the original work of the course participant.
Words, diagrams, figures, or original contributions of anyone other than a student must be
referenced when included in a student’s work. The course instructor may request evidence of
references for any submitted work.
Please review the university policy on academic integrity and academic dishonesty at
http://www.studenthonorcouncil.umd.edu/code.html.
The University of Maryland, College Park has a nationally recognized Code of Academic
Integrity, administered by the Student Honor Council. This Code sets standards for academic
integrity at Maryland for all undergraduate and graduate students. As a student you are
responsible for upholding these standards for this course. It is very important for you to be
aware of the consequences of cheating, fabrication, facilitation, and plagiarism. For more
information on the Code of Academic Integrity or the Student Honor Council, please visit
http://www.shc.umd.edu.
Relationship of course to Program Outcomes:
This course satisfies the following learning outcomes promoted by the DRs Division:
1. The ability to identify appropriate and scholarly published materials and interpret there
contributions to the state of design research.
2. The ability to think critically about the design process as it relates to both practicing
engineers and design philosophers.
3. The ability to recognize consistent principals and approaches across a variety of design tasks
or embodied in a solution methodology.
4. The ability to synthesize and communicate opinions to colleagues in verbal and written form.
5. The ability to work in teams effectively.
6. Recognition of the contribution of engineering design to society and culture.
7. The recognition that engineers must maintain ethical and professional standards and an
appreciation of these standards.
Person(s) who prepared this description and date of preparation:
Dr. Linda Schmidt, 8/13/2008.
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