Design Refinement: Decision Presentation

Purpose:

1. Present thorough justification for a significant design decision that is near completion relative to your final design.
2. Demonstrate that the team or task group used good design process, made use of appropriate tools, and reached a good decision. (see Table below on "Acceptable / Supported decisions")
3. Get feedback concerning the decision and the overall decision process used.

Reminders:

1. Make sure you set the context before getting into details. Good system-level images of the concepts are important, including users in operating position(s).

2. Show how the decisions support or help meet the design specifications.

3. Show how this decision impacts other systems, subsystems, etc.

4. Clearly indicate schedule and cost issues relative to the decision. Why was it a high priority item? What other items depended on this decision? What are the final design cost implications of the decision?

Presentation Details

1. 1 presenter from each team will present on Friday February 9th. Another presenter from each team will present on Friday February 16th. The entire team should contribute to the preparation and review of the presentations.
2. You can focus on one major decision or a few significant decisions.
3. Each presentation must be 10 minutes or less, with about 7 minutes for feedback, discussion, and questions
4. Consider the purpose and target audience (internal technical managers who will decide whether or not to allocate funds to support your proposed decisions) and develop an appropriate presentation.
5. The presenter fields all questions but may pass them on to the appropriate team member to respond.
6. Business casual dress is appropriate
7. Presentation schedule will be posted on the calendar.

Acceptable / Supported decisions include most of the following considerations
Considerations	In-Process (Design Refinement) Level	Completed Decision Level
Impacts / Effects (First, do no harm. Immediate and long term, intended and unintended, local and global impacts of products and production on the environment and society)	Considered for the overall project, and is impacting production and part-level decisions.	All aspects considered and hard choices and tradeoffs are made as required to limit impacts.
Professional and ethical standards (Decision and Justification show good judgment and integrity)	Demonstrates a commitment to professional standards.	Demonstrates a commitment to professional standards.
Function (Research, precedent and vendor info show it should meet the design specifications)	Complete and up-to-date	Complete and up-to-date
FMEA (A failure modes and effects analysis or similar technique is properly used to evaluate the overall system failure modes and hazards and to prioritize risks and focus the design effort.	All Hazards identified and most significant items evaluated.	All significant hazards evaluated and RPNs decreased to acceptable values.
Design Analysis (Sufficient and Correct Analysis for part sizing and material selection to avoid failure; Simulations demonstrate performance of major subsystems in critical operating modes.)	All critical load cases and failure locations identified and analysis completed and validated for most critical locations. Simulations begun with estimated parameters.	Analysis completed and validated for all critical locations. Simulation completed with experimentally validated parameters.
Safety (All aspects of project and product safety considered continuously throughout the design process. Design for Safety terminology and approach is evident.)	Design for safety on a system level is complete. Examples of avoidance and protection are presented.	A comprehensive approach is documented that shows reduction of all hazards (product and production) to low risk.
Economics / Value (Cost/benefit analysis is used to evaluate value, not just immediate cost. A vendor selection process is followed and documented.)	Most significant items have been analyzed for value and a process is used for vendor selection.	All significant items have been analyzed for value. Good vendor selection process.
Customer (360 degree Customer Input solicited, evaluated and appropriately used.)	Significant input has been incorporated from various external and internal customers	Usability, marketability and other customer input incorporated from all significant external and internal customers
DFMA (All aspects of Manufacturing and Assembly Considered, including manufacturability of design features, use of manufacturing features, machinability of materials,…)	Manufacturability and assembly of most significant items has been analyzed and improved to appropriate levels.	Manufacturability and assembly of all significant items has been analyzed and improved to appropriate levels.
Testing (Mock-ups and experiments used for information and validation)	Most mock-ups complete and used appropriately for product development. Other tests are planned.	Mock-ups and tests were used appropriately for numerous aspects of product development.
Other (Creativity and initiative are evident in the decision process; Good planning and organizing are demonstrated, including use of decision making tools [Pareto analysis, decision matrices and other prioritizing and organizing tools]; Impacts on design criteria are considered)	Some other considerations are evident.	Most other considerations are evident.

Assessment Checklist

Notes

1. Quality of Work / Content of presentation a. The presentation fulfills its purpose b. Decision Quality: Includes consideration of multiple factors (see checklist), including specifications, impact on other systems and subsystems, impact on schedule and budget c. Justification is clear and correct 2. Quality of presentation and ability to participate in technical discussions. a. Appropriate style, pace and voice projection... Good use of visual aids (pictures supported by words) Clear and concise treatment of main points b. Responds to questions in a professional manner Repeats the question and asks clarifying questions if necessary Takes a non-defensive attitude Provides a correct answer or defers the question to another team member

 Levels: 0 Unacceptable/Insufficient (0)  2 Adequate (~.75-.89)
 1 Needs Improvement (~.6-.74) 3 Excellent/Meets All Expectations (~.9-1.0)