Course syllabus for Product development project

Course syllabus adopted 2023-02-13 by Head of Programme (or corresponding).

Overview

  • Swedish nameProduktutvecklingsprojekt
  • CodePPU196
  • Credits7.5 Credits
  • OwnerTIMAL
  • Education cycleFirst-cycle
  • Main field of studyMechanical Engineering
  • DepartmentINDUSTRIAL AND MATERIALS SCIENCE
  • GradingTH - Pass with distinction (5), Pass with credit (4), Pass (3), Fail

Course round 1

  • Teaching language Swedish
  • Application code 65133
  • Open for exchange studentsNo
  • Only students with the course round in the programme overview.

Credit distribution

0119 Project 5 c
Grading: TH		0 c0 c0 c5 c0 c0 c
0219 Intermediate test 2.5 c
Grading: TH		0 c0 c0 c2.5 c0 c0 c
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In programmes

Examiner

Eligibility

General entry requirements for bachelor's level (first cycle)
Applicants enrolled in a programme at Chalmers where the course is included in the study programme are exempted from fulfilling the requirements above.

Specific entry requirements

The same as for the programme that owns the course.
Applicants enrolled in a programme at Chalmers where the course is included in the study programme are exempted from fulfilling the requirements above.

Course specific prerequisites

The students are expected to have participated in the earlier courses according to the study programme for mechanical engineering and product design engineering.

Aim

The aim of the course is to teach and train systematic methods and tools for product development in a project format.

Learning outcomes (after completion of the course the student should be able to)

The project tasks are given by the business community and have industrial relevance. The tasks include the development of a concept proposal that challenges an existing technical solution or satisfies a need that lacks an existing solution. The goal of the project is to provide experience and insights in product development by following a given design methodological process.

After completing the course, students should be able to:

Create a project definition by
  • identify stakeholders, roles and responsibilities of team members
  • create a goal formulation
  • analyze goals, deliveries and boundaries, milestone plan and Gantt chart
  • identify risks and develop measures/mitigations 
Identify the relationship between product and user by
  • Map the product's life cycle from a customer and environmental perspective
  • identify customer requirements and wishes
  • compile "Voice of the Customer"
Create increased customer value by
  • identify the main, additional, supporting and unwanted functions of a product
  • create a functional model of a product
  • evaluate a product's commercial position and thereby propose strategies for further development
  • efficiently search for relevant information in patent databases, and evaluate the result for relevance and quality for a given problem
  • create new technical concepts, combine and compare them, 
Design, test and evaluate the concept through
  • Design technical solutions using CAD
  • explain / describe which design criteria influence the choice of manufacturing processes
  • produce a cost estimate for retail manufacturing and assembly
  • perform design adjustments to simplify parts manufacturing and assembly
  • manufacture and assemble a prototype
  • evaluate results from functional tests of the prototype and analyze goal fulfillment of the functional requirements specification
Argue for and defend the chosen solution at oral presentation and in written report
  • evaluate and criticize other solutions to the same problem
  • be able to identify ethical consequences and dilemmas in connection with the development of a new product
  • be able to include ethical and moral principles in decision-making
Work professionally in group work. This also includes:
  • Be able to analyze treatment and interaction in group collaborations from an inclusive perspective.
  • Be able to apply communicative strategies to promote social sustainability.
  • Analyze, make visible and problematize the importance of gender equality aspects in the development of products, processes and systems.
  • Discuss and reflect on gender equality, equality and diversity based on the professional role of engineer.

Content

The course covers theories and methods for project management and product development. A large design task shall be carried out with application of parts of the course contents as well as knowledge from previous courses. The design task shall, if possible, be carried out in collaboration with industry.

Organisation

The course consists of lectures, exercises and a project.

Literature

To be announced two weeks prior to course start, at the latest.

Examination including compulsory elements

In order to obtain a final grade in the course, it is required that you have actively been part of a group that has completed the project assignment with approved results. Grading scale TH is applied. Attendance at the following mandatory elements (and in some cases by writing a reflection report) is required:
  • Guest lectures
  • Project start
  • Reconciliation of requirements specification
  • Exercises in written / oral presentation, in groups
  • Presentation of finished product and opposition
  • Feedback on presentation

Presentation
A presentation must be conducted by each group. In this presentation, the final solution must be presented from a user perspective. Group feedback on the oral presentation is given. The grades here are either failed or approved.

Reports
The group makes interim reports during the course divided into a number of submissions. These submissions are reviewed by spirit students with so-called Peer review (constructive criticism of the report). A final report focusing on the results is submitted at the end of the course. The group's grades are based on both the interim reports and the final report. Each student's individual grade is based on the group grade and on the feedback provided in the Peer review.

Reporting
The project manager must report to the supervisor no later than one week after each supervision opportunity. The reporting takes place through a short oral (5-10min) and a written report (max 1 A4). The graphic presentation of the choice of concept solution (which is presented orally) must be submitted. A written report must be submitted on time and approved by the supervisor. Instructions for drafting the report are given in the appendix.

Rating
Graded grading is applied with grading scales U, G (= 3), 4 and 5. The grade is a weighting of several partial grades that are set continuously during the course.

The course examiner may assess individual students in other ways than what is stated above if there are special reasons for doing so, for example if a student has a decision from Chalmers on educational support due to disability.