Capstone & other design classes
Stakeholders are the clients, users, and anyone else who has an interest in the outcome of the project. Interviewing the stakeholders will allow the design team to capture their wants and needs and translate this into a set of requirements. Get more information about stakeholders from Purdue University Libraries, and use their Stakeholder Interview Planning Worksheet to help you prepare for an interview.
Newspapers, magazines & trade journals
To find related designs or products, consumer & market trends, current state of technology & general background info
Government information & reports
To find the current state of technology, costs, general background information
Costs
Sources to find costing information of components, products, services, labour, etc.
When customer needs (the "what" of a project) are translated into engineering characteristics (the “how” of a design), you will need to define design parameters, variables and constraints (eg. dimensions, performance properties, costs, codes, material properties and selection, etc.). Here are sources that can help:
Background information
To help understand how certain products, components, or technologies work
Products & components (catalogues, etc.)
To see what components, products and materials are commercially available
Material selection & properties
To find data, parameters, units, etc. for design, modeling, and analysis
Codes, specifications & standards
To ensure lawfulness, safety, best practice, compatibility, etc.
When analyzing the design or modeling with computer simulations, finding the right mathematical equations and models is important, as well as assigning correct values (properties, or others) for the simulations. Here are some sources to find this information:
Products & components (catalogues, etc.)
To find datasheets with dimensions, drawings, performance figures, etc.
Journal articles
Scholarly articles may provide parameters, specifications, drawings, etc.
Technical reports
Government or industry reports may provide parameters, specifications, drawings, etc.
- Writing the final report will require citing your sources. Engineering students are typically required to use the IEEE Citation Style.
- If you are using another citation style, please see our "Citation Guides" page for guidance.
- Unsure how to cite? Check out the Library Research Skill Tutorial "How do I get my citations / references / bibliography right?"
- Try Zotero to manage and organize your references and prepare a bibliography automatically!
Here are two books that can be helpful in preparing the final oral presentation:
- Tools and Tactics of Design: Consult Chapter 8 "Presenting and Implementing Your Design"
- What every engineer should know about business communication
Here are a few helpful resources on the process of Engineering Design:
- Websites:
- Information-Rich Engineering Design: A website created by Purdue University Libraries which provides resources and strategies to promote the integration of high-quality information into the engineering design process.
- Library Books:
Image credits
Images are Creative Commons or public domain, except for the Background information image (copyright Concordia University). Image credits (for Creative Commons images): Patent image by Aaron (via Flickr), Journals image by Wiley Asia Blog (via Flickr), Newspapers image by Lolly man (via Flickr), Textbooks image by Pixabay, Prodcuts and components image by Patricia M (via Flickr), Statistics image by Pixabay, Standards image by Pixabay, Costs image by Pixabay. Material properties image and Technical reports image are in the public domain (via Wikipedia and Wikimedia Commons respectively).
