Introduction to Senior Design

Abstract

This chapter introduces the Senior Design processes and justifies the need for Project Management (PM). The reader will learn that the Senior Design course requires students to use many non-technical skills which traditional engineering courses tend to undervalue such as communication and documentation. The chapter starts by justifying why a student should care to learn these skills from a holistic career perspective. The chapter continues by discussing the need for an engineer to develop Project Management skills specifically. The Project Management Institute’s (PMI’s) Design Life-Cycle is introduced and the purpose of each of the six design phases (i.e., STARTING, INITIATING, PLANNING, EXECUTING, CLOSING, and ENDING) is discussed.