Problem Solving/Engineering Design

Process
Activity #1

IET 120
Online Fall
2010

Background of the Problem

I was assigned a group project for a class at MSU that was due at
11:59 P.M. on October 2, 2015. We were given the option to choose
our own partner for the assignment and, because I live in Pikeville
and not on campus, I began emailing fellow students one at a time.
After about two weeks with no replies (I shouldnt have waited that
long) I began to panic. The project was due in just a couple of days
and I had yet to find a partner and begin work on it.

Problem and Goal Statement

I have a GROUP project due in just a couple of days. I have no partner and
have yet to start my project. How do I do a group project in such a short
period of time and with no partner? The outcome I seek in this endeavor is to
complete and submit my project on time, and receive a good grade on it
from my instructor.

Problem Solving Approach

(Engineering Design Process)
I need to:

Find a suitable partner for my group project assignment.

Come up with a problem together that has merit.

Work out the problem together using the problem solving process
outline in the textbook.

Come up with a plausible solution together.

Richard Cantrell

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Problem Solving/Engineering Design

Process
Activity #1

Finish assignment, and submit it by the due date!

Receive a passing grade.

IET 120
Online Fall
2010

Information Collected
The research and information that I collected during my problem solving
process came primarily from the assignment instructions posted by my
Instructor. I studied the 10 steps of the design process outlined in my
textbook and even done some online googling of the process to really
imprint the information in my mind. I studied over examples of this process
to see how engineers used it on a daily basis.

Development of Alternative Solutions

I created a set of possible solutions to achieve a resolve for my problem. As a
man, I naturally enlisted the aid of my wife. She and I, as a team, came up
with my possible solutions. I could:
1. Continue to email fellow students to try and obtain a partner for the
task then begin working on it together.
2. Email my instructor to notify problem (that should have been avoided)
3. Do nothing at all and receive a failing grade.
4. Work on assignment myself and hope that it is enough.
5. Wait until someone replies to my emails and begin work on project with
said person.
6. Enlist the help of a friend/family member to do the project together.

Richard Cantrell

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Problem Solving/Engineering Design

Process
Activity #1

IET 120
Online Fall
2010

Selection of Best Solution

My wife and I then, finally, began to weigh out my possible solutions
and outcomes. Marking them off one by one until I came to a
solution.
1. X I cant just continue to email other students because, what
if I never receive an email back? If I wait it out then I wont
have time to complete the project.
2. X I could email my instructor to notify of my problem but,
because I waited so late, there is really not enough time for my
instructor to resolve this problem for me and still have time to
finish it.
3. X I cannot just not do anything, for obvious reasons. I need
to at least attempt to do this project so to receive a grade at
all.
4. X If I just wait until someone replies to the emails that I have
already sent out then I face the same problem and outcome of
my first possible solution.
5. X I cant work solo on the Group project because, obviously
there is no group in this solution.
After much deliberation and weighing out all the possible
solutions, I finally realized that all this time, I was working out
my problem with my partner, my wife. We decided on a
solution for my problem together, that we could work together
and solve this problem.
So we began to put all the information we had collected, and
all possible solutions into a problem solving template. We
discovered that it worked into the template perfectly. By
coming up with possible solutions for my problem and working
them out together we inadvertently done my group project,
thus, solving my initial problem.

Richard Cantrell

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