#reflection wk8

[designumn2015]

Design Process Experience

This year I have had the chance to gain some first hand experience implementing the design process.  For my senior design class, I am working with a team of 9 to design and build an RC plane to carry a load around a course while following a strict set of requirements.  This is a year long project and we will be travelling to California in April to compete in an international competition.  This project has taught me the importance of communication and integration when working on a large scale project.  I’ve found out how difficult simple communication can be and I’ve had to learn how to convey my ideas to a group instead of just putting them on paper like I normally would.  I’m excited to gain more experience utilizing the design process through project #2.  

[designumn2015]

Reflection

Alright, I worked the shift from hell last night, which means that I just woke up, so I apologize for the late reflection.

Week 8 was interesting.  I really enjoyed the visit from Billy Weber, though I hope I didn’t annoy him or take up too much of his time  :P  As someone who is studying engineering and enjoys science, I appreciated a lot of what he was working on.  I wouldn’t consider renewable energy a passion of mine, but I do think it’s interesting.  Listening to him speak, and talk about all of the plans and the details his team had to consider when developing their project, reminded me of how I approach things at my job.  When I’m at work, everything little thing that I do, I do for a certain reason, and I mean EVERYTHING.  I do it in my everyday day life, too, but it’s most evident at work.  It’s actually quite exhausting to go from tiny detail to tiny detail, considering each and every one.  That is how my mind works and it’s running nonstop; this makes for some very difficult times trying to fall asleep  :P  Anyway, the point I am trying to make is that I could really relate to Mr. Weber’s work, and in more ways than one.  The whole time I was listening to him, I kept coming up with ideas for his project; for all I knew his team had already considered them, but I was thinking of them nonetheless.  Is there a job where the only thing you have to do is come up with ideas?  If so, someone should let me know, because I think I would be great at that!  :P

[designumn2015]

Reflection

In my opinion, challenge and achievement are very closely related. For example, I think that there are different levels of challenge to each achievement. This is because I sometimes feel a huge sense of accomplishment when I achieved something that very challengeable or had tough time to be done. Not only that, achievement mean a lot to me when I accomplished that I felt I could not finish or make it. On the other hand, I feel less sense of accomplishment or it is obvious and expected when I do something that requires less challenge or easy. However, both of cases mean achievement and require challenge with different level of challenge. I sometimes enjoy challenging something that is hard because I feel very pleasure and proud if I accomplish. Moreover, I think achievement give me confidence for next challenge.  

[designumn2015]

Past Failures.

Failure is not fatal, but failure to change might be. -John Wooden

Failure allows the chance to accept something is wrong, and adapt, explore flexibility, and experiment to find something that eventually works. If someone does not evaluate their past failures, how is one to know what shouldn’t be done the next time? Think of it as a tally system, once you knock out all the obstacles and figure out what is preventing your idea to formulate into something successful, you’ll finally hit one point whereby something works. In future, you’ll be prepared to expect if something goes wrong, and your mind will be trained to weigh out the options that seem to be unsteady or uncertain, by instinct. Therefore, I believe learning, developing and growing from failures is the key to success. 

[designumn2015]

Prototyping Everywhere

In class yesterday we talked about prototypes and how they show up all over the place in our every day lives even if we don’t realize it! 

My definition of a prototype wold be a draft of a design, but is either tangible or visible. The process to make this prototype is to first find your problem, then brainstorm ways to fix and find a solution. A prototype can look like anything you want it to depending on what you are designing. It’s probably a little rough and made out of cheap materials. A prototype also isn’t perfect so there’s a few kinks and flaws to work out. Those flaws are easy to find with a prototype because you can move it and use it other than just looking at a design on paper. 

In my everyday life, I see myself using prototypes all the time. Rough drafts of papers and lab reports could be viewed as prototypes. It’s a building block that I can use to create something bigger and better. It’s flawed and needs to be worked on. Also, in cooking I use prototypes. There’s been multiple times where I’ve added too much of something and the next time I make it I change it a little bit. Like with cream in my coffee. Now I know exactly how much to put in for my perfect taste but when I was first trying to figure it out, I either put to much in or too little. 

Prototypes are everywhere, even if we don’t refer to them as such! They’re rough drafts we work off of to create bigger and better things!