|
Students'
Recommendations, Suggestions, and Advice
Winter 2014
From students' individual
reflections:
-
If I were to take this course
again, I would do a variety of things differently. For example, I would start
the prototyping step much sooner and make more prototypes. This would be
helpful to get more ideas out there and it would lead to a better final design.
Another thing I would change, would be to make sure that our entire group was
involved and be more assertive if they were not. If they were constantly
failing to complete their tasks, I would consider to kicking him of the team so
that it would not affect the rest of us. Besides that, I would also try and get
more feedback from a wider variety of people so we could get more ideas, some
of which we might not even have thought of. In conclusion, I would advise
future students of Engr 110/210 to start early and do not be daunted if a
project looks daunting. There are a lot of resources to get help: Dave Jaffe,
the course TA's, the PRL TA's, the project suggestors, other students in the
course and community members. There is never a shortage of them. I would advise
to actively seek help because you are going to need it. There are many ideas
that you will not be able to see that a fresh pair of eyes can. Most of all, I
would advice to pick a project that you really like even if it seems difficult
because you're going to be working on it for a whole quarter. In the end, you
will come out of the course feeling accomplished because you know that your
design could possibly help makes someone's life better and that is always a
great feeling.
-
If I were to redo this class, I
would have allocated more time to learning SolidWorks and actually output more
designs.
-
If I were to do this again or
make some modifications in the future, which I intend to, I would do some
testing with Cathriona [sister with a disability] and get input from my parents
to see if any parts need to be moved around or if the shape of the lap tray
could be designed better.
-
While I felt our project was
highly successful, there were a couple of improvements our team could have made
to have the perfect project. First, my advice to all students would be iterate
early and often. Although our final project worked, we were under a lot less
stress because we set up a time every week to work on and progress our project.
It's amazing what a solid 2-3 hours of work per week can make when making a
project over the course of a quarter. Our final prototype still had minor
adjustments that could have been avoided with one or two more iterations in the
manufacturing process to complete the project. Finally, my last advice to any
team is to pick a project you are genuinely interested in, regardless of how
much work it may seem.
-
If I were to do this project
again, I would pick a project that had a wider range of possible solutions and
had easier access to the user group. I would recommend that students next year
take both of these into consideration when choosing a
project.
-
If I could do it all over again,
I would start the design process early.
-
Dear Future Students, START
EARLY!! I cannot stress that enough. It was difficult for my team to find
wheelchair users that were willing to work with us. Because of this it delayed
our project process. Also make sure to make a clear list of what each team
member’s task is. This will keep you focused and on track. Also, you can
use the list to make sure everyone else is completing their tasks and
completing them on time.
-
If someone asked me for advice
on taking the class, I would tell them to prototype early and often, and to
talk to as many relevant people as possible.
-
If I were to go back and do this
again, I would take the class my junior year. I'm graduating after this quarter
so I do not have the opportunity to continue working on my project next
quarter.
-
If I was going through this
process again, there are a few things I would do differently. I would have
begun reaching out to potential users to interview a lot earlier. I didn't
realize how difficult it was to find a people to interview and get feedback
from due to scheduling conflicts. I would have also begun prototyping a lot
earlier.
-
I guess my rant is my attempt to
share with future students my advice to not work on projects with friends. Work
on it with people who are interested in the same topic, and seem to have the
same intentions as you do.
-
If I were to go through this
process again I would talk to more people sooner. Our design progressed rapidly
from the advice and perspectives of others and I wish I had utilized the
knowledge of others more. My advice to future students is to really explore the
problem you are trying to address. I realized that at first I was so focused on
coming up with a solution that I failed to recognize where the need actually
was. My product design improved significantly when revisited and better
understood the problem. It is also important to be willing to do a lot of trial
and error in your process. My partner and I had clear idea of the overall
mechanism we needed in order to make our swing stabilizing system functional,
but we had to consider various prototypes until we found an appropriate
solution. Next, it is important to be in constant communication you're your
fellow team members; my partner and I were able to cohesively work together
because we were always on the same page. Finally, I think what made our design
so successful was finding an effective yet simple solution for a product,
especially if, like us, the intention is to eventually mass-produce the
product. Overall, I had a great time in this class. I was able to learn about
an interesting and innovative field, while gaining hands on experience in the
design process. It is one of the few classes where I feel like the course has a
direct impact outside the classroom.
-
If I were to go through the
process again, I would have interviewed more people in our specified target
audience and their caretakers earlier in the process. While we created a
product that Anna would find valuable should she ever come across it, it would
have been great to collect different perspectives of asthma management from
different people. It would have greatly informed our decisions and helped us
create something that could appeal to a larger audience. Additionally, I would
have utilized Dave and the rest of the teaching staff to a greater extent.
There were a few times during the quarter when my team fell into a creative
slump. In those situations, it would have been beneficial to reach out to a
teaching staff member who could have helped us through that slump. My advice to
future students is to be as engaged as possible. ENGR110 is a course where you
will take out exactly what you put in. If you dedicate time and energy, you
will most likely emerge with a prototype that you are proud of. Additionally,
you will gain so much out of the experience simply by interacting with
community members and those with disabilities. Perspectives in Assistive
Technology provides a safe and open space where people from different
backgrounds can learn from each other and grow in the process - it is certainly
in one’s best interest to put in time and energy in order to learn as much
as possible.
-
The advice I would give students
is to think big, but to not be afraid if the solution ends up being small. One
thing I do wish is that I used the class as an opportunity to dive into a field
I did not know as much about.
-
I think I would try to do more
interviews at the beginning of the quarter. I would also work on more
prototypes early on. I think time is always a valuable thing at Stanford and I
would try to make better use of it if I could do this quarter over
again
-
I think the main advice that I
would give to next year's students is to pick something you'll enjoy even if it
doesn't sound as cool. Because my project was very simple but I enjoyed working
on it. Although most people want to pick the project that will sound the most
impressive, I would suggest that they just go with something that they would
have fun working on.
Previous years'
suggestions
- 2013 2012
|
