Tools for project-based active learning of amorphous systems design: Scenario prototyping and cross team peer evaluation

Whereas team project-based learning of engineering design has attracted wide acceptance, it is still rare to see a curriculum that addresses high level societal needs involving diverse students with a wide range of practical experience. Such a curriculum should develop a shared understanding of the use of scenarios for amorphous products and a process to objectively evaluate the project progress while the design concepts mature. This paper describes two key tools that respond to these challenges: 1) scenario prototyping and 2) cross-team project scorecarding. These tools evolved through a collaborative curriculum development of Keio University, MIT, and Stanford in the development of the Active Learning Project Sequence (ALPS), a capstone experience for Keio's new Graduate School of System Design and Management (SDM). ALPS selected a theme from the "Voice of Society," according to which the project teams generated solution scenarios, identified requirements, and described the proposed system using appropriate prototypes of not only hardware but other amorphous means as well. The twelve ALPS teams in 2008 addressed the theme "Enhancing the Lives of Seniors in Japan," which led to more specific scenarios. The paper gives an overview of the ALPS workshop sequence, and describes in detail two key learning modules that were essential in integrating the multi-disciplinary teams: a) scenario prototyping and b) cross-team project scorecarding. These methods are going through further trials in Stanford's own Design for Manufacturability curriculum involving 10 project teams in the US and Japan.