communication 1

• Communication is inherent to the Engineering Design Process
• Communication in Engineering


  • Importance of Communication
  • Meeting Documentation
  • Engineering Journals
  • Technical Reports
  • Emails
  • Posters
  • Presentations
• Who do engineers communicate with?

  • Other engineers
  • Other professionals (scientists, clinicians, educators, technicians, lawyers, etc.)
  • Other teams
  • Clients
  • Public
• Different technical languages


  • Context (Muscle Pressure Measurement)
  • Engineering
  • Medicine
  • Sales/Marketing
  • Parent
• Consider your audience when describing your design/solution/idea
• Effective Meetings


  • Start and end on time with no time wasted
  • Move a team forward
  • A place for positive communication
  • Defined by their documentation
• Meeting Documentation in ENG 1430

  • Notice of Meeting
  • Agenda
  • Agenda Package
  • Minutes
• Notice of Meeting commonly a meeting invite
• Advisor meetings have already been scheduled in ENG 1430
• Agenda should contain details of what is to be done, early notification of how to prepare, a timetable for discussion, a start and an end, and breaks if required
• Agenda packages include items required to prepare for the meeting and must be distributed before the meeting
• Meeting Minutes


  Record the discussion and the decisions made at the meeting
• What Meeting Minutes should include

  • Subject, when, where, who (match Agenda)
  • Approvals or decisions from the meeting
  • Action items - responsibilities and timelines
  • References for each item in the agenda
  • The name of the Author
  • A note of new issues for next meeting's agenda (as needed)
  • Adjournment time
• Meeting Minutes are assessed for timeliness, completeness, correctness, formatting, conciseness, organization, logic, spelling, and grammar
• Engineering Journals ("Logbooks")


  • Record of project activities for clients and managers
  • Useful for patents ("first to invent")
• Not all companies require logbooks, often industry-specific or business-specific requirements
• Engineering Journal - How

  • Medium: Paper, Word Document, Excel, OneNote - whatever works for you, NOT ON PHONES
  • Must be: Logical, Neat, Makes sense to you
  • Content: Major decisions made, Action items, Important notes about the problem/task, Test results, Design sketches, Problems encountered
• Engineering Journals are assessed for timeliness, organization, neatness, content, and ability to demonstrate individual contribution to the project
• Technical Reports in ENG 1430 have a specific structure and weighting
• You are bringing your journal to class
• Fundamental Question


  Can you use your journal to demonstrate individual contribution to the project?
• Bring your journal to ALL LABS
• First Journal Check


  Week of Feb. 26
• Physical journals do not need software updates, require 0 loading time, are portable, and cost <$5.00
• Weekly update on Outlook

  1. Address priority tasks

  2. Miscellaneous notes

  3. Reconsider tasks for the next week
• Technical Reports in ENG 1430

  • Overview
  • Problem Definition
  • Research
  • Idea Generation
  • Decision Making
  • Development
  • Investigation
  • Communicate Results
• Final Reports in ENG 1430


  • Title Page
  • Background
  • Problem Statement
  • Target Specifications
  • Proposed Solutions
  • Decision Matrices
  • Final Design (Summary and Assembly)
  • Test Methods and Results
  • Conclusion
  • Bibliography (IEEE Citation Standards)
  • Bill of Materials
  • Report Quality
• IEEE Citation Standards required for ENG 1430 (and many departments)
• When referencing something that is not your own, you MUST cite it
• In-text citations


  Use numbers [1], [2], etc.
• Bibliography


  Uses a format to detail those citations
• [1, 2]: 'Research studies have shown the importance and effectiveness of organized "team development interventions" (team building activities)'
• [3]: '"The Five Dysfunctions of a Team" by P. Lencioni'
• Guideline is available for ENG 1430. Your team is welcome to create your own template.
• If you choose to create a template, include: Table of contents, Page numbers, Headers, Figure & table captions
• Do not use fill-in-the-box sections like in the guideline if you create a template. This was to help guide writing.
• We are looking for quality in: Spelling, Grammar, Consistency (avoid awkward spacing or inconsistent font usage), Content (clear, concise)
• Good quality documentation increases the reader's confidence in technical content.
• Final Reports - Tips

  • Distribute the report sections
  • Avoid using personal pronouns in professional writing (we, you, us, my, etc.)
  • Avoid conjunctions in professional writing (don't, it's, etc.)
  • Avoid colloquialisms or idioms, ex. "kind of" or "on the other hand"
  • Edit: (assign an editor per section and MAKE TIME to review)
  • Ensure consistent formatting
  • Correct grammar, and punctuation (try reading out loud to check)
• Over 50% of students graduating with a bachelors in Canada will have student debt.