I believe that I would like to follow a similar path as some of our classmates. I would like to be an engineer during the first stages of my career to get a hands on understanding of the duties and…   Read more»

I have seen similar situations in my experience. Often times the fear of termination and disagreeing with the higher ups forces employees to keep quiet. This is an issue that is continuing to increase and can cause a great deal…   Read more»

That is a great question Talha! I believe our classmates shared some great reasons for why this might be. In addition to the aforementioned reasons including feeling stagnant, no longer receiving praise or finding new and exciting projects, there seems…   Read more»

I have been in a similar situations Roberto. One one of my projects as an intern I was assigned to a team of 5 with 3 engineers and 1 other intern. Due to the urgency of another project the second…   Read more»

I feel that often times projects, or at the very least what we learn from them can carry over. I was an intern at a biomedical manufacturer that produced intra-aortic balloons for counter-pulsation therapy. In my training I learned a…   Read more»

You bring up a great point Talha. Depending on the product or service you are procuring a certain standard must be met by the vendor. For a critical component, one that will be part of the implanted device, the supplier…   Read more»

My experience has been similar. It seems that a great deal of the process is rushed and results in having to repeat steps. I believe if these processes were completed adequately, it would save a great deal of time and…   Read more»

That is a great example jvv6. I have also come across many situations in which a risk was avoidable and minor changes to design or process were able to resolve the issue. However, there are also many situations in which…   Read more»

Like a few of our classmates mentioned, design reviews are typically more relaxed. I had the opportunity to sit in on a few design reviews during my time as an intern. In most cases the suggested changes had already been…   Read more»

Any necessary change to the design or documentation must go through COs. The purpose of ECOs and any change orders is to properly document the proposed changes for traceability purposes. These COs are then reviewed and sent to the various…   Read more»

I agree gingeranderson. Though suppliers are on the PMs mind from early on, these should be given serious consideration during the execution phase when the necessary items are finalized. This helps to reduce iteration and the need to qualify suppliers…   Read more»

I agree with your approach tn58. Having a personal relationship with members of the team is extremely important. This will better allow for comfortable communication in which members will be more honest when requesting time off. This will also make…   Read more»

PMs face a great deal of challenges in a project. One of the most occurring and difficult to deal with in my opinion is employee conflict. When team members are not willing to perform their duties due to internal conflict…   Read more»

Though no one likes to miss milestones, as many of our classmates mentioned, I agree with your statement. Milestones do serve as checkpoints to ensure the project is on track. In my senior design class where we are currently working…   Read more»

You make a great point jp582. Since often situations, simulation and real life, are time sensitive it is of utmost importance that the team is entirely caught up and act as soon as possible. This ensures that there will be…   Read more»

I could not agree more. I had started interning in industry before taking any of Dr. Simon’s classes. I entered not knowing anything about the FDA, GDP or the design control process. Through my experience I learned what I could…   Read more»

In my senior design course we created a Gantt chart early on and estimated all of the required steps in the critical path. One of which was the procurement of the prototype components. This was a major milestone as it…   Read more»

You make a good point tn58. This will certainly affect the overall project and may require reallocation of time in the preliminary steps of the project schedule. Not only R&D, but other phases such as testing and verification will need…   Read more»

More often than not, certain tasks will take longer than estimated and push the project back. This is sometimes unavoidable as there may be many possible bottle necks and obstacles. These can include external suppliers and internal processes or approvals….   Read more»

A budget cut certainly has an effect on cost estimation. I believe generally most projects hope to come under budget or plan ahead to have some wiggle room as more often than not, projects are more costly than expected. A…   Read more»