Approximately 4 weeks into the project and again approximately four weeks from the end, each team will be site visited by the course coordinator and the course TA. The purpose of the site visit is to give the team a chance to show off what they know about the project and to describe what has happened so far and what will happen next. It is also a chance for the site visitors to ask questions of and provide suggestions to the team.
The site visit is short, between 15 and 20 minutes. It will take place in the team's normal meeting room on the U of M campus. The date and time of your site visit will be on the course web site under the Site Visit Schedule link.
For the first site visit, the team should prepare one paper copy of the Statement of Work and the Design Requirements to be presented to the site visitors upon their arrival.
For the second site visit prepare a two page handout to present to the site visitors. Page 1 has a rendering, sketch or schematic that best describes the design you are working on. Page 2 has a table of the top five design requirements and how they will be evaluated through simulation or experiments.
As a starting point for the discussion the site visit starts with the team giving a five minute (no more) overview of the project. For this, paper or electronic graphics can be used but are not required. Electronic graphics can be displayed on a laptop screen. Do not give the site visitors hard copies of these graphics as their only purpose is to help you to explain the project.
The remainder of the time will be an open discussion of the project. Expect the site visitors to be rude and interrupt you with questions and comments. This is because a lot of communication has to happen in a short period of time. Get used to the style because this is what happens in the real world when you present your work to upper level management.
The first site visit will likely focus on the problem statement and design approaches. The second visit will likely focus on the design evaluation plan.