Course coordinator
Dr Karl Bertling
Course overview
- Study period
- Semester 2, 2024 (22/07/2024 - 18/11/2024)
- Study level
- Undergraduate
- Location
- St Lucia
- Attendance mode
- In Person
- Units
- 2
- Administrative campus
- St Lucia
- Coordinating unit
- Elec Engineering & Comp Science School
Small teams of students undertake design, implementation, testing, evaluation and presentation of a complete product
ENGG3800 (Team Project II) is a project based electronics and software design course in which a prescribed "product" isﾠdesigned, constructed and tested in small teams. The product will encompass aspects of digital and analog electronics as well as an embedded processor requiring firmware. Interfacing and control by a host PC is also a component of the product.ﾠBoth the functionality of the device and the performance of the team in terms of planning, written and verbal communication and problem solving is assessed. Team based assessment is combined with assessment of the individual's contribution to derive the final mark.
The course is designed to provide a challenging design task for laterﾠyearﾠelectrical engineering students as well as being a frameworkﾠfor refiningﾠpreviously acquiredﾠproject management, interpersonal and communication skills.
Course requirements
Assumed background
It is assumed that you have completed ENGG2800 (Team Project I), CSSE3010 and either ELEC2400 or ELEC3400. It is also assumed that you have completed all of the prerequisites of these courses. Not all students will have the same background, but you will be put into teams that have a mixture of prior course backgrounds. You are expected to have some knowledge and experience in writing software (including for embedded systems), analog electronics and digital electronics.
Prerequisites
You'll need to complete the following courses before enrolling in this one:
ENGG2800 and CSSE3010 and (ELEC2400 or ELEC3400)
Incompatible
You can't enrol in this course if you've already completed the following:
ENGG4810
Course contact
Course coordinator
Dr Jeremy Herbert
Course staff
Lecturer
Dr Karl Bertling
Dr Jeremy Herbert
Timetable
The timetable for this course is available on the UQ Public Timetable.
Additional timetable information
Pracs are not mandatory and there is no sign-up or allocation to particular sessions. They are an opportunity for you to get help from the teaching staff and it is expected that you will attend some sessions.
Aims and outcomes
Team Project II addresses a wide range of goals for the learner from personal development to technical experience. Working in a team, you may be only lightly exposed to some technical skill areas, while deeply developing your abilities in other technical areas. Although background technical requirements and some theory will be presented, you will be responsible for your learning - choose your areas of expertise and interest in conjunction with your team. The goals related to personal development, on the other hand, are the core learning goals for the course that will relate to every member of the team. During this course you will:
- Experience working in a small but diverse team.
- Practice informal team building skills.
- Resolve conflicts and negotiate solutions.
- Further develop formal meeting skills.
- Write a formal technical report
- Present your work verbally in a team seminar
- Plan a complex project to a fixed timeline and budget.
Learning outcomes
After successfully completing this course you should be able to:
LO1.
work effectively as a member of a team to design and build an electronic product on-budget and on-time
LO2.
apply a code of ethics to your team behaviour
LO3.
demonstrate specific electronic and/or software design skills required to produce a moderately complex analog and digital system fit-for-purpose
LO4.
effectively use software tools to aid project management, product design, version control and communication tasks.
LO5.
summarise relevant aspects of the product design and design process to defined audiences via seminars and reports
LO6.
analyze issues that should be considered regarding sustainability of the product design
LO7.
apply the legal requirements of respect for intellectual property (IP) to your design
LO8.
reflect on your learning practices or development process to identify areas for personal improvement.
Assessment
Assessment summary
| Category | Assessment task | Weight | Due date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paper/ Report/ Annotation |
Team Code of Ethics and Code of Conduct
|
Pass/Fail |
9/08/2024 4:00 pm
As long as the task is submitted on time, resubmission will be possible once if a passing mark is not awarded. Details of the resubmission time will be made available to teams individually. |
| Presentation |
Seminar presentation
|
10% |
9/09/2024 - 13/09/2024
Presentations will be scheduled based on the availability of participants and suitable presentation spaces. |
| Computer Code, Practical/ Demonstration, Product/ Design, Project |
Product Demonstration Sequence
|
85% |
Week 5 - Demo 1 (Preliminary) Week 9 - Demo 2 (Intermediate) Week 13 - Final Demo. ALL projects are due at 10am on Monday 21/10/2024 Signup polls will be distributed in the weeks before demonstrations. |
| Paper/ Report/ Annotation, Reflection |
Final Report and Reflection
|
5% |
4/11/2024 4:00 pm |
| Participation/ Student contribution, Reflection |
Assessment of Individual Performance (Formative/incorporated into product mark)
|
Formative/incorporated into product mark |
Peer assessment 1 19/08/2024 4:00 pm Peer assessment 2 16/09/2024 4:00 pm Peer assessment 3 21/10/2024 4:00 pm |
A hurdle is an assessment requirement that must be satisfied in order to receive a specific grade for the course. Check the assessment details for more information about hurdle requirements.
Assessment details
Team Code of Ethics and Code of Conduct
- Hurdle
- Team or group-based
- Mode
- Written
- Category
- Paper/ Report/ Annotation
- Weight
- Pass/Fail
- Due date
9/08/2024 4:00 pm
As long as the task is submitted on time, resubmission will be possible once if a passing mark is not awarded. Details of the resubmission time will be made available to teams individually.
- Learning outcomes
- L01, L02
Task description
Each team is to create and submit a team code of ethics and code of conduct outlining how team members will conduct themselves over the course of the semester.
The code of ethics must outline the principles that the team will adhere to during the semester. It is recommended that this is informed by the codes of ethics for relevant professional societies (e.g. Engineers Australia and IEEE).
The code of conduct must outline the expected (and/or prohibited) behaviour of team members, and must include statements on expected communication modes / frequencies and attendance expectations.
Hurdle requirements
You must pass this assessment to achieve a grade of 4 or higher.Submission guidelines
Submission via Blackboard
Deferral or extension
You may be able to apply for an extension.
The maximum extension allowed is 7 days. Extensions are given in multiples of 24 hours.
Late submission
You will receive a mark of 0 if this assessment is submitted late.
Seminar presentation
- Hurdle
- Identity Verified
- Team or group-based
- In-person
- Mode
- Oral
- Category
- Presentation
- Weight
- 10%
- Due date
9/09/2024 - 13/09/2024
Presentations will be scheduled based on the availability of participants and suitable presentation spaces.
- Learning outcomes
- L01, L03, L04, L05
Task description
A demonstration of progress by means of a brief presentation (e.g. PowerPoint) by each team member is expected. Physical artefacts such as breadboards, PCBs and components may also be used along with software demonstrations. This will take about 2.5 minutes per person. It is expected that you will identify problems and propose solutions. Presentations will be open to all students and a schedule will be determined in the week prior to seminars.
Hurdle requirements
You must be awarded at least 40% of the marks (before any over-time penalties) in this task to achieve a grade of 4 or higher.Submission guidelines
Deferral or extension
You may be able to apply for an extension.
The maximum extension allowed is 7 days. Extensions are given in multiples of 24 hours.
Late submission
You will receive a mark of 0 if this assessment is submitted late.
Product Demonstration Sequence
- Team or group-based
- In-person
- Mode
- Product/ Artefact/ Multimedia
- Category
- Computer Code, Practical/ Demonstration, Product/ Design, Project
- Weight
- 85%
- Due date
Week 5 - Demo 1 (Preliminary)
Week 9 - Demo 2 (Intermediate)
Week 13 - Final Demo. ALL projects are due at 10am on Monday 21/10/2024
Signup polls will be distributed in the weeks before demonstrations.
- Other conditions
- Peer assessed.
- Learning outcomes
- L01, L02, L03, L04, L07
Task description
Over the duration of the semester, teams are to implement a hardware and software product that meets the published specification and associated TP-STD standards available on Blackboard.
You will demonstrate your product at three separate points during semester. You will be assessed for participation as well as your progress (hardware, firmware or software) based on the evidence presented using a marksheet available on the course Blackboard site. The demonstrations will occur at the following points in semester:
- Preliminary demonstration 1 (weighting: 10%)
- Intermediate demonstration 2 (weighting: 10%)
- Final demo (weighting: 65%)
For all three demonstrations, a poll will be sent to all teams in the weeks before the due date in order to allow them to sign up for a time slot. Further details about the process will be available on Blackboard.
The final submission requires the team to submit the following in an Australia Post BX1, BX2, Small (SKU: 44862) or Medium (SKU: 44863) box (or equivalent) to staff in 47-209 by 10 AM on Monday of week 13:
- your product, including any cables, batteries (which should be uninstalled) etc. as required for the product to be tested. All of these parts must be budgeted for (any exceptions will be explicitly noted in the specification).
- printed copy of all schematic files documenting all electrical components (resistors, capacitors, integrated circuits, connectors etc).
- any other required documentation (details will be provided)
- a USB drive containing a software installer and any required files/documents (details will be provided). The USB drive will be returned to you after your demonstration.
- a declaration signed by all team members validating all submitted contents (provided as a label to stick on your submission box)
More details on the submission process will be provided via Blackboard.
In general, all members of the team are expected to attend the marking sessions. If you are not able to attend, your product will be marked in your absence and you will not be able to provide critical clarifications to the marker about the functionality implemented in your product. Given that the circumstances of any absence may be considered as part of the moderation process, it is important to let your team and the teaching staff know if you are unable to attend the demonstration.
While marks will be given for working subsystems, the assessment scheme is biased towards completeness. To get a good grade the product must be sufficiently implemented for the customer to be able to use it in its operational environment, even if it might not quite meet the specifications. If your final product does not work you will be better off submitting working prototypes. Anything not submitted at submission time cannot be assessed.
The system must be delivered in a testable form by the due date. Penalties will apply for missing or inaccurate files/documentation submitted with the product (and for inconsistencies between printed and electronic documentation). These penalties will be outlined in the marksheet on blackboard. Penalties apply for not meeting the TP-STD standards - your final product mark will be limited to a maximum of 50%. Your team's printed circuit board(s) (PCBs) must be manufactured via pinecone or your final product mark will be limited to a maximum of 50%.
The product mark will be based mainly on the performance of the product during evaluation. It is very important that your product is functioning correctly during the demonstration session, and that clear instructions are provided as to how the product is operated. However, you may not use operating instructions as a way to require the user to perform more complex/onerous actions than those that are required by the specification.
Consideration of past performance or re-evaluation of the product at a later date will not be available.
Based on staff observation and/or team request and/or the team’s performance in an interim demonstration and/or responses to a peer assessment, the teaching staff may require your team to attend regular meetings with a teaching staff member. This is intended to support teams that are perceived to be struggling in some way. Failure to participate in such meetings will be taken into account during the moderation process and may therefore result in a lower product mark.
Submission guidelines
The preliminary and intermediate demonstrations will occur during prac sessions in the the allocated lab.
The final product is to be submitted to teaching staff in 47-209 (Axon) by the specified time.
Deferral or extension
You cannot defer or apply for an extension for this assessment.
If there are exceptional circumstances an exemption may be approved and may involve submitting/discussing your work as it stands. Exemptions must be requested as an extension with a note specifying exemption via my.UQ.
Late submission
You will receive a mark of 0 if this assessment is submitted late.
Final Report and Reflection
- Hurdle
- Mode
- Written
- Category
- Paper/ Report/ Annotation, Reflection
- Weight
- 5%
- Due date
4/11/2024 4:00 pm
- Learning outcomes
- L05, L06, L08
Task description
The final report will consist of a brief re-statement of the team's roles and an individual summary of the background, methods and results of your work. The report must also address sustainability issues around your design. The report is an individual item of assessment - all parts must be completed individually. You may appropriately use generative AI tools in completing this task but you must reference every instance of any such use of AI. A failure to reference generative AI use may constitute student misconduct under the Student Code of Conduct.
In addition, a reflection describing your group work experience over the duration of the semester is required. The goal of this part of the assignment is to prompt reflective thoughts about the interactive aspects of the engineering project you have participated in. The reflection is an opportunity for you to consider the inter-personal mechanics of group work, and your experiences working as part of a team, and to document particular challenges you may have faced which did not form part of any technical reports or presentations.
Discuss what you have learned about how to work in a group.
Describe what worked well within your group, what did not work well, and why.
How might you organise team work differently to improve performance?
If your group had conflicts or problems in working as a team, describe them and give insights into how such problems were resolved, or could be avoided in the future.
This report is not assessed solely on the basis of technical outcomes of the team, but also on the identification of interactions, personality types and organisational tools which formed part of the successes (or failures!) of your team.
The document will be submitted through Turnitin on the Blackboard site.
Hurdle requirements
You must be awarded at least 40% of the marks in this task to achieve a grade of 4 or higher.Submission guidelines
Submit via Blackboard (Turnitin).
Deferral or extension
You may be able to apply for an extension.
The maximum extension allowed is 7 days. Extensions are given in multiples of 24 hours.
Extensions may cause delays in grade release.
Late submission
A penalty of 10% of the maximum possible mark will be deducted per 24 hours from time submission is due for up to 7 days. After 7 days, you will receive a mark of 0.
Assessment of Individual Performance (Formative/incorporated into product mark)
- Online
- Mode
- Activity/ Performance
- Category
- Participation/ Student contribution, Reflection
- Weight
- Formative/incorporated into product mark
- Due date
Peer assessment 1 19/08/2024 4:00 pm
Peer assessment 2 16/09/2024 4:00 pm
Peer assessment 3 21/10/2024 4:00 pm
- Other conditions
- Peer assessed, Peer assessment factor.
- Learning outcomes
- L01, L08
Task description
You will undertake three evaluations of each member of your team through the semester. They, of course, will be evaluating you. The purpose of the first two evaluations is to give formative feedback to all team members on their performance to that point. Results from the third evaluation will be used if moderation takes place (see below).
The peer assessment scores will not directly moderate the product mark, but may serve as a prompt to teams to request a moderation meeting. The absolute values and trends across the three evaluations may be used as evidence of the team performance of individuals in a moderation meeting.
The default Peer Assessment Factor (PAF) which will moderate the product mark will be 1.0. If any members of the team wish to change this distribution, a moderation meeting will be required with teaching staff. Students must indicate this intention by email to the course coordinator by 4pm, Friday Week 13. It is recommended that you wait until after your final demonstration to apply for moderation, as moderation meetings cannot be cancelled once requested.
A moderation meeting will require attendance of all members. Every opportunity will be given to the team to derive an acceptable distribution of PAFs. If no resolution within the meeting is possible, teaching staff will allocate PAFs on the basis of responses to questions, history of performance, demonstrator feedback and marked product. A document describing the moderation process can be found on Blackboard.
A PAF of 1.0 indicates that you are making a satisfactory/expected contribution to the team. A PAF less than 1.0 indicates your contribution is less than expected. A PAF greater than 1.0 indicates you are contributing more than expected. Failure to complete a formative peer assessment will result in you receiving a PAF of 0.5 for that evaluation, i.e. it will be assumed that your contribution to the team up to that point has been much less than expected.
Your overall PAF will determine a Product Scaling Factor (PSF) as follows:
- for a team of 4 or 5, PSF = PAF if your PAF is <= 1 and PSF = (1+PAF)/2 if your PAF is > 1
- for a team of 3, PSF = 1.1 * PAF if your PAF is <= 1 and PSF = 1.1*(1+PAF)/2 if your PAF is > 1
- for a team of 2, PSF = 1.25 * PAF if your PAF is <= 1 and PSF = 1.25*(1+PAF)/2 if your PAF is > 1
Your product mark will be scaled (multiplied) by this PSF (and then capped at the maximum possible product mark where applicable).
Submission of formative PAFs at each timepoint is your responsibility. Submission after the due date is not possible, and a lack of submission may be considered negatively toward you in a moderation meeting.
Submission guidelines
Submitted online via the provided tool (Blackboard link will be provided)
Deferral or extension
You cannot defer or apply for an extension for this assessment.
Course grading
Full criteria for each grade is available in the Assessment Procedure.
| Grade | Cut off Percent | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1 (Low Fail) | 0 - 19.5 |
Absence of evidence of achievement of course learning outcomes. |
| 2 (Fail) | 19.5 - 44.5 |
Minimal evidence of achievement of course learning outcomes. |
| 3 (Marginal Fail) | 44.5 - 49.5 |
Demonstrated evidence of developing achievement of course learning outcomes Course grade description: To receive this grade, you must meet ALL of the following criteria: 1) Achieve a total mark within the respective percentage band 2) Complete the WHS requirements |
| 4 (Pass) | 49.5 - 64.5 |
Demonstrated evidence of functional achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: To receive this grade, you must meet ALL of the following criteria: 1) Achieve a total mark within the respective percentage band 2) Complete the WHS requirements 3) Your code of ethics/code of conduct is considered satisfactory 4) Your final report and reflection mark is 40% or higher 5) Your seminar mark is 40% or higher (before including penalties for going over time) |
| 5 (Credit) | 64.5 - 74.5 |
Demonstrated evidence of proficient achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: To receive this grade, you must meet ALL of the following criteria: 1) Achieve a total mark within the respective percentage band 2) Complete the WHS requirements 3) Your code of ethics/code of conduct is considered satisfactory 4) Your final report and reflection mark is 40% or higher 5) Your seminar mark is 40% or higher (before including penalties for going over time) 6) Your product is under the target bill of materials cost |
| 6 (Distinction) | 74.5 - 84.5 |
Demonstrated evidence of advanced achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: To receive this grade, you must meet ALL of the following criteria: 1) Achieve a total mark within the respective percentage band 2) Complete the WHS requirements 3) Your code of ethics/code of conduct is considered satisfactory 4) Your final report and reflection mark is 40% or higher 5) Your seminar mark is 40% or higher (before including penalties for going over time) 6) Your product is under the target bill of materials cost 7) Your team's final product is presented/demonstrated on PCB(s) with no use of veroboard/breadboard and no use of non-approved breakout boards |
| 7 (High Distinction) | 84.5 - 100 |
Demonstrated evidence of exceptional achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: To receive this grade, you must meet ALL of the following criteria: 1) Achieve a total mark within the respective percentage band 2) Complete the WHS requirements 3) Your code of ethics/code of conduct is considered satisfactory 4) Your final report and reflection mark is 40% or higher 5) Your seminar mark is 40% or higher (before including penalties for going over time) 6) Your product is under the target bill of materials cost 7) Your team's final product is presented/demonstrated on PCB(s) with no use of veroboard/breadboard and no use of non-approved breakout boards 8) Your product contains a total of no more than two small, neat modifications |
Additional course grading information
The WHS requirements listed above refers to the declarations, inductions and/or assessments required for entry into the team project laboratory (note that the surface mount soldering training is not required to be completed for entry into the laboratory and as such is not considered part of this requirement). ALL students must individually complete the required declarations/inductions/assessment. Further details will be presented via Blackboard.
Exceptional circumstances may modify the required specification and/or submission date for some teams or some individuals. This will be uncommon and at the discretion of the course coordinator. The course coordinator reserves the right to adjust marks up but not down.
Rounding will not be directly performed on the mark totals - however, the grade boundaries are adjusted down by 0.5% to compensate for this.
Supplementary assessment
Supplementary assessment is not available for some items in this course.
Only the individual assessment is available for supplementary assessment (the individual PCB task, and the final report and reflection).
Additional assessment information
The course Blackboard site will containﾠmarking guidelinesﾠfor all assessment items.
Use of Resources Developed by Other Entities
ENGG3800 is a course in which you develop a prototype of an electronic product. The task is intended to simulate how this might be done by a small team in a commercial environment. As in such an environment, we don't expect you to develop everything from scratch - you can take advantage of designs/code/libraries developed by other entities (people, companies, AI tools) provided you follow the required standards (TP-STD documents in this case). In particular, you can not use resources that would prevent the commercial sale of your product - this includes libraries that may be free for personal use but require a license fee for commercial use. (If you do use such a library you would have to include the cost of the license in the cost of your product - which may mean you can't keep your product under budget.) You should not use generative AI tools to create code for use in your product unless you can guarantee that the code produced is free from legal constraints (copyright or license violations) and would be able to be used in a commercial product. Many such AI tools are trained with copyrighted code and may include fragments of such code in their output - which would prevent commercial use.
Having Troubles?
If you are having difficulties with any aspect of the course material you should seek help. Speak to the course teaching staff in a laboratory session, or ask on the course discussion board.
If external circumstances are affecting your ability to work on the course, you should seek help as soon as possible. The University and UQ Union have organisations and staff who are able to help, for example, UQ Student Services are able to help with study and exam skills, tertiary learning skills, writing skills, financial assistance, personal issues, and disability services (among other things).
Complaints and criticisms should be directed in the first instance to the course coordinator. If you are not satisfied with the outcome, you may bring the matter to the attention of the School of EECS Director of Teaching and Learning.
Learning resources
You'll need the following resources to successfully complete the course. We've indicated below if you need a personal copy of the reading materials or your own item.
Library resources
Library resources are available on the UQ Library website.
Other course materials
Recommended
| Item | Description | Further Requirement |
|---|---|---|
| TP-Info | https://tp-info.uqcloud.net/ | |
| Saturn PCB toolkit | https://saturnpcb.com/saturn-pcb-toolkit/ |
Additional learning resources information
Online resources
Course material will be available via Blackboard. Theﾠweb site containsﾠinformation required to complete the course. You should investigate it thoroughly.
Discussion board
Students areﾠpermitted to post questions (and answers!) to aﾠdiscussion board accessible through theﾠBlackboard website.ﾠ Students are encouraged to collectively solve problems using the discussion board - staff will only intervene when necessary. Students are reminded of the UQ Code of Practice for Internet Use and are advised that breaches will be immediately referred to the School's misconduct procedure.
Lectures
The lectures will be used to provide material to assist with various technical and non-technicalﾠskills. Most of these are pre-recorded videos that can be accessed as students need them.
Learning activities
The learning activities for this course are outlined below. Learn more about the learning outcomes that apply to this course.
Filter activity type by
Please select
| Learning period | Activity type | Topic |
|---|---|---|
Multiple weeks |
Lecture |
Lectures and self-study series The lecture series will cover the course structure and organisation, product specifications, project planning, practical electronics and software design relevant to the product in the first few weeks of semester. Lecture notes will be posted on Blackboard and lectures will be recorded. Pre-recorded lectures are available on various topics. Further reading materials are available through tp-info. Learning outcomes: L01, L03, L04, L06, L07 |
Practical |
Teaching staff consultations Online help and feedback provided by teaching staff. Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04, L05, L06, L07, L08 |
Policies and procedures
University policies and procedures apply to all aspects of student life. As a UQ student, you must comply with University-wide and program-specific requirements, including the:
- Student Code of Conduct Policy
- Student Integrity and Misconduct Policy and Procedure
- Assessment Procedure
- Examinations Procedure
- Reasonable Adjustments - Students Policy and Procedure
Learn more about UQ policies on my.UQ and the Policy and Procedure Library.
School guidelines
Your school has additional guidelines you'll need to follow for this course: