Spreading Systems Engineering and Engineering Management Know-How Across Capstone Design: A Comparison of an Existing Course to a Pilot

About a decade ago, a movement was started at Stevens Institute of Technology to infuse the Capstone experience with Systems Engineering (SE) and Engineering Management (EM) knowledge. However the discipline specific Senior Design advisors did not have the time to teach, nor the in-depth awareness of, SE and EM topics to be able to provide their students with substantive learning on these subjects. A course soon emerged that would run along side the Senior Capstone Design course, to provide knowledge in these areas. The course exists in two formats. One format has been running for years as a traditional 3-credit, one semester course. The other format was implemented recently as a pilot to provide just-in-time learning over both semesters of senior design. Both formats have been running concurrently for three years. This article will address how the needs of the Senior Design Advisors from the various disciplines were married to Systems Engineering and Engineering Management topics and deliverables to create two versions of a course to improve the overall functionality of all Capstone design teams, as well as, their project’s final outcome. To conclude, the benefits/disbenefits and success/lack of success of the two different formats is highlighted.