Eastern Michigan University NSBE Chapter

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EMU NSBE PREPARES NSBE CDO COMPETITION!

Several members of the EMU NSBE CEB are planning to gear up for this years Consulting Design Olympiad!

Contributing Members: TBA

CDO Toolkit Contents

CDO Program History................................................................................................................. 3

Program Intent........................................................................................................................... 3

Important Dates.......................................................................................................................... 3

Teams............................................................................................................................................ 3

Chapter Pairing Requests and process.................................................................................... 3

CDO Virtual Training.................................................................................................................. 4

Project Management Software............................................................................................... 4

Creating problem statements................................................................................................... 5

National competition Deliverables.......................................................................................... 6

Final Report................................................................................................................................. 6

awards......................................................................................................................................... 7

PMBOK guidance and Getting your pmp designation........................................................... 7

Contact........................................................................................................................................ 8

CDO Program History

The Consulting Design Olympiad is in its third year as a NSBE competition and this year is expected to be even more spectacular than the first. Bridging engineers from across the globe this program encourages International Cooperation and breaks down the technology divide each NSBE member at a time. Get involved today in this dynamic opportunity that is sure to shape history.

Program Intent

The Consulting Design Olympiad (CDO) is a design project that challenges NSBE members to be global engineering consultants, enabling them to take action around issues that affect various regions of the world, and in particular the developing world. Working with their international counterparts, our North American members will develop strategies and innovative approaches to solving critical engineering problems. 

APPLY HERE:  https://nol.nsbe.org/events/EV04EventDetail.aspx?eventID=3516

Important Dates

September 1, 2009 – Registration Opens on NOL.

November 1, 2009 - Proposals should be submitted to the International Committee Programs Coordinator by 11:59pm.

Late submissions will be accepted with point deductions

February 15^th , 2009 – Complete Projects Due

Late submissions will be accepted with point deductions

February  30^th- March 15^th , 2009 – Top teams will be notified if they will move forward for the national competition.

April 3^rd, 2010* – Presentation of project at National Convention.  All electronic presentation material must be submitted to the IC Programs Coordinator at least 24 hours before the first presentation occurs.

* Final presentation date is subject to change.

Teams

Each team will have eight members: four from North American chapter and four from an International chapter.  Your team of four must be from the same chapter.  If you have further questions please contact the International Programs Coordinator.

Chapter Pairing Requests and Process

Every team will be composed of one team of North American members from a singular chapter, and one team of International members from a singular chapter.  Comparable chapters will be paired into teams by the NBSE International Committee using factors such as chapter size and development.  If a chapter wishes to request another chapter to be teams with, their request most likely will be approved.  Please note your requests when you register in NOL.  Please note, chapters can have more than one team.

CDO Virtual Training

There will be a series of CDO Trainings available. More information will be sent out regarding this following registration.

The trainings will go over project management skills, and how you can use project management software (such as Office Groove 2007 and Project Pro 2007) to help organize and build your project.  At the end of the training session there will be a question and answer session.

Project Management Software

To help manage documents you will want to use some project management software so both the North American and International parts of the team have access to the same information in an organized manner.  It is easy to lose information in email, or lose it on your computer.  Using project management software will enable your team to see everything you see, and so everything can be organized and grouped. 

Fortunately for NSBE, Microsoft has given us a grant to the MSDN Alliance and two of the top rated collaboration tools are free to any NSBE member: Office Groove 2007, OneNote 207 and Project Pro 2007.  If you do not remember, or do not have a login name or password use the following information to request one:

            Email:  support@nsbe.org

            Phone:  703-549-2207

The URL to the MSDN Alliance is:

            http://msdn01.e-academy.com/elms/Storefront/Home.aspx?campus=nsbe_it

Once you login, click on the software link on the upper left menu.  Then select the software you would like to download.

Office Groove 2007

Office Groove 2007 is a collaboration software program that helps teams work together dynamically and effectively, even if team members work for different organizations, work remotely, or work offline.  If you work offline in Groove, when you reconnect to the server everything you changed will update on everyone else’s workspace.  Also, if someone else made changes while you were offline, you will get all their changes when you reconnect with the server.  Working in Groove workspaces saves time, increases productivity, and strengthens the quality of team deliverables.

Project Professional 2007

Microsoft Office Project Professional 2007 helps you stay informed, keep project teams aligned, as well as control project work, schedules, and finances. You can become more productive through integration with familiar Microsoft Office system programs, powerful reporting options, and guided planning, wizards, and templates.

OneNote 2007

Office OneNote 2007 is a digital notebook that provides people one place to gather their notes and information, powerful search to find what they are looking for quickly, and easy-to-use shared notebooks so that they can manage information overload and work together more effectively.

Unlike paper-based systems, word processing programs, e-mail systems, or other productivity programs, Office OneNote 2007 delivers the flexibility to gather and organize text, pictures, digital handwriting, audio and video recordings, and more — all in one digital notebook on your computer. Office OneNote 2007 can help you become more productive by keeping the information you need at your fingertips and reducing time spent searching for information across e-mail messages, paper notebooks, file folders, and printouts.

It is not required you use these programs, but they are recommended.

Problem Statements:

A problem statement is a clear concise description of the issues that need to be addressed by a problem solving team.   A good problem statement should answer these questions:

·        What is the problem? This should explain why the team is needed.

·        Who has the problem or who is the client/customer? This should explain who needs the solution and who will decide the problem has been solved.

·        What form can the resolution be?

·        What is the scope and limitations (in time, money, resources, and technologies) that can be used to solve the problem?

Teams must create problem statements that are technical in nature.  They must encompass theory and/or application involving Engineering or the Sciences (Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Computer, or Materials).  Below are some sample topic areas:

·        Creating and maintaining a local WiFi network in rural Cameroon

·        Viability of sugarcane fiber as an adhesive for commercial use.

·        Implementing low cost solar water heaters

·        Implementing small biogas plants as power plants for remote villages

The primary aim of a problem statement solution should focus on the implementation and execution, rather than research. Ideal problem statements should incorporate existing ideas and technology rather than creating or requiring new research. 

National Competition Deliverables

This final report should include an abstract summary, along with documentation of any problem statement, scope, etc and should include any technical information (including calculations, graphs, simulations, etc) used in the analysis, as well as obstacles to the proposal, environmental and economic issues, socio-cultural issues. Finally it should include the final solution, and how well that solution solves the problem stated at the beginning of the report. 

During Convention, teams will have 20 minutes to present on their project, with a 10-15 minute question/answer session.

Deliverables

·        Project Proposals (Due November 1^st, 2009

·        Final project report (Due February 15^th , 2009)

·        Final presentation (20 minute PowerPoint or visual aid presentation)

Final Report

The final report is due February 15, 2009 at 11:59pm to the International Programs Coordinator.  Here is a summary of everything that needs to be included in your final report.

            •  One paragraph abstract

•  Problem statement

            •  Scope

            •  Technical information to support your solution (including any calculations,

     simulations, graphs, etc that were used)

            •  Environmental, economic, socio-culture, or other challenges facing the proposal

            •  Final solution and Implementation plan

            •  Conclusion on how well the issue in the problem statement was resolved

            •  Reference page of major information sources

Awards

Awards will be given to the top finalists as judged at National Convention.

Judging

Teams will be judged by the following criteria

Collaboration (30%)

·        Use of electronic resources

·        Communication

Report and Proposal (20% each, total 40%)

·        Quality of Research

·        Grammar

·        Accuracy

Final Presentation (30%)

·        Quality of Presentation

·        Ability to answer questions

·        Creativity

·        Use of Visuals

·        Membership Inclusion

PMBOK Guidance and Getting Your PMP Designation

The NSBE CDO program involves a great deal of project management and collaboration. To aid with you project the Project Management Institute has developed a text, A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) that you may find useful.

It is hoped that from experience with the competition you will gain project management skills that will help you succeed professionally. We at the International Committee challenge you to utilize this experience towards Project Management Certification, as detailed below:

The Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM®) Credential

Designed specifically for project team members, the CAPM credential is aimed at improving overall project success by helping to ensure project management knowledge. To become a CAPM credential holder, you must meet specific guidelines designed to objectively measure experience, education and professional knowledge. You must pass an examination that assesses your knowledge of A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide), and you must agree to adhere to the http://www.pmi.org/_layouts/IMAGES/icgen.gifPMI Code of Ethics and ProfessionalConduct

Eligibility

Applicants must have:

•  Minimum of a high school diploma or the global equivalent

•  1,500 hours of work on a project team or 23 contact hours of project management education

Steps to Obtaining a CAPM Credential

   1.  Complete an online application or download an application and submit via mail (faxes not accepted).

   2.  If you meet the eligibility requirements, you will receive an e-mail explaining how to schedule the exam.

   3.  Individuals who attain a credential from PMI will be added to PMI's Online Credential Registry and may immediately use the credential designation after their name.

For information check out the Project Management Institute website at http://www.pmi.org/Pages/default.aspx

Contact

Mike McFarland

International Programs Coordinator

farlandm@msn.com

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