Students will use the Engineering Design Process to create their projects. The very first step in their project is to start an Engineering Journal in which students will record every step of their process and the results of their design efforts. This journal will be turned in with their project. You may find the following guidelines from The Tech Challenge helpful in creating your Engineering Journal:
Documentation is an integral part of the engineering and design process, and preparing an engineering journal is an important element of your Engineering Project. A journal is also extremely important in documenting paths taken (and not taken) during long-term projects.
How teams develop their solution is as important as the solution itself. Judges will ask team members how they came up with their ideas to build their device. The engineering design journal is a record of this process.
On Event Day, judges expect to see an engineering journal in the form of an organized binder, notebook or printed copy. Here are some guidelines:
Your journal is a living document, meaning you or your team, would add to the journal throughout the time you are working on your project. Begin your journal at the beginning of your project and record all activities.
The level of detail in your journal is up to you. The best journals have enough information for judges to fully understand how your device works, and a listing of materials and measurements that another person could use to build a duplicate device.
Almost any format is acceptable. Your journal does not need to be a printed report. A handwritten journal in an inexpensive notebook is fine.
Organization and ease of finding information are important. Tabs and a table of contents are encouraged.
You may keep your journal on a computer, but the submitted journal must be a printed copy.
If you are working with a team, multiple Engineering Journal authors are OK. Some teams assign one person to document the team’s process along the way, and others have multiple people make entries. Either is fine, but only one journal can be submitted for judging. If several team members are recording their own notes, the best entries should be organized into one journal.
Characteristics of the best journals
Includes a table of contents with page numbers.
Pages are numbered.
Organized in tabbed sections. In your tabbed sections you may want to include the five steps in the engineering design process.
Entries are dated.
Contains the questions you asked and your answers to those questions. Explain your thinking.
Contains the problems you encountered and how you solved those problems.
Contains multiple sketches of ideas with descriptive text.
Contains diagrams and photos.
Contains an outline that would allow someone to build a similar device using the measurements and list of materials provided.
Suggested contents Title page: The first page should contain the Engineering Project title and student name(s).
Brainstorming notes: Brainstorming is a free-thinking record of ideas for your project. There’s no such thing as a bad idea when brainstorming. The best journals contain the brainstormed ideas with explanations and rough sketches plus lists of pros and cons that outline why the team did (or didn’t) go a particular route. You should document reasons to support your final selection of concept/device. It often helps to create design sheets for each idea and add them to your journal. Click here for a Design Sheet Template.
Sketches, drawings and photos: Illustrate your words and clarify important points with sketches, drawings and photos. A sketch is a quick representation of an idea. A drawing can be detailed and ideally includes measurements. The best journals contain sketches, drawings, and photos of the actual design (or parts of the design) which will help the reader understand how the device works.
Description of final device: After you settle on a final design that has been tested and is ready to go, document a complete description in your journal. Many journals fail to describe their final design, or the description is buried in all the other brainstorming so the judges can’t identify the final design. The best journals document the device with a clear explanation of how it works and enough sketches, drawings, and photos to fully inform the judges.
Evidence of measurements: Journals should document measurements and provide enough information to allow the reader to understand the size of the device.
List of materials used: Use detail when describing your materials. Describe your final device with enough description so a reader can fully understand the materials used for construction. Someone should be able to build a duplicate device using the measurements and lists of materials provided.
Testing: All testing that you conduct on your project should be documented in your journal. The best journals contain evidence of what was attempted, how many attempts were made, results observed, what was learned and next steps.
Device evolution: No team comes up with the perfect solution at the first meeting. Your journal should show the evolution of your project.
Costs: You should document costs in your journal. If you dig up free items from your school, garage or a junk pile, do still list them items and indicate the cost as “free.” The bottom line shows how much your device ultimately costs to recreate from scratch.