Introduction to needs analysis for increasing first year engineering students’ ability in conceptual design

Abstract

PURPOSE This study examines the influence of presenting a structured set of user-centred-design resources, in addition to taught content and presented by student mentors, on creating unique concepts for a EWB project. The study focuses on how needs analysis techniques were introduced to the students through student-student mentoring and puts emphasis on its application within their projects. This paper investigates whether the approach of additional design techniques being presented through student-student mentoring improves first year engineering students’ performance in the process of conceptual design (i.e. identifying the problem, design thinking and practices). It shows how this approach can potentially improve student engagement; provide a better understanding of the context to an engineering problem, and lead students into asking the right questions. The study was carried out in hope that it would enlighten the students to think in a more innovative and user-centred manner.