Engineering Notebook

1.0 Introduction

In this section we will introduce the concept of an engineering notebook. We will explain what
an engineering notebook is and what it is used for. We will introduce several different styles and
formats of engineering notebooks. Finally, we will describe the contents and format of the
engineering notebook we will use in GE497 / 498. As always, your faculty advisor will provide
you with specific details on the engineering notebook for your team.

1.1 What Is an Engineering Notebook and What Is It Used For?

Engineering notebooks are used to record your individual engineering work or your team's
engineering work. Think of the engineering notebook as your team's engineering journal or
diary. You use it to record the work you have done, and make notes to you yourself and your
teammates for future work.

An engineer's notebook is probably the most important working document engineers produce.
This is the source from which data are obtained for calculations, conclusions are formed, future
work is planned and reports are produced for one's employer.

Your notebook should be complete enough that any competent engineer could go into the
laboratory and by following your notebook set up exactly the same equipment and duplicate your
experimental work in its entirety (including your mistakes).

Engineering notebooks are used in industry to record what work was done in case the engineer
leaves the project and his/her replacement needs to quickly get up to speed as well as when work
was done for patent and copyright purposes. In order to be of use in establishing when work was
done, Engineering Notebooks must meet some minimum standard of credibility.

If properly done, an Engineering Notebook permanently records what was done on a project, and
particularly what inventions were made and when. Properly maintained Engineering Notebooks
are frequently used to document patent claims, since patents are granted to the first person to
invent something, not the first person to file for the patent.

In addition, Engineering Notebooks serve many peripheral purposes. They can act as your
reference as you compose technical reports or articles. By tracking all the work you have done,
they will help you avoid duplication of effort. They can be used to keep contacts, meeting notes,
component characteristics, block diagrams, circuit diagrams, bench checkout results, to-do lists
sketches and plans.

The notebook contains the original source documentation of ideas which lead to successful
project completion and to profitable products and services.

Therefore, write EVERYTHING down in your notebook.

1.2 What Types of Engineering Notebooks Are There?

Usually there two general forms of engineering notebooks. The Chronological (chrono-
notebook) and the Project or task specific (task-notebook)

For those willing to maintain multiple notebooks, the task-notebook has the benefit of collecting
all the activities for that project or task in one place. The task-notebook makes it easy to review
activities or to find details. A disadvantage to this approach is the problem of carrying the right
group of notebooks so unexpected events can be recorded in the correct task-notebook.
Therefore, most engineers use chrono-notebooks instead of task-notebooks.

The chrono-notebook is easy to use. Everything is written in it. However, this can make it
difficult to locate specific items related to an obscure project or task. The best way to handle this
is to create an index for the chrono-notebook. Almost all engineers reserve the first 3-4 pages of
each of their chrono-notebooks for an index or table of contents. At the end of each day, you can
add a 1-2 line summary of the day’s work to your index.

The nature of the work and the purpose of the experimenter will influence the content and format
of the notebook. Many companies have a rigid internal requirements based on the company's
specific needs. Therefore, the notebook formats which follow should not be interpreted as
"industry standards".

1.2.1 Paper Notebooks

The typical engineering paper notebook is available in most bookstores. They are approximately
9" x 12" (to allow you to easily staple an 8.5” x 11” sheet of paper to a notebook page), and has
about 100 to 150 pages. The notebook will be bound, never loose leaf, and the pages should be
numbered consecutively, preferably by the printer. If they are not numbered, you will be
required to number them sequentially yourself.

Loose-leaf binders are NOT recommended for engineering notebooks. The integrity of a
permanent bound notebook as evidence is easier to prove than individual sheets.

1.2.2 Electronic Notebooks

Most engineering companies still prefer their engineers to use paper engineering notebooks.
However, some software programs have been developed to replace the traditional engineering
notebook. While almost any traditional word processing program can be used to implement an
engineering notebook, these new software packages have additional features to preserve the
integrity of the engineering notebook.

1.3 Engineering Notebook for GE497 / GE498

The engineering notebook for senior design project teams will be comprised of two items:

1) A running engineering notebook document on Google Docs

2) A binder which will contain any referenced information in the Google Docs file

The engineering notebook on Google Docs will allow your entire team to collaborate on the
engineering notebook. It will also allow your faculty advisor, technical advisor, and customer to
review your progress. The Google Docs engineering notebook will be discussed further in
Section 2.

The engineering binder will allow you to maintain a record of material which is not easily
imported into Google Docs. The engineering binder will be discussed further in Section 3.

2.0 The Engineering Notebook

The design team’s engineering notebook will kept in Google Docs. This will allow your entire
team to collaborate on the notebook and allow your advisor and customer to review your work.

2.1 Google Docs

Google maintains a suite of software tools. Include in the suite of tools is Google Docs. Google
Docs includes a WYSIWYG word processor and a spreadsheet program.

To access Google Docs, you must have a Google account. To create an account, open a web
browser, and go to:

docs.google.com

and click on “Create New Account.” Once you have an account, you can log in to Google Docs
and begin using the word processor and spreadsheet programs.

2.1.1 About the Google Docs Word Processor

In Google Docs, word processor text limited to 512KB per file, not including images. This
works out to be about 40 pages of text, double spaced. Therefore, you will probably need to
create new word processor text files periodically throughout the year. Your Google Docs
account will allow you to have 5,000 files, so this should not be a concern.

Figure 1 shows a screenshot from the Google Docs word processor. Per the Google Docs
Introduction:

You can easily do all the basics [creating basic documents] including making
bulleted lists, adding tables, images, comments, formulas, changing fonts and
more. Google Docs and Spreadsheets accept most popular file formats, including
DOC, XLS, ODT, ODS, RTF, CSV, etc. So go ahead and upload your existing
files; all your formatting and formulas will come through intact. Just click the
toolbar buttons to bold, underline, indent, change the font or number format,
change the cell background color and so on.
Figure 1 - Google Docs Word Processor Screen Shot

Google Docs word processor files can be shared:

Choose who can access your documents and spreadsheets. Just enter the email
addresses of the people with whom you want to share a given file and send them
an invitation. Anyone you've invited to either edit or view your document or
spreadsheet can access it as soon as they sign in. Edit with others in real time.
Multiple people can view and make changes at the same time. Document revisions
show you exactly who changed what, and when.

Finally, Google Docs will provide you with easy access to your entire team’s work throughout
the year:

Edit from anywhere. There's nothing to download; you access your documents
and spreadsheets from any computer with an Internet connection and a standard
browser. And it's free. Safely store your work. Online storage and auto-save
mean you needn't fear local hard drive failures and power outages. Easily save
and export copies. You can save your files to your own computer in DOC, XLS,
CSV, ODS, ODT, PDF, RTF and HTML formats.

This should also greatly aid you in the development of all your written assignments and reports
throughout the year.

2.1.2 Google Docs Spreadsheets

The Google Docs spreadsheets program has all the features one would expect from a traditional
spreadsheet software package. Each spreadsheet can have a maximum of 10,000 rows or a
maximum of 256 columns. In either case, a spreadsheet workbook is limited to 100,000 cells or
40 sheets. Each user has a maximum of 200 spreadsheet workbooks, but only 11 may be open at
one time. You can also import spreadsheets of approximately 1Mb (or less) in XLS, CSV, ODS,
TXT, TSV, or TSB formats.

An example spreadsheet screen shot is shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2 - Google Docs Spreadsheet Screen Shot

2.1.3 A Word of Warning

Like any software program, Google Docs may behave erratically. Therefore, it is recommended
that you save your work often to a local computer, flash driver, Valparaiso University server, etc.

While Google Docs does have a very strong revision saving feature, it is recommended that like
any engineer, you should be the guardian of your intellectual property and ensure its integrity.

2.2 What Goes In an Engineering Notebook?

Above all else, your engineering notebook should be complete. It should include details of your
experiment. Also, it should include peripheral comments or feelings - even if they are not
necessarily backed by data. If you have a hunch, put it down (but be sure you indicate that it is
merely a hunch).

All data is to be recorded directly into the notebook. The inclusion of all elaborate details is
preferable. Notes and calculations should be done in the notebook, NOT on loose paper. In the
case of an error, DO NOT DELETE YOUR PREVIOUS ENTRIES! Rather, strike-through (for
example) with the Google Docs style menu through the incorrect data. If you need to make such
a correction, or an addition, add a comment indicating the date the modification was made.

Make sure you date and time stamp your entries. Insist upon your faculty advisor “witness” your
work periodically (by entering their name and date), especially after a significant body of work
has been added.

Since one of the most important aspects of an engineering notebook is to serve as a reference for
duplication of your results, it is important to follow guidelines as you add material to your
notebook.

Begin each new addition to the notebook with a brief description of the work you are preparing
to undertake or perform. Include diagrams, calculations, or pertinent material. List the hardware
and/or software tools you will be using. Identify equipment you will use by manufacturer, model
and serial number or university property number.

Next, add your calculations, drawings, meter readings, observations, and anything else worthy of
recording. When working with instruments with multiple ranges, indicate the range used. When
taking data, record the range as one entry and the raw data value as another. When the range
must be changed, record the new range with its associated readings. Once you have complete and
correct raw data, convert it to proper values. If this is done, conversion errors may be more easily
found and corrected.

If possible, take data in a monotonic (continuously increasing or decreasing) fashion. More

consistent and accurate data will be obtained if mental calculations are minimized during data
recording. For best results plot your data during the experiment so that inconsistent points might
be recognized and re-measured if necessary. Make sure you use units in your work.

Close out an entry into your notebook by providing a critical evaluation of your work. Point out
weaknesses, inconsistencies, inaccuracies and probable sources of error. Suggestions for better
approaches or procedures should be made. (Be "hard-nosed" with yourself here. Your faculty
advisor and future engineering managers will never hold it against you when you find ways to
improve your future work.) The notebook is not expected to be a finished document. Rather,
they are your team’s notes for later use.

3.0 The Engineering Binder

The engineering binder which will contain any referenced information in the Google Docs file.
This three-ring binder will allow you to maintain a record of material which is not easily
imported into Google Docs.

3.1 Contents of the Engineering Binder

All work done by the author relating to the project, including web surfing, readings, research,
design, coding, documentation, testing, team work meetings, sponsor meetings, status meetings
with the instructor, etc. should be described and detailed in the engineering notebook.
However, there may be items (EMails, memos, code listings, drawings, extensive calculations,
etc.) which do not lend themselves to be easily imported into Google Docs. These items should
be described in the engineering notebook, uniquely numbered, and referenced as placed in the
teams engineering binder. For example:

Calculations were performed to determine the proper dimensions for the

experiment. The final result showed that the optimum dimensions were 1
meter by 0.5 meters. See engineering item binder item #0014.

Your team captain will keep your team’s binder. Therefore, please make sure you provide your
captain with a copy any item you reference for inclusion in the binder. The captain will be
responsible for meeting with the faculty advisor once a week to update the advisor on the
binder’s contents. The faculty advisor will make copies of the materials to create a “shadow” of
the team captain’s binder. Additional copies may also be required for the team’s technical
advisor, MEM student, and/or customer.

4.0 Grading of the Engineering Binder

Your team engineering notebook will be reviewed at weekly team meetings, and will be graded
toward the end of the semester. While each faculty advisor will set expectations, grades, etc., the
general rule is:

IF IT HAS NOT BEEN RECORDED IN AN ENGINEERING NOTEBOOK,

IT HAS NOT BEEN PERFORMED.

The role of GE497/GE498 is to prepare you to become an engineer by providing you more of a
“real-world” development experience. Developing and maintaining an engineering notebook is
one of the lessons every engineer must learn. By organizing your work, you will find are more
productive, and it is easier to summarize your work upon demand.

Finally, an engineering notebook can be an invaluable tool for the interview process. By
demonstrating to a prospective employer your thoroughness and attention to detail, you can
differentiate yourself from hundreds of other prospective candidates.