Tim Haynie - Michigan State University
Tim Haynie
ECE480
Professional Self Assessment
4/21/2010
Question 1: How have I satisfied the learning objectives in this course and contributed to team and course outcomes?
“Each student should have actively participated as a member of an engineering design team and made significant contributions to achieving the team's stated goal and objectives. Each design project should involve the collaborative development and evaluation of a "product" that contains an embedded computer.”
My experience in ECE480 put me into a unique academic environment that simulated an actual work environment where a project was given to a team of a few engineers with a final product in mind. The team became familiar with various business aspects and technical documentation that engineers are expected to produce in their line of work. Throughout the semester I’ve contributed in several ways to the team, both technically and non-technically, by contributing ideas for the product, providing input for development, supporting other team members in their weak areas where I was more experienced, and supplementing all required team documentation.
“Students will also demonstrate individual competence in designing/building a digital circuit, programming a microprocessor, and writing a graphical user interface.”
One of the aspects of this class was the completion of four laboratory projects which were designed to either introduce us to a concept or reinforce skills that were taught to us in courses taken throughout our engineering career. In these assignments, each person individually constructed and analyzed a working analog circuit, wrote and edited a program on a Microchip PIC18F4520 embedded computer, and also interfaced with that chip by writing a supplementary program in Visual Basic which communicated with the chip over a serial port which included a GUI written by the student.
“Students will understand ethical and professional issues faced by engineers.”
Throughout the semester, several lectures were given to the students with the intent to introduce us to the expectations that are placed upon electrical and computer engineers in regards to ethics and professionalism. The topics covered included understanding the viewpoint of the customer, designing products that are usable by persons with disabilities, and discussion of intellectual property.
Question 2: What have I learned about the design process from my work on the design project?
When I initially was introduced to my team, I was immediately put into the role of “software expert.” This is because not only was I the only computer engineer on a team
of electrical engineers, but I was also the only person with any background or experience using Linux. Despite this fact, my role in the project substantially shifted as two of my teammates were able to very quickly learn enough about Linux to operate independently, only asking for input when they figured I could provide useful input to the problem. My role then shifted as a hybrid between circuit design and microcontroller programming. Most of the circuit design was taken on by another teammate, however him and I consulted regularly on how the circuit would work and shared ideas on how to implement various features.
The bulk of the actual engineering design was accomplished by breaking up tasks as follows:
• A. Bruinsma and B. Charboneau: Setup of Linux system, mdm configuration, and adding sound support.
• B. Mattingly: Design, research, and construction of hardware circuits and components
• T. Haynie: Support for Linux system, research and programming of microcontroller, consulting with Mattingly for functional circuit design
The justification of the project was that the existing user-base is experiencing difficulty using the product and as a result bugs have surfaced. For example, if one user attempted to register his computer station out of sequence, the entire system would have to be reset. In addition, sound support was not supported in the current configuration.
The criteria of the project called for a way to add user-friendliness to the system while minimizing cost of production in order to compete with existing commercial products. Our project suffered in the sense of a lack of a good timetable; it is by fortunate circumstance that we were able to deliver a final product within the time constraint of 15 weeks. We were, however, very proactive and decisive about design approaches and solutions that we wanted to pursue, which certainly contributed to accomplishing our final goal on time.
The final measure of our product was to compare it with the existing commercial solution produced by a company called Userful. While Userful’s product requires less hardware components to implement, their system is robust, bug free, and feature rich. However, the end cost, even discounted for education, was several times more expensive than the solution that was developed by our team, despite not having as many features.
Question 3: What technical communications have I done this semester?
There were several instances of technical communications that I assisted in this semester. This included contributions to the pre-proposal, final proposal, proposal presentation, technical lecture, product progress reports, an individual application note, and the preparation of an engineering notebook.
Question 4, 6, 7: What is the impact of this course on my career objectives and professional goals? Where would I like to be professionally five years after graduation? What lifelong-learning steps must I plan to undertake in order to achieve this five-year professional goal?
This course reaffirmed that the direction that I ultimately want to take with my career is one that is less engineering oriented. While I am a successful and knowledgeable computer engineer, the idea of pursuing a career out of my experience has become less appealing. However, since it is unlikely to be put into a position where I can focus more on leadership and project management immediately out of school with very little experience, it will be beneficial for me to pursue a position that focuses on software development rather than embedded systems or circuitry. One unfortunate aspect of being in the ECE capstone is that the software that I ultimately developed was no more complicated than software I was writing during my freshman year. I personally think I would have enjoyed myself a much greater deal being part of a CSE capstone team where I would get to utilize my extensive software development skills.
In five years, I’d like to be on track professional to line myself up for management in a computer technology company or department. This could be accomplished by entering a rotational program provided by my employer which prepares competent employees for such positions within the company. This means I will have to proactively be more involved in the less technical aspects of engineering, including technical writing, timeline management, division of labor, and working with customers to design product specifications.
Question 5: What are my primary strengths and weaknesses?
My engineering strengths focus mostly on software development, where I have focused intensively during my academic career. I struggle more with electrical engineering aspects like analog circuit design, and I have absolutely no experience with fields such as signals and electromagnetism.
From a non-technical standpoint, I view myself as an accomplished technical writer. I also take pride in being able to introduce and pitch new ideas to my team, as well as contributing my personal input to ideas that other teammates develop. However, I struggle more when it comes to being able to vocalize my ideas on the spot. This is something that I want to continually improve over time, as it will become important to be able to express myself on the spot in a managerial position.
Appendix: Resume
My resume is attached as the next page.
Timothy D. Haynie
Objective
A full-time position beginning mid-June, 2010 that emphasizes teamwork and leadership in software development, embedded systems or another computer technology related project.
Education
Michigan State University August 2006 to May 2010 (expected)
Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering East Lansing, MI
• Coursework completed includes computer architecture, algorithms, object-oriented software design, networking fundamentals, database systems, computer security, operating systems, compilers, media processing and multimedia computing, VLSI design, electronic circuits, digital logic, and embedded systems
• Phi Sigma Theta National Honor Society member
Southwestern Michigan College August 2002 to August 2006
Computer Information Systems Dowagiac, MI
• Pursued Associate’s Degree part-time while working
• Transferred to MSU before degree completion
Current Cumulative University GPA (between both schools): 3.17 out of 4.0
Technical Skills
• 4 years professional and academic experience with developing in C++ for Windows and Linux
• Additional academic and personal experience with C, C#, Java, Visual Basic, multithreaded programming, semaphores, mutexes, XML, UML, PHP, SQL, DirectX, network programming, VLSI, and embedded systems
• Familiarity with Visual Studio, Microsoft Foundation Class, Netbeans, and Cadence software
• Knowledge of design patterns and OOP concepts
Academic Project Experience
• Compiler to translate Haskell code to assembly code written in C++
• Software for custom embedded circuit for multiseat personal computer system written in C
• Job search engine database website using mySQL written in PHP
• Programmable audio filter bank chip layout and simulation using VLSI techniques in Cadence software
Work Experience
NASA Kennedy Space Center June 2009 to August 2009
Launch Control Systems Hardware Intern Cape Canaveral, FL
• Developed code verification software package written in C++ for department’s custom API
• Delivered solution that improved the existing software simulation model
• Volunteered on the intern social committee
In Home Computer Service August 2006 to Present
President and Owner East Lansing, MI
• Founded and profitably operated business while attending school
• Communicated regularly with customers by phone, in person, and by email in user friendly terminology
National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory November 2006 to Present
Computer Assistant III East Lansing, MI
• Supported over 500 computers on-site
• Installed and deployed both computer hardware and software to users
• Communicated with users and staff through an online ticket system
Transformation Technologies, Inc. October 2003 to August 2006
Bookkeeper and IT Manager Elkhart, IN
• Managed payroll, taxes, A/R, A/P, inventory, purchasing, receiving, and other common business functions
• Implemented and maintained VPN and wired/wireless network infrastructure
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505 Albert St., East Lansing, MI 48823
Phone: (574) 596-3122 Email: timothy.haynie@
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