background, physical notebook, online notebook, submission

You are required to keep an up-to-date design notebook throughout the term... this is an essential design practice that documents the history of your work.

Your design notebook contributes to a significant portion of the individual component of your final grade.

Notebooks are required in professional practice—they are important legal documents. They should also be something that you are proud of... something that you could show to a potential employer.

A few example pages from the notebooks of previous 2.009 students are on the right. You can click on the images to see the full sized pages.

Physical notebooks:
The notebook should be either a 8.5x11 spiral-bound book (to make scanning easier) or a standard-bound engineering notebook. Unlined notebooks are preferred.

Use your design notebook to document all of your work and contributions towards your team's project. Do not use the notebook for lecture notes. Notebooks are working documents, but they must provide a comprehensible trail for your product development effort. Illegible notebooks will receive a failing grade.

Please be sure to write the date on each page when you make entries.

Your lab section instructor will review your notebook every second week during your lab period, as indicated throughout the course schedule (review dates are linked on the deliverables page).

Online notebooks:
In addition to a physical notebook, you will submit digital images of two pages from your notebook every two weeks. These submissions are used to make an on-line 'highlight' notebook, accessible through the team pages. You may want to make special two week summary pages in your notebook for the online submission.

The online notebook allows classmates to follow your contributions when completing peer reviews, and also will be used by your lab instructor.

Please review the detailed instructions on how to submit your notebook and digital images.