SUPPORTING VALIDATION ACTIVITIES AND SELFREFLECTION PROCESSES IN INTERDISCIPLINARY DESIGN TEAMS
Year: 2015
Editor: Guy Bingham, Darren Southee, John McCardle, Ahmed Kovacevic, Erik Bohemia, Brian Parkinson
Author: Matthiesen, Sven; Schmidt, Sebastian; Klingler, Simon; Pinner, Tobias; Eisenmann, Matthias; Ludwig, Julian; Hohmann, Soeren; Albers, Albert
Series: E&PDE
Institution: 1Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), IPEK – Institute of Product Engineering, Kaiserstraße 10, 76131 Karlsruhe, 2Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), IRS – Department of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology, Kaiserstraße 12, 76131 Karlsruhe
Section: Project Based Learning
Page(s): 418-423
ISBN: 978-1-904670-62-9
Abstract
In order to fulfil customer demands with today’s complex mechatronic products, verification and
validation activities are crucial elements within a product development process [1]. These activities
comprise the preparation of prototypes, the selection of suitable environmental models, the testing
procedure itself, and the acquisition and analysis of the test results. These tests can be classified and
distinguished by various factors [2]: (1) use case affinity, (2) system levels, (3) validation purposes
and (4) test compositions. The characteristics of all these factors have to match to the actual level of
knowledge. To define the suitable test case for a specific validation objective needs a lot of experience
[3] and may cause iterations or rework [4].
A new interdisciplinary mechatronic course is established this year at the Karlsruhe Institute of
Technology (KIT). Within this course, 40 undergraduate students attend lectures, exercises and
perform an accompanying development project. In this development project, the students develop
concepts, build prototypes and conduct validation and optimization activities. A web-based tool
supports the students in planning and documenting of the test restrictions, the execution, interpretation
and reflection. The tool bases on theoretical findings from analyzing different validation activities.
It guides the students through a set of questions and answering options. These questions refer to a
general description of the test setup (for documentation), to a specific classification of the test and to
interpretation of the results. The specific classification gears towards the above-mentioned four
distinguishing factors (1) to (4). The interpretation focuses possible biasing effects on the results (their
reliability) and the consideration of existing uncertainties and resulting possible deviations
Keywords: Validation and certification, x-in-the-loop, project-based learning, test interpretation, team reflection.