Identifying Specific, Measurable “Skills” Perceived As Requisite For Graduating Aerospace Engineers

Abstract

which exceeded the ability of three to five individuals or disciplines to accomplish. The characteristics of this design process were defined by inter-related outcomes between decisions made by people, between disciplines, and between components, where the reliability of the final product was critical.Methodology. The following description of the methodology is by necessity, brief. A full discussion of the methodology is provided in Ref. 1. To obtain a complete understanding of the problem and data, a rigorous qualitative methodology was developed from generally accepted practices, employing cross-case observation and triangulation between all three cohort groups. The three groups were: 1) industry practitioners, 2) academic educators and industry academics, and 3) senior engineering students in an aeronautical and astronautical engineering program. "Academic educators" are individuals who did the majority of their work and research within an academic environment. "Industrial academics" are individuals employed by companies, but were primarily involved in academic and theoretical activities as opposed to production activities.A literature survey provided perceptions about design skills from the academic educator and industry academic cohort. Academic research activities were well-documented and as such were viewed as the most comprehensive source of data from this group. The data were collected based on a methodology developed a priori to specifically identify perceived success or required skills from the literature.The data were collected from the literature by reading selected texts and identifying single words or phrases describing successful design activities or activities negatively affecting success. The bibliography for this research contained 63 separate texts and is included in the thesis 1 . Sources were located using a formalized literature search methodology and key word search. Each concept was entered on a color-coded card, green for support and red for complaint or statements that no problem exists. The cards were then subjected to open coding to identify categories. After categories were generated, the concepts were subjected to axial coding to identify defined measurable characteristics responding to the expressed concerns. After three weeks, the researcher reviewed the cards with a fresh perspective to determine if any of the cards would fit better in other or new categories. With the exception of three cards, the sort remained unchanged. At this point the coding process and triangulation were considered complete.