Engineering Strategies and Practice

ESP II - Working with your Engineering Manager

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Engineering Strategies and Practice II Working with your
Engineering Manager
Table of Contents
Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 3
Document Approval Before Releasing to Client ............................................................................. 3
Status Report .................................................................................................................................. 4
Engineering Manager Report .......................................................................................................... 4
Gantt Charts .................................................................................................................................... 5
Phone Call Plan Instructions ........................................................................................................... 6
Client Meeting Plan Instructions..................................................................................................... 7
Business Card Instructions ............................................................................................................ 11

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Introduction
Professional behaviour is a series of habits that you must start developing and practicing immediately.
You will not be able to “switch on” professionalism once you graduate. It is just as important for you to
project a professional image in your lectures and tutorials as it is in client meetings and interviews. New
in ESP II is that each tutorial with have another person present, your Engineering Manager (EM). The
role of the EM is to emulate the industry practice of a design team reporting to an engineering manager.
Through weekly in tutorial meetings with your team, your EM will help you develop professionalism,
project management skills, and team strategies. The primary means of interacting with your EM are
listed below.

Document Approval Before Releasing to Client

After receiving Teaching Assistant (TA) feedback on a team written assignment in the debrief session,
you are required to revise the document addressing all TA and Communication Instructor (CI)
comments. If you are unclear of any of the comments, it is your responsibility to clarify your
understanding. The debrief is an excellent time to do this, but you can also contact your TA or CI
afterwards. All revisions must be conducted in the same Google Docs file you originally submitted.

When your revisions are completed on Google Docs, download the file locally to an MS Word document.
Using MS Word prepare your document for release to your client by removing internal information not
needed by your client, and adding finishing touches. These steps are:

• Remove the “checklist” from the cover page

• Remove your student numbers from the cover page
• Add page numbers correctly (No page number for the cover page or executive summary)
• Renumber your appendices if necessary
• Correct any other formatting errors due to exporting to MS Word
Once this final Revised assignment file is completed, email it to your EM for their review. The deadline
for the submission of your revised assignment to your EM is agreed upon by your team and your EM.
Your EM will respond either with a request for additional revisions or they will approve your assignment
for release to the client. Regardless of the timing of your client meeting, you may not release your
assignment to your client before it is approved by your EM. It is a major infraction to skip getting EM
document approval and will be dealt with harshly on your EM Report grade.

Once your assignment is approved for release, convert the document to PDF. Do a final proofread to
ensure the conversion to PDF has not introduced any formatting errors. Only now may you send the
document to your client.

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Status Report
Status Reports are a project management tool to help each team reflect on the past week's work, plan
the future week's work, and note any problems encountered. Also required is a project plan in the form of
a project Gantt Chart or a portion of a Gantt Chart (depending on your EM requirements).

The purpose of status reports is threefold to:

1. Report progress on your project.
2. Allow you to reflect on past experiences to move forward in a more efficient and productive
matter.
3. Give your EM an inside look at the team and their progress.

The ideal Status Report will have the following characteristics:

• The specific and broken-down (i.e. low-level) tasks should be recorded. For example, "research
screw standards for structure" is superior to "work on CDS."
• A specific person who takes responsibility for each task. For example, "John proofread the CDS"
is superior to "All team members proofread the CDS."
• Full disclosure of all problems encountered. Having problems occur on a project is expected and
will not diminish your grade, as long as you confront and implement strategies to correct the
problems. Through honest discussion, your EM can help you find those strategies.

The Status Report template is posted. Part A of the status report is to be completed before coming to
tutorial. Part B of the status report is to be completed in tutorial and signed off by your EM before
leaving tutorial.

Engineering Manager Report

This is an individual grade assigned to you at the end of the term by your EM. Your EM will be assessing
the overall quality and quantity of your participation in the design project from his/her perspective,
including your weekly contributions to the progress of the project, your attendance and participation at
the weekly meeting with your EM in tutorial, and your team skills. Your EM may use peer evaluations as
one source of information in determining the above criteria.

Below is a list of major and minor infractions, and positive behaviour that your EM will be evaluating.

Negative Behaviour
Major Infraction
• Sending document to client without EM approval
• Failure to submit a status report
• Repeated minor infraction despite a requirement for correction
• Missing tutorial or team meetings without advanced notice to EM, TA, and team
• Any minor infraction with intent to deceive or commit fraud

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Minor Infraction
• Failure to meet criteria of the engineering notebook.
• Late to a status report meeting
• Late submission of a status report (deadline defined by EM)
• Failure to meet criteria of status reports for example:
o not using template
o vague tasks
o no assigned responsibility for tasks
• Failure to meet Professional Email Style Requirements in the Communication in ESP document.
• Lack of engagement in team activities (head down, off in the corner, wearing headphones, etc)

Positive Behaviour
• Demonstrated Leadership.
• Effectively dealing with team dynamics issues (conflict resolution, good warning letters, etc)
• Driving use of Creativity methods (good brainstorming, use of flip charts to keep the ideas
flowing, etc)
• Receives constructive feedback well
• Gives constructive feedback well
• Exhibited a pattern of self-improvement over the course of the term

Gantt Charts
A Gantt chart is a project management tool used to track progress in a project, schedule tasks, and make
most efficient use of resources. Your team will have one shared Gantt chart that is continually being
updated. For each status report this Gantt chart or a portion of a Gantt chart (depending on your EM
requirements) will be made available to your EM.

The ideal Gantt Chart will have the following characteristics:

• All tasks and subtasks listed on the left. The level of detail of tasks should be such that they can
be completed within one reporting period (nominally one week).
• The dates for the previous week and next two weeks across the top of the chart.
Use Gantt chart software to create a Gantt chart showing a comprehensive plan for the successful
completion of your project. Do not “fake” a Gantt chart using non-project management software.

1. Develop a detailed work breakdown structure

2. Show precedence relationships between the tasks
3. Assign resources
4. Indicate the critical path
The Gantt chart should be very detailed in the near term (i.e. for the time between the current
document and the one that follows), and may be more general for the remaining project time leading up
to the final presentation. However, all major milestones, and any known or assumed tasks, should be
included wherever possible.

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Engineering Manager
The expectation is that the work plan will evolve as decisions are made on the technical front – so the
work for the next stage is more closely defined as, for instance, the client confirms or clarifies the nature
of the project itself, or as the possible solutions are developed, or one is selected and so on. However
even these aspects of the plan can be given time even early on in the planning: For example, a bar on
the chart can indicate “develop solutions” with a milestone “client makes decision as to solution to go
forward with into final design”. The Gantt chart is updated according to the requirements of your EM.
More details about Gantt charts can be found in the textbook and in lecture.

Phone Call Plan Instructions

The purpose of this plan is to ensure that your initial contact with the client has a professional tone,
makes a good first impression, and achieves its purpose in setting up a meeting between the entire
team and the client. The script will not be graded but MUST be approved by your EM BEFORE you will
be allowed to contact the client.

• The team should select one person to make the phone call, but the team should work on the plan
together.
• The first client meeting should take an hour, and if your client asks, you can tell them this.
• If the client offers a tour of their facility, make sure you know if your team is available for additional
time (in addition to the interview time) to take advantage of the opportunity while you are there.
• Make sure you factor in adequate travel time when proposing a set of times/days for the initial
meeting. You DO NOT want to arrive late for your first meeting.
• It may take several tries to get hold of your client. Keep trying. If absolutely necessary, you can email
the client to set up the meeting, but your email must first be checked and approved by your EM.
• Make your phone call in the first tutorial. Make the call at least 10 minutes before the end of tutorial
so that you don’t feel rushed.

Content
The phone call must be professional and therefore the plan must have the following elements:

1. Greeting: in which the caller identifies her/himself and addresses the contact person by name,
using the appropriate title (Mr., Ms., Dr., Professor). Note: “Miss” and “Mrs” are to be avoided.
Us Ms. Instead.
2. Context: in which the caller clearly identifies the course (Engineering Strategies & Practice), the
University of Toronto and refers to the design project submitted by the client.
3. Polite request for a meeting: the caller should give a selection of times (at least three) during
which her/his entire team is available. Make sure you have the times and days written in your
plan. Additionally, have some back up suggestions if the client is busy during those times.
4. Confirmation: of the address of where the meeting will be taking place and, if necessary, request
travel directions or special instructions (e.g. A buzzer code).
5. Contact Information: Give the client contact information for you (the caller) so he or she can get
hold of you if there is need to change the plan.

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• It is useful to give the client your name, again, at this point in the conversation. Pronounce
your name slowly and clearly. Give your client your U of T email address, and a phone
number where they can leave a message. Note: If your client calls you, it will generally be
during business hours (9:00-5:00) when you are likely to be in class. Therefore, it is
important that they have a way of leaving you a message during the day.
6. Signoff: A professional signoff thanking the client, reconfirming the meeting time.

Voicemail
Create a sub-plan, based on the content from your complete plan, to use in case you get the client’s
voice mail. It should include: the greeting, context, purpose of the call (request for a meeting), contact
information, and signoff.

If you leave a voicemail message, follow it up immediately with an email. In your email, introduce
yourself and your team, indicate what project you’re doing and the purpose of your call and email, and
provide your contact information. This follow-up email is important because some voicemail messages
are unclear, making it difficult for the client to hear your contact information. This email must be written
using the Email Style Requirements and approved by your EM before being sent to your client.

Format:
• One page (one document per team)
• Can be written in the caller’s Engineering Notebook (in the first tutorial)
• EM must initial to indicate their approval

Submission:
Submit your phone call plan directly to your EM for approval.

After Your Phone Call to the Client:

Once you have successfully completed your phone conversation with your client you are to send a
professional Confirmation Email. Make sure you use the Email Style Requirements when writing this
email.

The body of this email must include:

• Thank you to the client for taking the call.

• Confirmation of the day, time, and location of the meeting.
• Clear contact information for the team contact person.

NOTE: Contacting the client without the approval of your EM is a serious offense and will directly
impact your EM Report Grade.

Client Meeting Plan Instructions

This plan for the first client meeting is not graded, but it MUST be approved by your EM prior to your
client meeting.

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Audience Assessment:
Complete an Audience Assessment BEFORE you write the Client Meeting Plan. Write down whatever
you have been able to find out about the client. Include any information you have obtained from the
client statement and/or through reasonable research – DO NOT contact the client to get information for
the Audience Assessment. Rather, make appropriate assumptions and justify them.

The Audience Assessment must briefly address the following questions:

1. Who are you communicating to?

2. What is their education level and level of understanding of the topic (what language level are
you going to use)?
3. What is their background? Is this a group with some people with a technical background, some
not?
4. What do you want to accomplish from the communication or meeting? What is the goal of this
communication or meeting? Is it to finalize the functions, to determine the overall scope of the
design or is this the first time you have met your client and you need to establish a
relationship? You must be clear on why you are communicating and have a plan to reach that
goal. This is true of any type of communication.
5. Using the audience assessment, list at least three recommendations for yourself and team for
the intended communication, whether it is a phone call, meeting, document or presentation.
For more information, please read Designing Engineers: An Introductory Text – Client Interactions: Client
Meetings or available online at http://bit.ly/DE-ClientMeetings. Once you have analysed the audience,
you can prepare the required content for the document.

Required Content:
• Opening information
• Audience Assessment
• Introduction
• List of questions
• Close of meeting

Format:
• No more than three pages
• One plan per team.

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Opening Information:
At the top of the first page, put your project information:

• Project title
• Client
• Project #
• Names of team members
• Location, time and date of your client meeting (if known)
• List of people who will be attending the meeting

Introduction:
In one or two paragraphs, describe how you are going to introduce the members of the team. Include
information on what you are going to wear, how you are going to come in, shake hands, and the
impression you intend to make. (Note: if you are not able to shake hands, for religious or health reasons,
decide how you will handle this.)

Every member of your team should have a prepared brief personal introduction (approximately 10
seconds). These personal introductions should be targeted to achieve the impression the team has
decided to make. If possible, connect the personal introduction to the project.

I.E. My name is Bo Duke. I am in first year chemical engineering. In high school I

was an avid basketball player which will help me in this re-design of your
community’s basketball courts.

Business Card (optional): Your team may choose to provide business cards of its members to the client
at the first client meeting. If you do so, and do not already have a current business card, then see the
instructions later in this document about getting the ESP Office to print some business cards for you.

Information Sheet: If you do not choose to create business cards, you must create an Information Sheet
to give to the client at the first client meeting. Each team member should be identified with:

- Name and first year academic program (e.g. Roz Ines, Industrial Engineering student)
- An email address. The most appropriate and professional email address is your Utor email.
- (Phone number. If you are the contact person for your team, you should be prepared to provide a
phone number as well as an email address.)
- A three-point micro-resume. The three points can be whatever you feel gives you credibility as a
designer assigned to this project. The more specific the points to your project the better, therefore
do not create your Information Sheet until after you have received your project description.
Also include a copy of the project description portion of the Client Statement at the end of the
Information Sheet.

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List of Client Questions:
• Client questions are questions which your client is best suited to answer and that you cannot easily
answer yourselves. “What sections of the building code apply to accessibility ramps?” is research
question and should NOT be asked of your client.
• Make a list of at least four closed client questions and eight open client questions. Note: it may take
several closed questions to accomplish the same purpose as one open question.
• Questions should be assigned to members of the group so that each member will have the
opportunity to ask at least one question in the meeting. Questions should be prioritized so that you
get the most important information first.
• These questions should help you complete the Design Specification; therefore, be sure to gather
information which will help you determine:
- functional requirements (what the design will do)
- objectives (what features the design should have)
- constraints (limits)
- service environment
- stakeholders
• Remember that your client likely does not understand course specific terminology. Don’t ask “what
is the service environment?”.
• In constructing the questions, think about what you need to know to move forward on the project.
DO NOT ask questions simply for the sake of asking questions. Make these questions useful!

Provide a short description of the strategy you will use to interact with the client within the meeting.
Make sure no one person monopolizes the conversation. Also, plan what you will do if you need to ask
questions other than those on the script in response to client answers.

Notes:
• Dress for client meetings is business casual –that means clean dress shirt or polo shirt, pants or skirt.
A tie, sweater, or jacket is not necessary.
• DO NOT wear hoodies, sweat shirts, sweat pants or t-shirts to a client meeting.
• DO NOT USE ANY FORM OF COLOGNE, PERFUME or AFTERSHAVE or any fragrance at all. Many
people have chemical sensitivities that are triggered by commercial scents and experience
extremely unpleasant reactions.
• Please be clean and presentable.
• In talking to the client you may find that the project is actually quite different than the first
impression you got from the client statement, so be prepared to listen carefully to what the client is
saying.
• Everyone must be taking notes in their Engineering Notebook. It is important for everyone to take
notes because each will likely record the answer from a different perspective. This must be done by
hand. You may NOT record the meeting; do not ask the client permission to do so.

Close of Meeting:
In one or two paragraphs, describe how you are going to end the client meeting.

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• Clarify and confirm any important information
• Set up the next client meeting. Make sure you know in advance when everyone in your team is
available. Also, check the course schedule to see which week is appropriate for the second client
meeting. It would be preferable if every team member could go to every client meeting.
However, if at least a majority of the team is available for the second meeting, go ahead and
book the meeting.
• Describe how you will close the meeting and exit.

Submission:
Submit your script to your EM for approval once it is complete.

NOTE: Attending the first Client Meeting without having your plan approved by your EM is a serious
offense and will directly impact your EM Report Grade. While it is good practice to write a similar plan
for the second and third client meeting, EM approval is not necessary unless specified by your EM.

Business Card Instructions

Image adapted from M. Taylor (2012 Sep 19) “Becoming a Social Media Freelancer” [Online] Available:
http://miataylor.com/becoming-a-social-media-freelancer/

Business cards are an important tool in professional networking. Particularly in your first client meeting
it would be professional to hand a business card to your client when you introduce yourself. Below are
some suggestions on designing a business card.

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Front Design:
Name
List your first or given name first. Next optionally you can include your middle name or initial of your
middle name. Finally list your last or family name.

Title
Be honest about your title, such as “Chemical Engineering Student”. Do not make up a title. You are not
legally allowed to call yourself an engineer until after you have graduated, have work experience, and
are registered as a professional engineer.

You are not allowed to use the University of Toronto (UofT) or Faculty of Applied Science and
Engineering (FASE) logo, but you are allowed to say you are an engineering student at the UofT and
FASE.

Contact Information
Include your University of Toronto email address and optionally a phone number. If you are your team’s
contact person your phone number is required. Be sure you have voice mail at whichever phone number
you include in case you miss a call from your client.

Back Design:
On the back of your business card give a three-point micro-resume. The three points can be whatever
you feel gives you credibility as a designer assigned to this project. The more specific the points to your
project the better, therefore do not create your business card until after you have received your project
description.

Note that this micro-resume is not common in industry, but has proven to be an effective ice breaker for
teams in the past. Clients have expressed approval of this feature.

Getting it printed:
An MS Word template will be posted on Quercus to help you format your business cards. As a team, fill
in the template (one card per team member). Once completed email the template file to the ESP Office
(esp@ecf.utoronto.ca). The office will print out two copies of the team’s business cards. We will respond
to your email to let you know when your cards are ready to be picked up in the ESP Office (GB149). If
you wish additional copies you are encouraged to print them yourself.

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Example
Front:

Rosco P. Coltrane
Industrial Engineering Student
University of Toronto
Future Class of 2018
Email: Rosco.Coltrane@mail.utoronto.ca
Phone (cell): 555 555-1980

Back (micro-resume)

• Proficient with Photoshop and Illustrator

• Work experience in professional office
environment
• Leader of the Environmental Club in High
School

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