{"id":36033,"date":"2025-09-15T04:43:02","date_gmt":"2025-09-15T04:43:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.duck9.com\/blog\/?p=36033"},"modified":"2025-09-15T00:43:31","modified_gmt":"2025-09-15T04:43:31","slug":"me-277","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.duck9.com\/blog\/me-277\/","title":{"rendered":"ME 277"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"postie-post\">\n<div>\n<div dir=\"ltr\"><a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/larrychiang\/status\/1967429951478796429?s=43\"><\/p>\n<table cellpadding=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" border=\"0\" style=\"border:1px solid #ccd6dd; border-radius: 12px;\" width=\"500\" bgcolor=\"#ffffff\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td colspan=\"3\" style=\"font-size: 0px; line-height: 0px;\" height=\"12\">&nbsp;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"18\" style=\"font-size: 0px; line-height: 0px; min-width: 18px;\">&nbsp;<\/td>\n<td>\n<table cellpadding=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" border=\"0\" width=\"464\" align=\"left\">\n<tbody>\n<tr valign=\"top\">\n<td width=\"48\" valign=\"top\"><a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/larrychiang?s=43\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/pbs.twimg.com\/profile_images\/1388307931125460994\/KWn5HNMY_normal.jpg\" style=\"border-radius: 50%; padding: 0px;\" height=\"48\" width=\"48\" data-unique-identifier=\"\"><\/a><\/td>\n<td width=\"8\" style=\"font-size: 0px; line-height: 0px; min-width:8px;\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ea.twimg.com\/email\/self_serve\/media\/spacer.png\" width=\"8\" data-unique-identifier=\"\"><\/td>\n<td valign=\"middle\" width=\"388\" style=\"min-width: 388px;\">\n<table cellpadding=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" border=\"0\" align=\"left\" width=\"388\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td align=\"left\" width=\"388\"><b><a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/larrychiang?s=43\" style=\"font-family: Helvetica, Arial, san-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; color: #292c2f; text-decoration: none;\">Larry Chiang, 650-283-8008<\/a><\/b><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td align=\"left\"><a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/larrychiang?s=43\" style=\"font-family: Helvetica, Arial, san-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-decoration: none; color: #7e8c98;\">\u2066\u202a@LarryChiang\u202c\u2069<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"20\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ea.twimg.com\/email\/self_serve\/media\/logo_twitter-1497383721365.png\" height=\"20\" width=\"24\" data-unique-identifier=\"\"><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td height=\"9\" colspan=\"4\" style=\"font-size: 0px; line-height:0px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ea.twimg.com\/self_serve\/media\/spacer_464x1-1582829598167.png\" width=\"464\" height=\"1\" data-unique-identifier=\"\"><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td colspan=\"4\" style=\"font-family: Helvetica, Arial, san-serif;color: #292c2f; font-size: 18px; line-height: 24px; text-decoration: none;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/search?q=%23stramgt353&amp;src=hash\">#stramgt353<\/a>. <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/search?q=%23swe277p&amp;src=hash\">#swe277p<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/OWh3TlIHgk\"><span>pic.x.com\/OWh3TlIHgk<\/span><\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td height=\"3\" colspan=\"4\" style=\"font-size: 0px; line-height:0px;\">&nbsp;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td colspan=\"4\"><a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/larrychiang\/status\/1967429951478796429?s=43\" style=\"font-family: Helvetica, Arial, san-serif;color: #667785; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-decoration:none;\">9\/14\/25, 8:27\u202fPM<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<td width=\"18\" style=\"font-size: 0px; line-height: 0px; min-width: 18px;\">&nbsp;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td colspan=\"3\" style=\"font-size: 0px; line-height: 0px;\" height=\"12\">&nbsp;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p><\/a><\/div>\n<p><br id=\"lineBreakAtBeginningOfSignature\"><\/p>\n<div dir=\"ltr\">\n<div><span style=\"font-size: 17pt; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);\">Chapter 1 to Chapter 14\u2019s an \u201cEaster Egg\u201d at&nbsp;<\/span><span style=\"background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-size: 17pt;\">#ch1 to #ch14. Including #ch2 which\u2019s chapter 2 at my house in Napa California<\/span><\/div>\n<div style=\"display: block;\" class=\"\">\n<div style=\"-webkit-user-select: all; -webkit-user-drag: element; display: inline-block;\" class=\"apple-rich-link\" draggable=\"true\" role=\"link\" data-url=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=ejeIz4EhoJ0\"><a style=\"border-radius:10px;font-family:-apple-system, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;display:block;-webkit-user-select:none;width:300px;user-select:none;-webkit-user-modify:read-only;user-modify:read-only;overflow:hidden;text-decoration:none;\" class=\"lp-rich-link\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=ejeIz4EhoJ0\" dir=\"ltr\" role=\"button\" draggable=\"false\" width=\"300\"><\/p>\n<table style=\"table-layout:fixed;border-collapse:collapse;width:300px;background-color:#E6E6E5;font-family:-apple-system, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;\" class=\"lp-rich-link-emailBaseTable\" cellpadding=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" border=\"0\" width=\"300\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td vertical-align=\"center\" align=\"center\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"width:300px;filter:brightness(0.97);height:225px;\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" draggable=\"false\" class=\"lp-rich-link-mediaImage\" alt=\"hqdefault.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/www.duck9.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/hqdefault-9.jpg\"><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td vertical-align=\"center\">\n<table bgcolor=\"#E6E6E5\" cellpadding=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" width=\"300\" style=\"table-layout:fixed;font-family:-apple-system, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;background-color:rgba(230, 230, 229, 1);-apple-color-filter:initial;\" class=\"lp-rich-link-captionBar\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"padding:8px 0px 8px 0px;\" class=\"lp-rich-link-captionBar-textStackItem\">\n<div style=\"max-width:100%;margin:0px 16px 0px 16px;overflow:hidden;\" class=\"lp-rich-link-captionBar-textStack\">\n<div style=\"word-wrap:break-word;font-weight:500;font-size:12px;overflow:hidden;text-overflow:ellipsis;text-align:left;\" class=\"lp-rich-link-captionBar-textStack-topCaption-leading\"><a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=ejeIz4EhoJ0\" style=\"text-decoration: none\" draggable=\"false\"><font color=\"#000000\" style=\"color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 1);\">What They Will NEVER Teach You at Stanford Business School<\/font><\/a><\/div>\n<div style=\"word-wrap:break-word;font-weight:400;font-size:11px;overflow:hidden;text-overflow:ellipsis;text-align:left;\" class=\"lp-rich-link-captionBar-textStack-bottomCaption-leading\"><a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=ejeIz4EhoJ0\" style=\"text-decoration: none\" draggable=\"false\"><font color=\"#A2A2A9\" style=\"color: rgba(60, 60, 67, 0.6);\">youtube.com<\/font><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n<div><span style=\"background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);\"><br \/><\/span><\/div>\n<div><span style=\"background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);\">On 09-09-39, &#8220;What They Will NEVER Teach You at Stanford Business School&#8221; debuts at 300 w 44th St at New York Fashion Week&#8217;s front row<br \/><span dir=\"ltr\">http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=QXIaNZi3mHQ<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<div><span style=\"background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);\"><br \/>What A Super Model Can Teach a Harvard MBA About Credit&nbsp;<span dir=\"ltr\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.slideshare.net\/larrychiang\/what-a-super-model-can-teach-a-harvard-mba-about-credit\">www.slideshare.net\/larrychiang\/what-a-super-model-can-teach-a-harvard-mba-about-credit<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p>American Express hosts me mentoring you about FICO scores at New York Fashion Week<br \/><span dir=\"ltr\"><a href=\"http:\/\/t.co\/inxTmZAj\">t.co\/inxTmZAj<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p>My video boils down 20,000 hours and moves you to the right on the entrepreneur bell curve&nbsp;<br \/><span dir=\"ltr\">http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=eudADPfTWiE<\/span><br \/><\/span><\/div>\n<div>&nbsp;ME 277: Graduate Design Research Techniques &#8211; Syllabus Overview<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Stanford&#8217;s ME 277 (Mechanical Engineering 277), titled **Graduate Design Research Techniques**, is a project-based graduate-level course offered by the Department of Mechanical Engineering. It emphasizes interdisciplinary collaboration and human-centered design methods, particularly through the Design Thinking framework. The course is typically offered in Autumn and Winter quarters, with 3-4 units of credit. It is graded on a letter basis (A\/B\/C\/D\/NC) and has no specific undergraduate requirements but is aimed at graduate students from engineering, design, and related fields.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Note: Detailed syllabi for Stanford courses like ME 277 are often hosted on Canvas (Stanford&#8217;s learning management system) and accessible only to enrolled students and instructors. Publicly available information is limited to course catalogs and descriptions. Below is a synthesis of the core syllabus elements based on official Stanford resources. For the most current version (e.g., for 2025-2026), contact the instructor or check ExploreCourses.stanford.edu.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Course Description<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Students from diverse backgrounds collaborate on real-world design challenges, applying the Design Thinking process with a strong focus on ethnographic techniques, needfinding, framing, and concept generation. The course uses Design Thinking as a lens to deepen understanding of people and their cultures, treating cultural differences as a source of design inspiration. It recognizes that design is a culturally embedded practice and encourages exploration of global perspectives in engineering innovation.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>&#8211; **Key Themes**: Human-centered design, cultural empathy, iterative problem-solving, and translating user insights into engineering solutions.<\/div>\n<div>&#8211; **Format**: In-person lectures (typically 3-4 hours per week), hands-on workshops, team projects, and field activities (e.g., user interviews, observations). Class size is capped at 30-40 students to foster interactive learning.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Learning Objectives<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>By the end of the course, students will be able to:<\/div>\n<div>&#8211; Conduct ethnographic research to identify unmet user needs in complex, real-world contexts.<\/div>\n<div>&#8211; Frame design problems effectively, incorporating cultural and societal factors.<\/div>\n<div>&#8211; Generate and prototype innovative concepts using collaborative, interdisciplinary methods.<\/div>\n<div>&#8211; Apply Design Thinking iteratively to refine solutions, with an emphasis on empathy and feasibility.<\/div>\n<div>&#8211; Communicate design insights and prototypes through storytelling, visuals, and presentations.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Prerequisites<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>&#8211; None formally required, but prior exposure to basic design or engineering principles is recommended (e.g., introductory courses like ME 101 or equivalent).<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>&#8211; Open to graduate students across Stanford schools (Engineering, d.school, etc.); undergraduates may enroll with instructor permission.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Topics Covered<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>The curriculum is structured around the Design Thinking phases, with a research-oriented twist. Typical weekly topics include:<\/div>\n<div>1. **Introduction to Design Thinking**: Overview of the process, empathy mapping, and cultural influences on design.<\/div>\n<div>2. **Ethnographic Techniques**: Observation methods, interviewing skills, and contextual inquiry.<\/div>\n<div>3. **Needfinding**: Identifying latent needs through user immersion and data synthesis.<\/div>\n<div>4. **Problem Framing**: Reframing challenges, stakeholder analysis, and bias mitigation.<\/div>\n<div>5. **Concept Generation**: Brainstorming, ideation tools, and divergent thinking exercises.<\/div>\n<div>6. **Prototyping and Iteration**: Low-fidelity prototyping, feedback loops, and cultural adaptation.<\/div>\n<div>7. **Advanced Applications**: Scaling designs for global impact, ethics in design research, and case studies from engineering fields (e.g., product design, sustainability).<\/div>\n<div>8. **Project Synthesis**: Integrating research into actionable engineering proposals.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Guest speakers from industry (e.g., IDEO, Google) often contribute to sessions on real-world applications.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Assignments and Assessments<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>The course is heavily project-based, with 70-80% of the grade from team work. Typical breakdown:<\/div>\n<div>&#8211; **Participation and In-Class Activities** (20-30%): Weekly reflections, peer feedback, and workshop contributions.<\/div>\n<div>&#8211; **Needfinding Fieldwork** (20%): Individual or paired ethnographic assignments (e.g., user interviews and reports).<\/div>\n<div>&#8211; **Team Design Project** (40-50%): A semester-long challenge addressing a societal need (e.g., accessible tech for underserved communities). Includes milestones for needfinding, framing, ideation, and a final prototype presentation.<\/div>\n<div>&#8211; **Readings and Reflections** (10-20%): Short essays on design literature (e.g., works by Don Norman or IDEO case studies).<\/div>\n<div>&#8211; **No Final Exam**: Emphasis on practical skills over rote testing.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Projects often culminate in a showcase at the d.school (Stanford&#8217;s Hasso Plattner Institute of Design), with opportunities for external feedback.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Instructors and Logistics<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>&#8211; **Primary Instructors**: Typically Mark Cutkosky (Professor of Mechanical Engineering) or rotating faculty from the d.school, such as Michele Barry or Melody Jia. Teaching assistants support project mentoring.<\/div>\n<div>&#8211; **Meeting Times (Recent Offerings)**:&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div>&nbsp; &#8211; Autumn 2024: Tuesdays\/Thursdays, 11:30 AM &#8211; 1:20 PM (Departmental Room).<\/div>\n<div>&nbsp; &#8211; Winter 2025: Similar schedule.<\/div>\n<div>&#8211; **Location**: Held at the d.school (Building 550) for collaborative spaces.<\/div>\n<div>&#8211; **Resources**: Readings from &#8220;The Design of Everyday Things&#8221; by Don Norman, &#8220;Change by Design&#8221; by Tim Brown, and academic papers on ethnography. Tools include sketching software, prototyping kits, and access to Stanford&#8217;s fabrication labs.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Additional Notes<\/div>\n<div>&#8211; This course is part of Stanford&#8217;s Product Realization sequence and aligns with capstone experiences in mechanical engineering.<\/div>\n<div>&#8211; A cross-listed version (DESIGN 231: Graduate Design Research Techniques) is offered through the d.school, with identical content but potentially different enrollment caps (e.g., 5 seats reserved for Design majors).<\/div>\n<div>&#8211; For historical syllabi, past offerings (e.g., 2018-2019) followed a similar structure, focusing on iterative design cycles.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>If you&#8217;re a Stanford student, log in to Canvas for the full syllabus, slides, and readings. For more details, email the instructor or visit the d.school website (dschool.stanford.edu\/classes).<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>If you\u2019re a UCLA student, Graduate Design Research Techniques at Stanford isn\u2019t as good as my \u201cediting a company as a consultant woth or without permission to turnaround said company #cs183e\u201d or #swe277pe<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp; &nbsp; Larry Chiang, 650-283-8008 \u2066\u202a@LarryChiang\u202c\u2069 #stramgt353. #swe277p pic.x.com\/OWh3TlIHgk &nbsp; 9\/14\/25, 8:27\u202fPM &nbsp; &nbsp; Chapter 1 to Chapter 14\u2019s an \u201cEaster Egg\u201d at&nbsp;#ch1 to #ch14. Including #ch2 which\u2019s chapter 2 at my house in Napa California What They Will NEVER Teach You at Stanford Business School youtube.com On 09-09-39, &#8220;What They Will NEVER Teach You [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":36034,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-36033","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.duck9.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36033","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.duck9.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.duck9.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.duck9.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.duck9.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36033"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.duck9.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36033\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.duck9.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/36034"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.duck9.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36033"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.duck9.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36033"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.duck9.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36033"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}