SYDE 361Systems Design Methods 1: Needs Analysis and Prototyping

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From 45 ratings and 10 comments on UW Flow. The most helpful comments, quoted as written, without names. Read them all on UW Flow.

• i have to interview a tree and pretend like i hear the tree talking back and write a 10 page assignment on it

  Jun 2026 · didn’t like it · 2 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this

• Prof. Young and Prof. Roufail had to be the worst combo to teach this course in history. There was no structure at all, the course was made up as we went along, and the results of students' projects displayed that. Excuse this course as it is nowhere close to industry-practice EE/ME prototyping. Sustainability is preached in this course yet we learned to waste more material than ever before in our undergraduate degree so far.

  Aug 2024 · didn’t like it · 1 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this

• The course claimed to encourage experimentation and thinking outside the box, but students were often constrained to one specific interpretation of what the instructors wanted, even when those expectations had not been clearly explained. The critique process was discouraging rather than constructive. Ideas were sometimes met with jokes or dismissive remarks, and groups were compared against one another instead of receiving clear, actionable feedback on how to improve their own work.
  The final project was assigned approximately one month before the end of the term, yet the class was criticized as though we had completed everything at the last minute?? Students were balancing several other…

  Aug 2026 · didn’t like itOn UW FlowRemove this

• This is a high school English class, not a design class. We had circle discussions on different niche forms of literature that the professor enjoyed and we had to stretch to relating to design. The course brought up very valid questions regarding whether engineers were really designing to serve society or rather than optimizing for corporations. I felt there were good discussions, however the course felt very much like an indoctrination session of the professor's ideology. I wish the course actually had us learn methods to ensure that engineering could be used to design for good, but instead I came out of the class feeling like my tuition was went towards retaking a grade 12 English class.…

  Jul 2026 · didn’t like itOn UW FlowRemove this

• I would have liked SYDE 361 to be taught by anyone else as I really did want to learn more about prototyping hardware, but Borland's new style of teaching the course has grown on me. Even though the 'circle' conversations are mostly irrelevant to prototyping, I still appreciate that he tries to talk with his students in a vulnerable manner. Not useful for prototyping, but useful for my mental sanity. It's very refreshing in a sea of other technical courses.

  Jun 2026 · liked itOn UW FlowRemove this