Learning targets
- Explain why an engineering notebook is the permanent, primary record of a project.
- Tell an exemplary entry from an unacceptable one and say why.
- Describe what “enough detail to reproduce” means.
A permanent record
An engineering notebook captures the process — ideas, designs, experiments, observations, failures and decisions — as they happen. It is the primary record of what went on in the design setting, so someone else could follow your work later.
- Ideas and invention insights
- Designs and sketches
- Experiments and data
- Problems and how you solved them
What reviewers look for
A strong page is dated, titled, has a purpose, shows reasoning with numbers and units, includes labeled sketches or tables, credits sources, and is signed. A weak page has fragments of ideas, no dates, no evidence, and leaves room to add things later.
In ScribEN
Drafts are editable; when you commit, ScribEN numbers the page, stamps the server date and locks it. Corrections are added as dated amendments so the original always shows.
Second-year extension:
- Explain how a notebook supports intellectual-property and team decisions.
- Use the rubric to judge a page on Development and Organization.