EP1000

Project Management

The objective of this module is to help you manage the development of your project. Every project is usually limited, in its success, by the time allocated and the measure of completeness.

Given unlimited time and resources, any project can be completed. However this is not the case in the real-world.

Hence, before it is good to have a plan or series of tasks which we need to follow to reach our objective. This is Project Management.

Project Management

Project management helps you plan and execute your tasks that lead to the success of your project. In short, it is the management of

• Scope
  This determines how much you can do in your project and is usually a function of time. Given time, anything is achievable.
• Time
  How much time do you have to complete your project. This is the main factor in most projects. The management of time is perhaps, the most important aspects of project management.
• Resources
  This is the material, personnel, situations that you have to work with. Think about a project to build a wall, before you can even start, you need to assess what materials are required, order and have it delivered, well before you can even start to build.
• Results
  Everyone looks for a successful project. What happens if you do not have enough time or resources, what can you show to qualify what you have done.

Project management tools

There are tools that can help us manage our project. The tools allow us to plan, scope and measure our progress through the project.

• GanttProject
  A traditional-style Gantt project management system, open-source, good for managing large projects.
• Trello
  A new style, with a snappy interface for quick viewing of tasks and issues for a project group. This is ideal for your project in the module.

Ideas/References that may help you plan your project

• Spiral development
  This project management style looks at how much you can achieve given a set amount of time to each task. Once the time is up, you should move on towards the next step, regardless of whether the previous step was entirely successful. In this manner, the project gets completed, but may have certain areas that are not wholly completed.
• Prototyping: iterative vs parallel
  Good article on how prototypes are completed. At times you need to use a trial-and-error-repeat style, while at times your team can work at different aspects of the project at the same time.
• Mythical man-month
  Essays on project management by Fred Brooks. Basically, the central theme is adding more personnel to a later project does not finish the project faster. Analogously speaking: It takes 9 months to conceive a baby, adding more people does not make it any faster.

Workflow

We suggest the following workflow for your project

1. Research
   Research and review what you want to do. The Internet is a great resource. Think about
   • what needs to be done
   • has it been done before, where and by whom
   • what still needs to be improved
2. Sketch
   Once you have your “idea”, sketch it out on paper. A sketch helps you visualize your idea. It also puts into perspective what you need to do and the resources you need to complete it. Once you have sketched it out, the idea will begin to take shape into an actual product.
   Remember to add dimensions to your sketch before you finish.

3. Fabricate
   Make the product. A simple way to get started is to create a cardboard prototype. The prototype helps you visualize your product and keeps you on track to the tasks on hand. A cardboard prototype is easy to make and can be changed on the go to accommodate physical problems.
   You can then begin to think about the actual fabrication using digital fabrication techniques using

   • 3D printing
   • Laser cutting
   • Adding electronics or control to your product.
4. Test
   Give yourself sufficient time to test the product and to make small changes and final tuning to obtain the result that you want. if you test early you can make changes that can help evolve the design or the final behaviors that you want. In order to test early, create the prototype early. (Its a chicken-and-egg problem).

5. Document
   Documentation plays a large role in Project Management. With documentation, you can

   • measure your progress
   • show where you were right
   • show where you went wrong (to learn, and not repeat it)
   • allows you to replicate your idea/work if there is a catastrophe

   You should document as-you-go rather than after you have completed a task. It’s difficult, but it’s a habit that we should form.

   Good tools to help you in your documentation:

   1. write in text
   2. choose a documentation method that is portable
   3. take photographs and explain them
   4. use sketches

   A major problem in student’s documentation is that they use too many photographs (or a video) to document their work. A picture may be worth a thousand words, but if you don’t know what you are looking for, all you see is a picture. Each photograph or illustration should have some text explaining what you are supposed to observe. Photographs should be a tool to help you visualize your thoughts and actions, but you still have to explain them.

Project requirements

You are free to choose whatever project you would like to complete as your module project, however, it must fulfill the following requirements:

1. Documentation - Idea, Construction, How-do, Instruction manual
2. CADD and/or Digital graphic components (vector/raster)
3. 2D cutting and engraving
4. 3D printed part
5. Embedded control using a microcontroller with
   • input(s)
   • output(s)

If you are working with electronics and microcontrollers for the first time, I strongly suggest that you look for a project that has been done before and modify it.

The following are some project suggestions:

1. Mood lamp, a lamp which changes color based on environment, light or if someone walks near
2. Information display which displays environment readings e.g. temperature, humidity, time
3. Automated tea maker able to make the correct tea brew with a tea bag
4. You have to wash your hands for at least 20 seconds - a system to remind you, when you are at the sink.
5. Contact-less Hand sanitizer dispenser, just place your hand under the nozzle.
6. USB controlled volume adjustment for your laptop
7. Multi-tone doorbell/intruder alert to your private spaces
8. Most Useless Machine Ever Project

 

Assignment

The assignment for this class is Assignment 3 Project Management. You will be required to

• Research and select a project of your choice
• Develop a plan to complete the project within 4 weeks

Remember to document your work and research.

 

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October 2020