P10041 Managerial Review

1. P10041 Managerial Review

2. MSD 2 Primary Objectives • Finalize Designs • Prototype Designs • Finalize Bill of Materials • Make and follow a budget • Test all kits following test plans • Mitigation of kit risks • Creation of kit documentation • Determine fulfillment of customer needs • Evaluate successes and failures • Create a team project poster • Write technical paper • Update EDGE

3. MSD II Project Plan

4. Project Plan Evaluation • All MSD1 action items closed (finalize kit designs, BOMs, test plans) • Last minute design changes caused some parts to be ordered late • Prototyping successfully completed on time • Kit documentation still in development • Some lesson plans in progress, some assembly plans need refinement • Testing not completed fully due to failure to attain access to classroom • All completed testing has been documented • Poster and technical paper both completed on time • EDGE continuously and fully updated

5. Causes • Most of these deviances result from the delay caused by being behind in MSD1 • Needing to reconfigure activity hardware at the beginning of MSD2 • Not enough time to build multiple kits • Kits weren’t finished with enough time to schedule classroom visitation

6. What we would do differently • Contact teachers regardless of kit completion so that it would be feasible to schedule an appointment for in-class testing • Try to interface more to work collectively on each kit, this was a challenge though due to the amount of work required for each kit and the limited time available due to our other full-time job (School). • Before ordering materials have a meeting to discuss ordering common parts for each kit.

7. Customer Needs Checklist • Kits must operate safely in a classroom environment • Kits must relate music and sound to engineering concepts and design • Kits must be portable and durable • Kits must be usable by groups of up to 30 students • Quick set up and storage • Kits must be well documented

8. Xylophone Kit Individual Project Status • Testing • Completed: dB level, life expectancy, weight and dimension, turnover time • Not Completed: classroom implementation, time to familiarize • All completed testing is documented but needs to be updated to EDGE by Wednesday night • Kit Documentation • Completed: lesson plan, activity handouts, assembly plan, visit checklist • In Progress: creating pdfs of all documents • Hardware • Products for Science Industries is assembling and when completed I will be picking them up.

9. Xylophone Kit Individual Project Status • Personal responsibilities • Project organization (EDGE, templates) • Xylophone Kit • Bar construction • Base construction • Kit documentation • Kit testing • Starting the tech paper • Compared to the original project plan • I am behind schedule with the testing since it was not all completed • I am behind on completing all of the micro-kits since an outside company is assembling them

10. Xylophone kit Design Strong Points • Highly Portable • No small parts that can go missing • Zero replenishment cost barring damages • Offers multiple test scenarios • Acrylic base looks professional and has more of a “wow” factor Design Weak Points • Sounds produced were not designed to be harmonic in nature as focus was on material properties • Base material is more brittle and has a slightly higher possibility to break

11. Electronic Keyboard Kit Individual Project Status • Personal responsibilities • Help update project plan, and various group document templates • Electronic Keyboard Kit • Microcontroller Integration and Programming • Oscillator Testing • Filter Design • Amplifier Design • Synth Shield Design, Plan of Layout • MSD1 Project Plan • Plan was too ambitious; I did not have enough time to finalize the kit design, plus it was requested that I change design • MSD2 Project Plan • I am following the team MSD2 plan, with my own testing requirements

12. Electronic Keyboard Kit Individual Project Status • Plan for MSD2 • Finish up all MSD1 action items • Follow project plan to complete all testing, building, and document writing • Test Plan Completed • What I would have done differently • Not wasted time on Analog design since it is not the industry standard anyway • Made a meeting agenda/action item template to maximize efficiency of the team’s time together

13. Electronic Keyboard kit Design Strong Points • Highly Portable • Offers multiple test scenarios • Offers multiple design variables • Stresses engineering principles of design, testing, and teamwork • Allows a meshing of creativity and ingenuity • Limited interaction with required circuit components ensures durability Design Weak Points • Batteries drain disproportionately due to +9V rail also powering microcontroller • 8 keys do not allow for playing a multitude of songs • Lack of quality enclosure leaves kit potentially vulnerable to fall or misuse damage. • Vulnerable to damage if incorrect battery lead plugged into Synth. Shield • Will require some replenishment funds to purchase new batteries after several uses

14. Hearing Aid Kit Individual Project Status • Testing • Completed: dB level, life expectancy, weight and dimension, turnover time • Not Completed: classroom implementation, time to familiarize • All completed testing is documented • Kit Documentation • Completed: lesson plan, activity handouts, assembly plan, visit checklist • Hardware • Completed: all

15. Hearing Aid Kit Individual Project Status • Personal responsibilities • Project organization (EDGE, templates) • Hearing Aid Kit • Speaker stand design and construction • Circuit assembly and verification • Kit documentation • Kit testing • Starting the Poster • Compared to the original project plan • I am behind schedule with the testing since it was not all completed • I am on track with everything else

16. Hearing Aid kit Design Strong Points • Highly Portable • Kid Friendly • Ease of circuit manipulation • Durable • Snap Circuit has “wow” factor when compared with a breadboard circuit • Zero replenishment cost barring damages • Maximum output level not as high as other kits • Activity won’t be overwhelmingly loud when in a classroom Design Weak Points • Maximum output level not as high as other kits • Changes in volume may be hard to hear • Snap Circuits are not customizable • Can’t add resistor values to create a bigger range of volumes

17. Testing Engineering Specs

18. Budget Overview • $2,250 Allotment • Some unnecessary purchases were made, decreasing budget performance • Still anticipate being under budget (Shipping costs omitted but have little effect)

19. Project wrap-up Successes • Created 3 functional kits • Met the majority of customer needs/specs • See Completed Test Plans on Edge (Seperated By Kit) • Assembly Plans Have a Strong Foundation • Stayed within budget • Improved quality of kits by using kid-friendly hardware • i.e. PCB with sockets, snap circuits Failures • Electric Guitar Kit • Unable to complete in-class testing • Never found a solution for having to work individually • Overall quality reduced as a result • Did not manage budget perfectly due to limited group interfacing and rushed design fabrication

20. Possible Future Work • In-class testing of activities and lesson plans • Xylophone Kit • Add more bar materials • Add more types of mallets • Replace 3” bar with an 8” bar • Obtain more scales so each group can have one •  Electronic Keyboard Kit • Expansion into polyphonic tone generation to demonstrate harmonic combinations • Physical Key Integration • Professional Style Enclosure Integration • Expansion of number of keys to allow higher function • (Multiplexing Input Push Buttons) •  Hearing Aid Kit • Design a new amplifier to allow for a greater volume gain • Improve snap to speaker connection

21. Lessons Learned • Document everything • Have a realistic project plan and stick to it • Working together is a lot more productive and beneficial than working separately • Sometimes the most familiar method is not the best method, thus it is intelligent to perform thorough concept generation