Project Planning and Management

1. Project Planning and Management Buff Furman 31AUG05 Adapted from S. Hanssen 01SEP04

2. Outline • Design process • Developing the project plan • Managing the project

3. Formulate the problem statement • What is the problem? • Distill the problem into a concise goal statement 3 wks. 3 wks. Investigate the background andstate-of-the-art Develop functional specifications 4-6 wks. 4-6 wks. 1 wk. 2 wks. • Generate concepts for solutions • Brainstorming • Mock-ups and quick prototypes • Select the most promising concept • Analysis and selection criteria • Design review The Design Process Detail design Fall Build a prototype Spring Evaluate (test) 6 wks. Iterate Document

4. Project Plan – ID the Project Requirements • A Project Requirement is… • An objective or goal that must be met • Requirements are the objectives that you will accomplish • Spells out how the project is to be created or completed • A tool for evaluation • Any reviewer will look at the requirements to measure the final qualify of the project. • A “deliverable” at its core • The requirements outline what you will deliver to the team and as a final project • Each deliverable should be measurable • Each deliverable must have an assigned owner and a committed due date • Deliverables may have associated tasks, owners. • Deliverables can have hierarchy (rank or order) • Some deliverables may have risk. If this is the case, a backup or alternate deliverable should be agreed upon.

5. Project Plan –ID the Deliverables • Deliverables are often done in hierarchy and risk • list all the tasks it takes to meet a deliverable • Rank by the lowest risk, most urgent deliverable required to met a specific requirement • Make your list sequential. Each item should bring you closer to completion. • When it gets too difficult, simply break it down in smaller pieces • Make the lowest risk, most urgent deliverables short term • Short term items should be immediate items that are necessary in order to keep the project on time. Instantaneous items, next day or week • Should be clearly achievable and expressed in motivating terms • Can be linked or affect long term deliverables • Make the higher risk, more difficult deliverableslong term • May evolve or change as short term deliverables are realized • Bottom line: long term tasks should represent your final outcome, direction or decision • Overall • A deliverable is a measurable amount of work that will be used to evaluate your work • The goal of any deliverable is to meet the objectives of the requirements

6. Requirements and Deliverable Example Key is to identify what will be delivered, who is the owner, and when will it be done • Disk Drive System Structural Analysis: • requirements: • Phase 1: deliver 3D solid assembly models (25 parts, 4 subassemblies) • owner: J.Sullivan (19Jun) • Phase 2: mesh generation (110k nodes, constraints, and boundary condition normal modes, free-free) • owner: D.Lawson (21Jul) • Phase 3: model debug and results (modal response, 5-20k hz) • owner: D.Lawson (10Aug) • Completion: correlation results and summary (model Vs. prototype mockup), • owner: S.Hanssen (4Sep) • risks: • sample material evaluation for modulus estimation, (D. Lawson, 25Jul) • supplier disclosure of motor adhesive and bonding technique (S.Hanssen, 20Aug) • risk mitigation and countermeasures: • use table values for Phase 2, adjust final parameters by Phase 3 • change motor boundary conditions to match measured damping Key risks were identified and plans put in place to back up risks

7. Requirements and Deliverable Example • Bracket and Cable Design • requirement: deliver a completed Bracket design that will dissipate static charge which releases when it comes in contact the with Cable • owner: Hanssen (design, delivery, risk assessment and final implementation) • completion date: 15Mar • current risks: • failures ( 6% by population ) "Open Heads" failures at STW. • risk mitigation (immediate): owner: T.Hughbanks, 10Jan • implement best practices (ground stations) continue working on design • solution path: • short term deliverables (owner: D.Deleo, closure: 19Jan) • ground flex to threaded inserts • tin backside of flex • add conductive epoxy over insert • laminate flex to bracket • long term deliverables (owner: S.Hanssen, closure: 15Mar): • change bracket to an ESD material (new design, and implementation) identify what will be accomplished, delivered, owner and date Rank according to importance and urgency Final outcome, delivery, date, owner

8. Project Schedule • Schedules, Necessary Items • “Milestone” or completion dates: significant completion dates for deliverables • Key Activities: deliverables that are necessary to met the requirements (don’t list every activity, just those that are critical) • Duration: start to finish for each key activity • Owner: team member who owns the task or deliverable (1 owner) • Establishing check points and milestones • “Working the schedule backwards” • Create a time from now until when the project is due. Or, until a significant piece of work must be due or evaluated. • Enter the dates for the project results “back end delivery dates”. This is the date when your project or results are due • Block out dates when work can’t be done. For example, system maintenance over holidays. • Fill in the duration for the key activities related to each deliverable until the schedule is completed. • Assign a owner for each activity • Tracking progress on a regular basis • Schedules are not “to-do” lists. They are for tracking the project progress relative to the agreed dates for the deliverables. • Indicate status with vertical lines on the Gantt chart

9. Project Schedule, Simple Template Key activities ranked 20Feb 28Mar Design Phase 1 25May 20May 20May Design Phase 2 30Jun 15Jun 15Jul Note duration and dates for every activity Owners identified for each deliverable

10. Project Schedule, Simple Template 2004 MAR OCT NOV DEC FEB JAN SEP AUG Proto Phase 2 Phase 3 Required Phases And Check points Charting project due dates allows you compare where you are relative to meeting your deadline design closed Cover Tool Build (Hanssen) 10/9 7-8 wks Stage Tooling (6 station) 11/30, trail parts "tooling out" Key activities and dates 12/16 owner evaluation and debug, 1wk Design Turn/Risk: - gasket modification - tweak for assembly tooling 5-10 days Hard Tool GO! current date 9/1 +2 months

11. Project Schedule - Example

12. Summary • Basic Methodologies to get you started • Begin by delineating your requirements and deliverables • What problem are you trying to solve? What’s your goal? • Make sure your requirements and deliverables are crisp and clear • Deliverables are what evaluators will use to measure your work. They need to be measurable. • Deliverables must have owners and dates and can have rank and risk • Use a schedule to track your progress. • Make sure the key elements are included at a minimum (Milestones, Activities, Duration, and Owners) • Project Roadmaps • Ultimately the delivery of your project is what’s important, but the formulation and the method of achieving your goal is done by careful project planning. • The acceptance, approval “buy-in” and the measure of success your project will have is most often determined by the planning you do.