Project Management
Reflecting upon the management aspects - this was a very important element which would have a large impact upon the success of the project as we learned during the project management workshops. Effective management would be particularly vital due to the project’s multi-faceted nature: the design, build, test and evaluation. It was important to follow the carefully planned schedule in order to accomplish all of the goals.
Sub-teams
In having six team members, this presented a valuable resource providing that it was managed properly. In employing management tools including an action planner, we worked to achieve this. Initially, our delegation skills were slightly uncertain however upon development of the group dynamics and role assignment, we became more efficient in completing work individually or as a sub-team and then reporting back to the whole group. This sub-team strategy was something we made an effort to employ throughout the project, having quickly learned that it was inefficient to have six team members working on the same thing at the same time. In using this method however, extra time and effort was required to ensure everyone was up to date in the event that not everybody could attend a meeting, but all in all it was a good approach to management and was aided by the continual upkeep of the minutes and action planner.
Group Roles
Our group roles were developed based on emerging skill sets of the individual team members and based on some responsibilities which had been picked up by individuals in the early stages. In reflection, we believe that the group dynamic was held stable using the role structure and assisted in delegation. We decided against selecting a project leader, and instead allocated leaders to the various phases of the project. In giving each team member a section of the project, we ensured that there were no gaps in which we would fall through and also gave ech person an area of ownership in which they could strive for perfection. Some of the roles were active in the background throughout this project whilst others were intensive through one section - both leaving room for team workers to input resources when required.
Build Phase
During the construction phase, progress was initially slow due to uncertainty and non-established working processes. In having six team members all present, we soon realised that on some occasions there was not enough work to keep six people occupied at all times. As we each became more confident in our design and the lab capabilities, progress improved and we were able to delegate and complete tasks without necessarily consulting the whole team at every milestone. As work began on the control system, a sub-team was created as it was important to maintain consistency in wiring conventions and to develop a capability with LabVIEW. Again, this had the potential to cause issues in that some team members may not have known every detail of the system but, to combat this, a full explanation was given at every stage and each team member was able to take some involvement in this phase. As the control system extended further than anticipated, this also resulted in some team members attending the lab sessions but having nothing to do. On these occasions we resolved that it would be more useful to look ahead and delegate tasks involving the website and testing procedures.
Testing Phase
As we proceeded to the testing phase, the main challenge was again with utilising our team member resources effectively. As we were set up in a teaching room in the Livingston Tower, we had available resources to be working on the website and documents concurrently. It was definitely useful to have most if not all team members present as the testing procedures did evolve and require discussion.
Work Ethic
As stated in the Statement of Purpose, the hours dedicated to the project should amount to 400 hours per team member. In total, we estimate an average of 450 hours per group member. Through our group and sub-team meetings, supervisor meetings, individual workings, lab work sessions and testing sessions we are confident that the project has been thoroughly concluded and our deliverables and goals achieved.