Project Planning and Management

Steve Traugott, TerraLuna LLC

http://t7a.org

30AUG06Adapted from:

B. Furman 31AUG05

S. Hanssen 01SEP04

About TerraLunat7a.org

• Family-owned international incubator, offices in Santa Clara and China, members include:

– BoJo, Inc. • Mechanical and manufacturing engineering

– CD International Technology Inc.• Aerospace and petroleum infrastructure

– Masten Space Systems• Commercial space transportation systems

– Infrastructures.Org, Wallis International, Netdemons

• Data center architecture consulting and hosting

TerraLuna/BoJo 2006 SJSU Project Offerings

• Pad Printer Completion

• SME Robot Kit

• SME Robot Arm

• Linux/AVR Robotics Controller

• Cable Assembly Bot

• See t7a.org for details

Overview• Conventional project management

– Gantt charts and master schedules– Requirements and deliverables

• Unconventional project management– Iteration and rapid prototyping– Discovering requirements– Discovering solutions

• Melding the two– Satisfying your customers

• Project management futures

Conventional project management

• Requirements and deliverables– Define the problem– Define the customers– Define the expectations

• Gantt charts– Show tasks on a timeline– Show the resources needed to complete them– Show dependencies between tasks– Show the single critical path

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.• The complete set of requirements is the project specification.

Example Project(SME Robot Kit)

“Industrial Mindstorms”• R/C servos

• Linux/AVR controller

• Laser-cut parts– Greatly reduce

machining time

• See t7a.org for details of this and other projects we're offering this year

Requirements Example(SME Robot Kit)

• Develop a kit of inexpensive robot parts, adding COTS servos, controllers, and sensors, for use in small and medium enterprise light manufacturing automation projects.

• Develop and demonstrate sample applications for the kit.

• Establish an open-source community for future growth of the project.

(Example Requirement)The 10th Floor Test

1) Grab a random machine (don't back it up, ever).

2) Throw it out a 10th-floor window.

3) Recover all sysadmin work within 10 minutes: can you?

Deliverables Example(SME Robot Kit)

• Solid models of all parts, servos, and other mechanical elements. (Jim 04/23)

• Source code of any software developed for the project. (Sally 05/01)

• Demonstrate two commercially useful applications of the kit. Show financials. (Zhong 04/15)

• Two complete and identical kits, in carrying case, with documentation, as if for sale. (Larry 05/05)

Requirements and DeliverablesRestated

• Requirement– What the customer wants– Often needs refinement as customer learns

• Industry RFQs usually have this problem

• Deliverables– What the customer gets– Often needs rework as engineer learns

• Technology availability• Changing requirements• Team skillset and equipment

Conventional project management

• Requirements and deliverables– Define the problem– Define the customers– Define the expectations

• Gantt charts– Show tasks on a timeline– Show the resources needed to complete them– Show dependencies between tasks– Show the single critical path

Company X Case: With Automation (actual)

Company X Case: Without Automation (“what if”)

Project Schedule, Simple Template

2004NOVSEP OCT DEC JAN FEB MAR

Proto

AUG

Phase 2 Phase 3

10/9

11/30, trail parts "tooling out"

evaluation and debug, 1wk

5-10 daysDesign Turn/Risk:

- gasket modification - tweak for assembly tooling

Hard Tool GO!

+2 months

7-8 wks

current date

9/1

Stage Tooling

(6 station)12/16

Required Phases

And Check points

Cover Tool Build

(Hanssen)

design closed

Key activities and datesowner

Charting project due dates allows you compare where you are relative to meeting your deadline

Project Schedule, Simple Template

Jul

ManojOrder & receive components for functional drives (machined base plate)

HanssenDesign carriages for phase 1

StacerFlutter and (TMR)

HanssenOrder & receive carriages for phase 1

Apr May

HanssenTest Complete

Drive delivery

StacerOrder & receive carriages for phase 2

HanssenDesign carriages for phase 2

TFA tests (LDV)

Key Activity

Kerner

ownerJun Mar Feb

Design Phase 1

Design Phase 2

20Feb

20May

20May

30Jun

25May

15Jun

15Jul

28Mar

Key activities ranked

Note duration and dates for every activity

Owners identified for each deliverable

Owner Tasks1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2

BackgroundCD & HL Contact Daniel@BojoCD Contact Packaging prog dirHL Contact Idustrial Tech. ChairCD Research packaging companiesHL Research Related IndustriesCD Research Plastic companiesHL Research Materials and propertiesCD & HL Formulate Blister Pack process

Solid ModelingCD & HL Learn SolidworksHL Create 3D Model (SolidWorks)

Tool PrototypeCD Machine Tooling

ExperimentationCD & HL Devise Experiment for blister packsCD Run TestsHL Evaluate resultsCD & HL Finalize process

ModificationCD & HL Design control schemeCD & HL implement controls

TestingCD & HL Run tests on MachineCD & HL Prepare for presentation

September October November December MayJanuary February March April

Project Schedule - Example

Gantt Charts, Restated

• Show tasks on a timeline

• Show the resources needed to complete them

– People, equipment

• Show dependencies between tasks

• Show the critical path

– The single subset of tasks which must all be done in order, can't be overlapped, and will take longest to complete.

– There is always exactly one critical path in any project.

Conventional Project Management Pitfalls

• Front-loaded analysis

– “Analysis paralysis”

• Implementation pushed until late in timeline

– Schedule and cost overruns

• No room to change solution as requirements and deliverables become better understood, and as technology limits are discovered.

• No room to deal with upstream supply issues.

• Good project managers wind up adding a 2X, or even 4X, multiplier on timelines to try to compensate for these and other pitfalls.

Unconventional project management

• Intended for high-risk projects with large uncertainties

– Anything you've never done before

– Any startup in SV area

– Managing systems integration in complex projects

• Iteration and rapid prototyping

– “Fail fast”

• Discovering requirements and deliverables by example

– Helping customers learn requirements, yourself learn solutions

• A growing discipline

– “Agile Project Managment”

– “Extreme Project Managment” (XPM)

– Ref. Wikipedia, Google

Plan to throw the first one away.

Iteration and prototyping....

● Most services and applications depend on others

● Machines and services need to be built in the right order to avoid later rework and expense.

Bootstrapping anInfrastructure

The Design Process

Build a prototype

Evaluate (test)

Iterate

Investigate the background andstate-of-the-art

Formulate the problem statement• What is the problem?• Distill the problem into a concise goal statement

3 wks.

Develop functional specifications 1 wk.

Generate concepts for solutions• Brainstorming• Mock-ups and quick prototypes

Select the most promising concept• Analysis and selection criteria• Design review

3 wks.

Detail design 4-6 wks.Fall

Spring 4-6 wks.

Document 2 wks.

6 wks.

The Design Process, Take 2

Test

Iterate

Investigate prior art

Formulate the problem statement

3 wks.

Develop functional spec 1 wk.

Detail design

Generate conceptsBrainstorming, Quick prototypes

Select the most promising concept

3 wks.

4-6 wks.Fall

Spring 4-6 wks.

Document

2 wks.

6 wks.

Prototype

ActualIdeal

Rapid Prototyping Example(SME Robot Kit)

• Design kit for LEGO-like ease of use; minimal use of tools, rapid assembly and rework.

• Make extensive use of laser-cut parts – cheap, fast, easy to redo.

• Make extensive use of COTS components such as R/C servos.

• Use a general-purpose set of Linux-based software for data acquisition and control, with scripting in Python for easy application-specific changes.

Rapid PrototypingReduces Rework Time

• Conventional machining always takes longer than students expect– Months, not days

– Converting a solid model to metal is a long toolchain: Solidworks, Mastercam, G-Code, Mill, Operator

– Lathes and CNC mills can't be pushed without damaging bits, parts, or both

• Rapid prototyping toolchains are short– Solidworks, dxf, laser cutter (it's a printer)

• Solid modeling reduces rework incidents, but rapid prototyping reduces rework time

Human Factors

• More emphasis on collaboration with stakeholders, less on formal methods

• Listen to your customers

– Help them learn

• Listen to your team members

– Help yourself learn

• Debates happen

– Disagreements are hard work, but can be mined for new and better solutions.

– Avoid polarization; always look for third alternatives

Unconventional project management, restated

• Intended for high-risk projects with large uncertainties

• Iteration and rapid prototyping

• Focus on people, team dynamics

• References

– “Agile Project Managment”

– “Extreme Project Managment” (XPM)

– See Wikipedia, Google

Recap• Conventional project management

– Gantt charts and master schedules– Requirements and deliverables

• Unconventional project management– Iteration and rapid prototyping– Discovering requirements– Discovering solutions

• Melding the two– Satisfying your customers

• Project management futures

Melding the Conventional and Unconventional

• “The customer is always right.”

• Customer might be project manager, VP, client, sponsor, boss, professor, or any combination.

• They will expect to see things done “the right way”, and may not agree with non-traditional techniques.– Their expectation is a deliverable

• It's up to you to reconcile the difference between their style and yours.

• Those who can do this tend to be the most successful in any organization.

Melding the Conventional and Unconventional, cont'd

• Go ahead and make a traditional Gantt chart

– Allow room for iteration, early and often• Iteration can often be described as “prototyping”,

“risk mitigation”, or “proof of concept”, depending on local culture or project manager's style.

• Refer to the Gantt chart periodically, keep it up to date as needed.

• Changing the plan early is cheaper than changing the plan later – update the chart and use it to get stakeholders involved in the change.

Recap• Conventional project management

– Gantt charts and master schedules– Requirements and deliverables

• Unconventional project management– Iteration and rapid prototyping– Discovering requirements– Discovering solutions

• Melding the two– Satisfying your customers

• Project management futures

Project Management Futures:Decision and Prediction Markets

• Use financial instruments representing multiple choices– Allows team or crowd to quickly reach consensus

• on a decision, plan, date, or forecast

– Assigns accountability in the process

• subsumes much of the project management role

– Ties engineering and finance together more sanely

• subsumes much of the middle management role

• Already running @ Google, Microsoft, HP...

• t7a.org market coming online around 15 Sep 06– Incubator management, payroll and bonus pool

• Wikipedia “prediction markets” is a good start.

Getting Started• Define the problem

• Discover the requirements

• Brainstorm solutions

– Design for ease of prototyping

– Think rapid cycle time, many iterations

• Create a Gantt chart

– Prototype or mockup done by Nov 1st. Really.

• Agree on deliverables

– Include who, what, when

• Design, prototype and test solutions

• Repeat

Project Planning and Management

Steve Traugott, TerraLuna LLC

http://t7a.org

30AUG06Adapted from:

B. Furman 31AUG05

S. Hanssen 01SEP04