Project Management and FIRST?

[crazykid234]

I have a question for any teams that have tried to implement some amount of project management during the six weeks:

Did you find it was worth the time to continually evaluate which portions of the robot were behind schedule and reassign people as needed, or did everyone just work really hard and it got done that way? I had an internship this past year where they used project management extensively and I'd like to try a similar system on 1646, but I worry that with our short schedule it's not worth the effort. Any thoughts?

[Phalanx]

Using project management during build season can be huge benefit to your team. You will see what areas are falling behind, who's lagging, who's dependent on who. Using Gant charts makes an excellent visual representation as well so everyone can see it, especially the time lines.

We have tried to teach project management so we can use it during build season for the reasons above. Unfortunately, most folks involved do not want to invest or spend the time to update their progress and tasks. This is especially true during build season when everyone is pressed for time.

If you can do it and accomplish it, then by all means do. It will be well worth it in the end. Additionally you will learn how and where to improve your teams efficiency, planning and scheduling, not only during build but even for other non build projects now and in the future.

My suggestion would be to assign a "Project Manager" who's job it is to gather the information and feedback from the others and keep the project management tool information up to date, since it is difficult to get the builders, etc.. to update it themselves.

This is how things get done in large organizations that require multiple teams and divisions to work independently and together to reach specific time constrained goals.

If you looking for an excellent open source project management tool check this one out. http://www.dotproject.net/

[David Brinza]

A least some form of "top-level" schedule should be put together before the kick-off. Perhaps you break the robot up into subsystems: chassis/drive train, electronics board, prototype manipulators, etc. and plan parallel work effort in these areas. If the chassis/drive gets done early, you can divert those students to the manipulators or some other portion that's lagging. There's also building of field elements, acquiring game pieces, putting the chairman's, Woodie Flower' awards together. Assigning people to these tasks, assessing progress and "redeploying" labor on a weekly basis is project management.

There's also budget to be managed - cost of spare parts, materials, tools, t-shirts, give-aways, travel,... Establishing the team's budget and making sure one or more of the cost elements isn't getting out of hand is important. That's part of project management too.

The SCRRF workshops held at CSUN in early-November had a very good session on project management given by Ian Cannon of Pratt-Whitney (formerly known as Rocketdyne, the builder's of rocket engines). His concluding remark was:

"Fail to plan and you can plan to fail!"

You don't need a super-detailed network schedule to build a robot that is tracked hour-by-hour, but you need something to gauge your progress. Otherwise, you may realize in the last week that you're in big trouble.

BTW at last night's team meeting our students (only 5 were there) were tasked with putting together the week-by-week top-level schedule. They finished it in an hour. It was only a half-page long, but it was adequate for a starting point. Students and mentors agreed it was a worthwhile exercise. Is it realistic and achievable? Perhaps the fact that the students created this will give them a sense of ownership and motivate them to "do what they said"!

[technoL]

We tried to implement Gantt charts last year, but eventually it was impossible to stay on track. Everything was planned out before the season started, and then the chart was adjusted and customized once we had a robot design (which ended up being a problem because the design was changed several times). It was rather effective up to week 3.

I have been thinking of ways to revise last year's organizational system to make sure that it will actually be effective. Some of my priorities are:
1. Cover all tasks according to level of significance
2. Assign people to specific tasks
3. Demonstrating progress/ show completed or unfinished tasks and percentage done
4. Make sure that the system is regularly updated and the team actually refers back to it

I think project management can work in FIRST and is worth the effort if it can be used effectively because it'll definitely make things run smoother. It requires dedication from the entire team, as it is too easy just to give it up and revert back to old methods. Evaluate your biggest challenge with organization during the season, and create a system that works for you from there.

[StephLee]

We had a Gant chart last year, but we ended up not looking at it after we made it. It was helpful for prioritizing since everyone knew which systems we were putting the most emphasis on, but we didn't stick to it very well.

What ends up happening on our team is, all the mentors and some of the students have individual mental timelines for when things should be finished; if things aren't getting finished, then someone talks to the group working on that system, or steps in and helps them if that's what's needed. It gets a little confusing, but I think last year's attempt at making an official chart plus the experiences of the previous two years helped keep us on track (somewhat).

[piper]

From a teacher/coach point of view, I consider project management one of the most important elements of the build season. We get a little bit better at it each year and have a designated Project Manager and Systems Engineer that handles these responsibilites. As a result of this increase in planning management our build season has lost the sense of panic and desperation that characterized our first couple years of involvement with FIRST. We've also gained some valuable skills and insights as to how it's really done in the real world. This year we'll utilize a gantt chart/design matrix and regular design reviews to make sure we are staying on track. It may seem that these are added extra things that take up more time, but believe me they end up saving hours in the end.

[EricH]

We do have a schedule. However, sometimes it isn't formalized. We decide early what we want to do during the match, then what to focus on. For example, last year, rings won out over ramps. We spent two to three weeks on a prototype that could have ramps added if needed. Once the kinks were being ironed out, we started on ramp design.

If something is coming along late, or we aren't sure it'll work, a "tiger team" will form to evaluate options and make a reserve decision. One of those was responsible for the decision to have ramps on the sides last year; then the engineers started doing the design.

In general, we know about where we should be at any given point, but we are somewhat flexible due to possible delays in parts arriving.

[Liz Smith]

There has been some great feedback of where teams have and have not had success with the implementation of project management. I think there are some important aspects of the original post which should be brought up.

Originally Posted by crazykid234

I had an internship this past year where they used project management extensively...

Project management is used in many industries. I think that should play a part into the answer to your question. You utilized and maybe learned about project management in your internship, that knowledge could probably benefit some of the students on the team. Whether or not a strict schedule you create and update is followed during the build season, I think an introduction to project management could prove to be beneficial learning experience.

Originally Posted by crazykid234

I worry that with our short schedule it's not worth the effort.

As brought up in previous posts, maybe a simplified schedule could be useful. With tools like Gantt Charts I think they can been a useful resource. In one of my engineering courses my freshman year in college I learned how to use MS Project. I introduced it to one of the teams I was helping with last summer. It was a completely new thing for them. They used them, at least in the beginning of the season and even though they weren't used religiously the team now knows what Gantt Charts are, how they work, how they can be useful, how to use them, and have knowledge they didn't have before. I think even just that makes it worth it.

[RyanCahoon]

Our team last year attempted to use a deadline system, but it was not formalized to enough detail, only including such coarse deadlines as drive-base finished, and so we still ran into the typical problem of programmers got 2 days to write their code. While I agree that too much red tape inhibits efficiency, some subdividing of the process is needed to be effective.

This year, the team has moved to using a wiki. While it doesn't have a defined structure, we've found it actually works better for our subteam leaders as they are able to create their own displays that are customized to their needs, while still staying simple to use. From there, it just becomes management issue for the mentors and upper leadership to make sure the leaders are keeping the wiki pages up to date.

--Ryan

[IndySam]

You have to have one person devoted to making sure needed tasks get accomplished and that the overall project stays on track. It’s the only way to manage a project and keep it on task. It’s amazing how much time can be wasted at the beginning of a meeting just trying to figure out what needs to be done.

Last year I kept it all in my head and I used a system of punch charts to show what needed to be accomplished. It was easy for the sub-team leaders and crews to look at these lists at see what work needed to be done. It worked well.

This year I’m going to use Gantt charts so people can see what’s rolling around in my head. I am going to require the student leaders to keep me posted on progress and this year we will produce the daily lists together. I am hoping that by the end of the second week the leaders are doing most of the work themselves. I think it’s going to be a great learning experience for us all.

[Tim Delles]

Hrmmm finally a discussion about my minor...

Project Management is a huge part of having a successful build season. With proper implementation and use of Management a robot can be designed, built, programmed, etc within the more strict timelines (im pretty sure that if this year Dean said you had to build a robot in 4 weeks instead of 6, we could all do it... and for some we could tell which teams had good management)

Did you find it was worth the time to continually evaluate which portions of the robot were behind schedule and reassign people as needed, or did everyone just work really hard and it got done that way?

Yes this is very mcuh worth your time. We have found that with good management you can go from the design (after everything has been designed, put into detailed drawings) to an actual robot in about 4 days... THIS IS NO JOKE.. With about 15 kids working on the robot for 5 hours a day (each one pre-assigned to fit there best skills) you have plenty of time as long as you have all other resources necessary. (we had about 4 kids laying out all the parts, about 9 machining, and 2 kids assembling)

Not only are we going to be making sure we have a Project Manager, we will also be having:

Layouts Head - This person is in charge of making sure there are detailed designs of all parts and that these designs are put on a story board for the manufacturers.

Manufacturing Head - This person is in charge of making sure parts are manufactured in a way that will increase productivity and decrease overall machining time

Assembly Head - This person oversees the entire assembly process. Works with the manufacturing head to make sure parts are made that are needed in the assembly of certain parts on specified days.

Project Manager - Responsible for the overall management of the Production Process in the Spring.

Let me know if you have any more questions

[ChrisH]

Originally Posted by technoL

We tried to implement Gantt charts last year, but eventually it was impossible to stay on track. Everything was planned out before the season started, and then the chart was adjusted and customized once we had a robot design (which ended up being a problem because the design was changed several times).

Emphasis mine

There's your biggest problem right there. It is better to spend a few extra days figuring out what you REALLY want to build then go at it full bore, then to dance around trying to get one of three or four ideas to work.

We have learned that we can build a robot in two weeks or less IF we know exactly what we want to build. So we spend a lot of time prototyping and figuring out details before we start cutting metal. We actually build our practice robot first and apply the lessons learned to the "real" robot.

[Michael Sperber]

FRC is a case-study in Project Management.... it has a clearly defined goal (even multiple goals), a clearly defined budget, a clearly defined end date and a defined set of resources (facilities and people)... Everything that you need to have a successful project.

However, one of the most important things in managing and executing ANY project is not any of the things I touched on... The single most important thing that defines the success of ANY project is COMMUNICATION.

Good communication is not a guarantee of success, but bad communication is almost a guarantee of failure. (OK, a very strong statement, but I hope you understand what I am trying to say.)

No matter how you and your team choose to manage things, make sure everyone on the team buys into the process and communicate. In your communication, think of the following: clear, concise, open, frequent and honest.

-mike

[crazykid234]

wow, thanks everyone! This is way more response than I was hoping for, not to mention very positive responses! I'm very excited to see how the build season works out this year. On a side note, has anyone ever made a formal white paper laying out some kind of project management template specifically for FIRST teams? If nobody has before, I'd like to create one, I just don't want to duplicate somebody else's work.

Thanks again!

[Stephen Kowski]

Originally Posted by crazykid234

I have a question for any teams that have tried to implement some amount of project management during the six weeks:

Did you find it was worth the time to continually evaluate which portions of the robot were behind schedule and reassign people as needed, or did everyone just work really hard and it got done that way? I had an internship this past year where they used project management extensively and I'd like to try a similar system on 1646, but I worry that with our short schedule it's not worth the effort. Any thoughts?

Normally I setup a schedule and try to keep up with it. This year we were only a day or two off, but everything turned out fine. Since we were doing a collaboration it was understood what group was working on what and there was no real need to reassign people.

I would say it is definitely worth it so you don't lose perspective on the big picture. Knowing you are behind in week two or three is HUGE!!! At that point you still have a good amount of time to fix it. If you didn't have a schedule you wouldn't know where you were time-wise.

Also, we used google spreadsheets to map out our timeline here: http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?k...xrcxlwnbQN-bJA (if you like it, feel free to pilfer, just let me know I'd love to see improvements)

Good luck I DEFINITELY think it helps!!