Recording your work is extremely important in some cases, but not all cases. It makes sense to record all instances of variability in work into one log because it serves as a tool for other people in the team to refer back to, or to build historical data out of. For example, the tooling and die industry has a process for designing die profiles that are made from tribal knowledge. That was the case in my prior job. The variability in die design is such that PhD students constantly base their thesis on standardizing die profile designs because there aren't much literature to explain a scientific method for creating these tools without investing a lot of money into it. So, I was tasked as an engineer to gather data on correlations in die designs such as geometry and die thickness in order to find trends that explained why some die design profiles work, and why others don't. One of the PhD students helped to build an interactive interface that tied together the trends from the data I collected. I found that records which kept traces of this tribal knowledge over the years surmounted into a wealthy database of information that helped the company build a system which predicted die design profiles. If that information was not recorded somewhere, it would not have helped the company.
I agree that logging work is important especially when there are new employees at work as well as when there are audits going on. When I used to work at a research lab, there were different notebooks used for different procedures to note who did the procedure at what time. The results were also noted and signed by the person doing the procedure. When certain results were needed for a procedure and they weren’t found, you could check the notebook to see who did the procedure and where the results were. This was super beneficial because it helped new employees with good habits of logging in results and getting used to the procedure. It also helps when certain people leave the company, you can tell if it was their work or someone else because of the logbook. Logging in work also helps when FDA or auditors come to check everything, you can go to the notebook and check who did it and find the results that way. Currently where I work, it’s harder to tell who did what task because there aren’t logbooks/notebooks.
According to the lecture for this week, logging work is important because it can be usefully when new employees come to work on the project or when starting a new project, logs can help as a guidance of not making the same mistakes.
I know when I worked in a research lab, I would have to write down what I did on that day, such as the procedure I followed and time at which the experiment was executed. Then, if a new person came into the lab, I would who him or her the lab notebook.
Moreover, when I worked on capstone project of creating a mobile application, we had tons of scripts. So, to remember what function is what in a script, my team and I started commenting the code. The script first started with a block comment, which had the person who worked on it, the what the script did and when the code was last updated. Then, each method or function that was used in the script was commented.Share an experience when keeping a log of the work you did on a project either at work or school helped you out in some way.
Properly documenting things well has multiple benefits. First, it allows for you personally to keep track of decisions that were made so you can reference that information later on in the project. Second, it allows for new team members to quickly get up to speed and understand what progress was made before they joined the project. Finally, it allows for individuals to know what decisions were made throughout the course of the project long after the project has been finished. I work on a sustaining team within my company, so I can absolutely echo the importance of logging work well. When I need to update a design of something or make updates to documents, I definitely appreciate well-documented work because I can clearly understand why decisions were made and why a device is designed the way it was. On the other hand, when information is not well documented, it makes it very difficult to know why things are the way they are.
Based on my personal experience during undergrad, Logging in my work came in handy especially
when I was working on my senior design project. Senior design projects were done in groups of 5, so
it was much easier to log everything into a binder/shared google drive, so all team members were
on the same page. Also, at work, they take logging daily tasks performed daily. For example, we
have paperwork that we use as guidance for our daily tasks that we run in the lab, and after every
step in the task completed, the analyst has to confirm that all the steps were performed by initialing
and writing the date. This way the company can keep track of team members responsible for each
assignment.
Logging work proved to be very useful in my job when I was helping develop a Design Verification test. My team and I were tasked with creating a test to measure the degree of spallation (tiny particulates breaking off of a material) of clear PVC tubing after the tubing had been repeatedly compressed in a roller pump for 6 hours. We also had to determine which one of the tubings our company sold, which varied in diameter, wall thickness, coating, and other properties, resulted in the worst-case result. Developing this test involved a lot of trial-and-error, and logging what we changed in each execution in a laboratory notebook was important so we knew exactly what we tried already, and what worked and didn't work. Since this test took at least a full 8-hour work day to execute, it was even more critical that we kept track of what work had been done already to avoid repeating the same mistakes and letting another whole work day go to waste. In general, logging your work is essential in the medical device industry, but especially when conducting work in the lab, in order to have a documented record that not only you, but someone not working on your project (including an auditor) can reference.
Working for Biotronik I was required to keep tabs on all my updates I have done during my time there for each project I worked on to be discussed during lab meetings. During this time I would include print outs of new changes I have added over the weeks to back track on what edits I have done to any scripts I have written as well as their new values and outputs. Not only did I keep written documentation on my work log, but I also added documentation to my scripts to describe the reasoning for the changes I have done as well as well as keep tabs on whether or not I have to redo those changes or revert to original.
Similarly to your example about your capstone project, I too have been extensively commenting code that I have written for my Master’s thesis. I am working on a prototype of a diagnostic device, and I have been building the different features in smaller scripts so I can run them quickly. Then when I return to the script for the device, I have to remember what each section of the code is doing and where I need to implement the code that I wrote. Using comments means that I do not have to waste time combing through the code remembering what each section is doing and what I need to change. This has also helped me when I was working on a different project, where it was me and another person. We were each working on the same bit of code, and making sure that we understood the changes that the other one implemented was important to make sure that the code was properly commented and documented.
In my experience logging work is very helpful and essential part of every day routine. As a service engineer and Clinical application specialist writing a Report to keep a record for every part or problem that was faced in that particular site for that particular instrument. This loge gives the history of the instrument to help business analysis is it cost or service effective or maybe both. When a new engineer joined the company, these record was given to them to help them understand what are the main issues we are facing, and how each problem was solved. on the other hand, Managers used these data to see how often some problems happened, is it user misuse or hardware failure, How much part cost Vs how many we make from them..etc.
One experience in which keeping a log helped me out was in a research lab setting. In research, it is crucial to keep a lab journal, where many aspects are recorded, whether it be important or trivial. I would record every lab protocol change and every question that I had on my mind. For one experiment, I had to tweak a lab protocol and so I recorded it. When I was asked by a fellow researcher how I performed those experiments, I was easily able to go back to my lab journal and lay out each step clearly. Additionally, writing notes on the changes in protocol is also important, so whoever is reading it can follow your logic. If my lab journal was not as clear or detailed, then it would have been much more difficult to explain the protocol to others, or recall it myself.
My personal experiences regarding logging work are very similar to many of the replies on this thread. For my capstone project last semester, we had to test all of our components of the project in a research lab. Because there were so many different variables to take into account, it would be almost impossible to know which part of the project was successful during testing without tracking every single trial. At first, our logs were unorganized, mostly scribbles on a piece of paper in a lab notebook. As we did more and more trials, we realized how important it was to have a system, recording all of the tests in the most organized way possible.
Similarly, I have been required to take at least one lab class for the majority of my undergraduate semesters. These labs typically revolve around trial and error, especially when coding is involved. When coding, usually using MATLAB software, it is important to know which part of the code is working and which part is causing issues. Using MATLAB's comment tool to comment out certain lines of code is a great way to try different combinations of the overall code in order to find the most successful version.
I have similar experience with logging work. Most of my professional/capstone work was centered around programming and because the projects I was working on were planned to be continued long after I was no longer working on them making sure that the code was understood was crucial. For my commenting style I went with line-by-line explanations or a paragraph explanation depending on what fit better. The only major difference is I had a text file that explained what each file was for as to have one location that explained all the overall details. `
The only other work I did never required me to make separate logs as I was in charge of product testing which meant I was writing reports that properly detailed the information already.
I am currently pursuing my Masters in a lab! When I was in undergrad I did a terrible job of logging my work: I often assumed that I would remember simple details and that many of my tasks just didn't need to be logged. This resulted in me struggling to recall information at lab meetings, struggling to send in orders for new materials, and just generally resulted in poor results. (I did learn from these mistakes and did improve greatly while in undergrad though).
Currently, I write down almost everything I do in the lab (excluding tasks like filling something up with water or tasks that utilize resources that are not in short supply). I also maintain a secondary google drive that has all of my protocols, materials I have used, and copies of the calculations I am using. Keeping a log of my work is essential because I often need to go back into my work to either double-check a protocol or to review what I had done and when. If I do not write things down, I cannot guarantee that I will remember when or how I did something, and, at least in my research, repetition and knowing dates are essential. My lab notebook also acts as an anthology of what I have done. While pages from several months ago are not always essential, having them provides proof that I have completed said required tasks in the past.
Its a good way to keep myself in check and to keep my studies in check.
About two years ago, I had a particularly difficult family in my class. (I know, whole families don't take HS Chemistry. But stay with me.) The young lady was disabled. There was no mental delay however, her mother insisted she be given a significant amount of work less than the other students. And if she didn't get a 100%, she disputed the grades. Blaming teachers for not taking the proper steps with her student, beginning investigations with our human resources departments to have us fired or taken off case loads, threating to file police reports to have people brought up on harassment charges, etc. This all happened in the course of a year or so. Therefore, when this student was moved from my mentor's class to mine, due to mom not liking my mentor, I kept extensive notes. These notes were both virtual and on paper. By the end of the year, she had began yet another investigation on a teacher, and those records, with all of the conversations, requests, and emails, was instrumental in that teacher keeping her job.
Like @sts27, I struggled with logging work well during my undergraduate studies. I never enjoyed doing so, and therefore, the details of any logs I had done were always lacking. This especially affected me during a research experience I had for one summer. During my research, I had kept vague logs of what I was doing and had often reattempted certain steps that had failed previously. It was a waste of time and completely inefficient. This was when I first realized I needed to be much better in terms of keeping track of what I was doing. Soon after, I had started my capstone project which forced me to be much more thorough in my weekly logs. I understood the importance of keeping track of previous mistakes and attempts, especially since my primary function was to create a phone application. I also learned through this experience how much it helps to be well organized in terms of saving previous work. Through my organization and tracking of work, I was able to complete my phone application much more efficiently and in a timely manner. This desire to log work well did not stop with my capstone project either. It translated well into my graduate studies while I was completing a master’s project, and I am confident that I will continue keeping detailed notes of what I do moving forward into industry as well.
From my experience working in a lab on campus, I have seen firsthand the benefits of logging work while working on research projects. In my case, I came to this realization after having to pause work on one project to work on another. Since, I failed to log my work for the initial project, I had difficulty picking back up from where I left off. Therefore, I had to spend a significant amount of time trying to determine both which scripts were the most relevant as well as the intended function of each script. Following this experience, I began logging my work by creating a word document that kept both a daily record of progress made and indicated a list with descriptions of the most relevant scripts. In addition, as mentioned in a prior post, I included comments within the code with greater detail, so that anyone that opened the code could follow along with greater ease. Overall, the incorporation of logs for my research projects allowed me to prevent the loss of time associated with sorting through files and allows me to pick back up with greater ease.
