Priorities and the scope of a project need to be managed like any other aspect. I think in the case of most projects the priorities differ between the upper and middle management and the research individuals and also the production team. With all the different stakeholders weighing priorities, and some having more say as to which priorities are…[Read more]

For me, this course reinforced the importance of good management of a project regardless of its size. I have noticed how a lot of the topics covered could have improved many projects at my own workplace and how they can be used to improve future projects. Communication seems to be an important aspect of project management, and something as simple…[Read more]

Some orders from vendors are also made to order to certain specifications. This means there is usually some delay between ordering and receiving from a vendor as they need time to fabricate the order. In cases such as this communication and managing orders to the vendor is even more important as the production of your product may depend on that…[Read more]

Smaller companies have much less people to manage making it simpler in a way but in other ways more crucial as individuals in smaller companies are more than likely in charge of a larger portion of the work required to complete a project compared to a larger company where an individual’s specific contribution is a smaller fraction of the total w…[Read more]

The main motivator for me is the opportunity to create something new. I also enjoy finding solutions to the various problems that occur during the course of a project. Seeing the end result of months of work is also a major motivating factor and gives me the desire to start new projects.

A metric for a specific feature should always fall within the defined specifications; otherwise the documentation is meaningless and must be changed accordingly. Certain metrics can most likely have only a lower or upper limit if the design calls for it, such as a coating having a curing time of at least 2 hours where any time spent curing after 2…[Read more]

The method of communication management should be tailored to each specific company as various factors such as hierarchies, communication infrastructure, security protocols all differ between companies. Multiple methods of communication should be implemented to prevent issues where one is not available. Regular meetings can allow for communication…[Read more]

Six Sigma actually contains a specific project methodology when working with projects that will produce a new product as opposed to improving business practices:
DMADV System:
Define design goals that are consistent with customer demands and the enterprise strategy.
Measure and identify characteristics that are Critical To Quality, product…[Read more]

As the lecture also mentioned, a very important component of the closing phase is to properly record everything so that information can be used for future projects. This can help in not repeating the same mistakes in similar projects in the future.

I think its important to remember that the monitoring and control phase occurs throughout the entire lifespan of the project and is always a factor in decision making. With that in mind, the various metrics help greatly since they give quantitative and easy to understand values at any stage that the project is on. The process of calculating these…[Read more]

With a capstone project I was involved in, a major lesson we learned was adjusting the project scope due to limitations found in the design. With this project, one of the parts of the device required a much higher manufacturing precision that we were capable of producing given our budget and time frame. This caused us to select our second choice…[Read more]

I think the consequences of risking the project with poor experimental data are much greater than any time delays. If poor experimentation fails to uncover a particular design issue or if it is not accepted by appropriate regulatory agencies, then the delay to the project would be much greater than the alternative.

If the outsourced part is critical to the devices specific function, extra communication and scrutiny is required between the project team and the outsourcing company. Not only will the product need to meet all standards set, it will also need to be delivered reliably and on time for production to work. This should probably include a thorough…[Read more]