IED Class 5, Thu Feb 2

1   Today

  1. Finish MBTI activity 5-1.
  2. Activities 6-1 and 6-2.

2   My technique to keep team projects on track

In the real world, there are hard deadlines. Last Thursday, I submitted and National Science Foundation proposal. It was due at 5pm. Some time ago, I was on a team for a preproposal that was submitted 15 minutes late. It was rejected.

So, my techniques are:

  1. Freeze decisions, then...
  2. Write them down.
  3. Require frequent written reports. They may be brief.
  4. My students and I use a wiki.

IED Class 4, Mon Jan 30

1   Today

We will do Activity 4-2 (Establish specs) and then 5-1 MBTI.

The specs will go into the Mini Project Memo to satisfy these lines of the grading rubric:

  1. Customer Requirements Prioritized and with Metrics
  2. Performance Specifications

Customer Requirements Prioritized and with Metrics

IED Class 2, Mon Jan 23

1   Today

We will cover 01-02-1-Activity Gantt charts and then 03-1 and 03-2.

2   Student questions

memo due when?: Presentation day
what to do with this material we're creating?:
  Put it in the memo. Also give WRF your Gantt charts at the beginning of next class. Later in the semester we will ask how you're doing compared to it.

3   Dates written on board

2/6: miniproject competitions
2/10: miniproject presentations and memo

4   Points about Gantt chart

  1. Include presentation and memo components
  2. Some specifics are good, e.g., investigate 3 types of sensors and choose one.

IED Class 1, Thurs Jan 19

1   Websites

  1. This page is http://www.ecse.rpi.edu/Homepages/wrf/Teaching/ied-s2017 .

    It will have notes for IED section 6, MR12-2.

    It is maintained by W. Randolph Franklin and Glen Gross.

  2. LMS is at https://lms9.rpi.edu/

  3. I showed this news story: Metric mishap caused loss of NASA orbiter. The point is that, on large projects, little details can cause disaster. That is the point of this course: to teach you procedures for managing large projects.

    My interest, as an RPI professor, is purely selfish. If you learn this, you have a better chance of getting rich. Then you'll be better able to buy RPI new performing arts centers or whatever.

2   Today

We covered the material in 01-02-1-Activity up thru Customer Reqs.

3   Student questions

For the mousetrap car, are we graded on max distance, or on accuracy for reaching exactly the prescribed distance?:
  Both. This is also true for the launcher. E.g., see the Launcher Competition Rules.
Where is the miniproject presentation?:
  The syllabus says in week 4. Each team gives a 4 minute presentation, and both partners must speak.
The columns on the Gantt chart say 2008?!:
  The first column is set by the date of the earliest task. Successive columns count up from that.