Essay 2

A design project should be conducted in an organize matter for two main reasons. The first reason is that a project usually consists of more than one person and not everyone think like you or the others in the group. The other reason is that organizing the project; it makes it easier to schedule milestones. Before the project starts, making a list of the requirements, possible problem areas and what should be complete at each milestone. Doing this makes sure that everyone in the group knows what needs to be done and what goals should be reached.
The execution of the project is just as important as the organization. Staying true with the projected milestones is very important in getting the project completed on time. However, there should be some leeway in the schedule of the milestones, giving extra time if things get completed slower than anticipated. The project leader needs to make sure that everything is going at the speed it needs to be and encourage the team. This encouragement is a little tricky because it depends on the person. Some people like to be left alone and can be their own motivation and keep an eye on the whole project as well as their own part of the project. Other people need to be reminded from time to time to make sure that they are on schedule. There are more examples but the project leader should be able to read the people in the team and determine the best course of action to keep the project afloat.
Depending on the project, I would like to assemble the team. I would only like to be the project leader if it is a project where I have a decent knowledge on the project. I wouldn't want assemble a team for a project I don't have very good knowledge on. It would be hard for me to decide who should be on the team or not. At most I could pick the project leader and have that person get the rest of the team. The people I would pick for my team would be a combination of personalities. Using the categories from MBIT, some people would need to be innovators and theoreticians. They would keep the creative juices going in solving the problems of the project. Strategists and producers can keep the innovators and theoreticians from losing sight of the milestones and goals of the project. Depending on how much of the project is based off existing methods will determine the percentage of theoreticians and innovators to the strategists and producers. This doesn't mean that I will strictly go by what I have said a couple of sentences just because you can find people that don't fit in these categories and can be very productive. It is sometimes better to form a team with people you have worked with before since everyone knows each other's weaknesses and strengths. They may not be experts but depending on the project, experts may not be needed and could slow down the project.
I would try to gather as much existing information on any of the components of the project. I would try to get information from people that I know and work my way through publications and lastly on the Internet. The information from people and publications will be more important than any information on the Internet because the information on the Internet is more likely to be incorrect compared to the other two sources.
Since I will most likely not have a lot of experience on the whole project (maybe on parts,) I would try and contact people I know or in my department (or class) that would have more knowledge on subjects that are important for the project that my group and I don't know or have little knowledge of.
Some factors can adjust how the project is conducted. A short timetable can force some of the parts of the project to be abandoned as well as a lack of funds. A miscalculation of how well group members can work with each other and/or how well group members can get their parts of the project done could lead to parts of the project to be taken out or worse, abandoning the project. The project my be too difficult to undertake which could cause problems. Someone or some people in the group could complete parts of the project much earlier than the milestones, which could get the project done ahead of schedule and/or time to add more features to the project. Someone or some people outside of the group could give information or help out in getting the project done ahead of schedule also. Getting outside help can greatly help a project along since most of the time the person will not be closely involved with the project and can give some outside thinking.
Most projects are not without hitches. If there any of the group members that can't get along with the other group members, I would try and get everyone to work to get the job done and try to remind everyone that being like by everyone is not important to finish the project but can make doing the project a lot more fun. Getting rid of everyone would be the last resort. Problems in general should be looked at with a careful eye and no extreme measures should be done until all options are exhausted. Everyone in the group should know about all the problems and try to discuss all problems as a group.
Prototyping for certain can be vital in saving money and speeding up a project. Prototypes normally don't take as long to produce, especially if they are smaller than the actual thing. Prototyping though not as long to produce as the actual product to, it can still take awhile. Many times, the process to make the product may need to be changed after talking with the machinist. Prototyping shouldn't change the plans of a project too much if it is treated as a milestone. Prototyping can slow down a project but in general for most applications is a good thing. Mistakes can be made with lower consequences than using the actual thing.