Weekly Progress Reports (see sidebar), the Gantt chart, and this Project Management page should be printed out before meetings with the sponsor and instructor.
All team members should be able to explain all items on the progress report.
Place a "*" at the beginning of the title of the active week Progress Report (see * in sidebar).
Project Objectives
Concisely list and prioritize the project objectives and constraints
High Priority Objectives
Reduce the time and effort of the catheter length measurement procedure by creating an automated or semi-automated measurement device.
Use the same wire used in the current procedure and an encoder to provide length measurements accurate to, at minimum, a thousandth (0.001).
Use a sensor and determine an appropriate maximum force that the wire can experience when it hits the applicator wall. It is essential that the wire does not puncture the applicator wall.
Second Priority Objectives
Use a motor to feed the wire.
Create a loading bay that allows for accurate measurement of multiple catheters simultaneously.
Other Constraints and Issues
Will use the same wire that the doctors use for their current measurement process.
WOW Design Solution (Ask what would their dream design solution would be like. You may not achieve this, but it is good to know what it would be like.)
The sponsors' dream solution would be a completely automated measurement system integrated into the radioactive pellet afterloader. The open catheter end would be attached to the afterloader, the catheter length would be measured accurately, and the Brachytherapy procedure would smoothly progress.
Risk Reduction Strategy
List areas of risk and strategy that will be used to eliminate risk really in the design process.
To ensure measurement accuracy, the measurement of the wire using the proposed device will be compared to a measurement using a ruler.
Intermediate Milestones
Identifying meaningful intermediate milestones is a critical for effective project management. Together with your sponsor identify such milestones, and specify specific performance requirements you aim to meet at each milestone.
Finalize the design solution that will be pursued (Friday, end of Finals Week)