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
-Accurate and legible printing/labeling with the least amount of preparation work per container labeled.
-Cost: market solutions exist for labeling eppendorfs, but they are very expensive and somewhat duplicative of the printing device this lab has already purchased. To maximize financial return, sponsor would prefer an existing printing solution be used, either the automated petri dish printer or the ToughTags labels that are printed on a standard inkjet printer, using a design to automatically apply these tags to the eppendorfs.
Second Priority Objectives
-Possibly fitting a design into the existing petri dish labeling apparatus, for minimal preparatory work when switching from petri dish labeling to eppendorf labeling.
Other Constraints and Issues
-Space and mobility is a concern, there is limited space on the adjacent counter or our design could fit on a roll-away cart for off-site storage when not in use.
-Eppendorfs vary in size and come loosely packaged in bags, which is not ideal for printing and/or affixing labels. Our design will have to either incorporate a sorting/organizing mechanism, or relegate to organizing eppendorfs by hand before labeling.
WOW Design Solution
-Have an autonomous system where a bag of disorganized tubing is given to the system and racks of labeled tubing will be the output by the system
Risk Reduction Strategy
List areas of risk and strategy that will be used to eliminate risk really in the design process.
Test whether the printer prints on all tubings
Test the limitations of print head on small tubing, what’s the smallest it can go
Make a sorting mechanism for sorting the disorganized tubings into correct orientation
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.