Timeline

Stay Ahead of Schedule

Our initial timeline is shown below. Initially we aimed to be 2-3 days ahead of the class schedule. For example, when checkpoint#4 beating is brick is on 3/7, we aimed to achieve it 3/5 . In reality, we worked hard and were able to be ahead of schedule for 5-7 days. We beat the brick on 3/1. 

Staying ahead of schedule motivates us to all work hard but not work in stress. When we were putting in time and effort to achieve our goals early, we also knew that things could go wrong and we would have time to recover from it. 

Establish Individual Tasks and Collaboration Space

Every week, each of us has tasks assigned and clear goals and deliverables. Every wednesday and every weekend we meet on site to share our progress and collaborate. 

Prioritize the MVP

Another thing we did right in terms of project management is to separate MVP features from bonus features. When we were working to beat the brick, we laser-focused on features that mattered, including orientation, navigation, and key mechanisms. We took shortcuts such as using jumper wires instead of soldering, and using VHB instead of fasteners. We made those decisions to enable us to beat the brick early. 

We did not divert resources to bonus features such as the launcher and the celebration mechanism until after the robot has beat the brick.