Recommendations and Lessons Learned

Lesson 1 – Project timeline buffer

In future projects, it would be beneficial to have a buffer for each phase of the project in case tasks take longer than expected. This prevents later tasks from being completed late due to a late start.

Lesson 2 – Raspberry Pi for overall control

During the testing phase, it was discovered that the Raspberry Pi could have controlled the manual controls and the wireless controls simultaneously. This eliminates the need for the Arduino in future versions of the scoreboard.

Lesson 3 – Allocate more time to researching unfamiliar technology

The Raspberry Pi integration took longer than anticipated. In future projects, it would be wise to begin working on components that are unfamiliar much earlier in the project. This reduces the chance of failing to meet project deadlines and helps ensure the project will be successfully completed. In this case, the Raspberry Pi was able to be integrated successfully.

Lesson 4 – Allow more time for prototype construction

The prototype assembly of the scoreboard took longer than planned due to group discussion and evaluation of the final layout.

Individual Lessons Learned

James Schmelzer

Lesson 1 – Comment during coding

Programing the Arduino UNO was an opportunity to develop a code base from scratch. A key observation was that the practice of commenting while coding saves time and effort after the program is complete. While commenting after completion of the code did allow for a review of the code flow amongst group members, it also prevented other group members from independently reviewing the program without explanation from the programmer. In the future, the practice of writing comments before or during code writing should be followed in order to allow for easier transfer of code between developers and other teammates.

Lesson 2 – Test protocol

The test protocol for this project was partially written during the construction of the scoreboard, instead of before. The test document should be created before the features that are to be tested. Ideally, the project should be designed to pass the test protocol, not the test protocol being designed to make the project pass. Writing the test protocol before features are complete allows for more in-depth conversations about features and provides focus on key areas of concern. For example, the wireless communication section of the test protocol was written before the feature was implemented, which helped drive the development of the wireless interface.

Thomas Walden

Lesson 1 – Audio system “noise”

An important lesson learned is that audio circuitry is very sensitive. When Bluetooth is not connected to the speakers, there is sometimes a feedback sound on the speakers. The feedback is only noticeable when sound is not being played, and it was not present during the initial testing of the speakers and Bluetooth module. It was discovered during the final testing of the scoreboard and does not interfere with the functionality of the final product. A recommendation to reduce or remove the feedback would be to install a low pass filter circuit between the auxiliary input of each speaker and the Bluetooth module. This may remove the noise, but it requires testing to verify.

Lesson 2 – Parallel tasks

Another lesson learned is to plan prototype work in a way for multiple team members to accomplish tasks in parallel. During the prototype assembly, team members often did not have enough space to work on the inside of the prototype enclosure to run wires, attach labels or screw in components. A recommendation to alleviate this issue would be to design the prototype with the same modularity as the final product so that the shelf, display board and control console may all be worked on simultaneously.

Justin Vaughan

Lesson 1 – Use of 3D modeling software

Technical lessons learned over the course of the scoreboard project begin with 3D modelling to conceptualize engineering designs. 3D modelling of projects is a well-known industry practice, showing how heavily electrical design can rely on mechanical fabrication. A recommendation for modelling a design is to fully define the build, including wire routing and component placement. Furthermore, it is recommended to schedule extra time for production and order parts as early as possible to resolve unknown future endeavors within allotted project time.

Lesson 2 – Use standard point of view

Electrical technical lessons learned can amount to a minor error made by not defining the wiring perspective before starting the wire routing design on AutoCAD. The lesson learned would be to design in parallel with physical prototype assembly. Once the solid design concept is fully defined, it is recommended to verify all design point of views, methods and conventions prior to applying wiring design.

Justin Roozen

Lesson 1 – Backup wireless functionality

When the Raspberry Pi was configured as a wireless access point, internet connectivity was lost, making installation of new packages impossible without first reverting to its original configuration. This made work on the Pi more tedious than expected and was an unforeseen effect of using the model of Raspberry Pi chosen for the project. In the future, a model of the Pi with built in ethernet capabilities, or a separate ethernet dongle, should be used.

Lesson 2 – Proper formatting and usage of functions while coding

While programming the Python script to communicate with the Arduino Uno, as well as the code to control the web page and web server, the division of functionality was not taken into consideration. Functions were later added to ensure that all code was organized in a professional manner. In the future, all code written should be organized into functions with proper documentation during the initial software design phase.

Conclusion

Assessment of Project Success and Justification

The goal of this project is to create a scoreboard with the following specifications:

· Weather resistant

· Portable

· Able to display scorekeeping information

· Controllable manually and/or wirelessly

· Has speakers for announcements and/or sound effects

· Provides space for advertisement at the customers discretion

This project is a complete success as all these goals have been met, to the customer’s specifications, and within the initial project scope. The scoreboard is weather resistant, and may be carried by two adults. It is also able to be transported in a small motor vehicle. All relevant scorekeeping information is displayed on the scoreboard, including home and away scores, innings, balls, strikes and outs. Speakers have been included, which are able to connect to an audio device through Bluetooth. Lastly, ample space has been provided on the back and front of the scoreboard for the customer to place advertisements as they see fit. All the features provided meet all of our deliverables for the course, as well as for the customer.

Final Status

The project is successfully completed with an SPI of 103.85% and a CPI of 98.14%, which means that the project is finished ahead of schedule and over budget. SWLYB was informed that the project would be over budget during the last meeting. SWLYB found this variance to be within their accepted limits. All project deliverables were completed on time, and the scoreboard has been verified to function as per the test specifications.

Contact Information:

Justin Roozen: justin.roozen.mgmt3076.17s@gmail.com

James Schmelzer: james.schmelzer.mgmt3076.17s@gmail.com

Justin Vaughan: justin.vaughan.mgmt3076.17s@gmail.com

Thomas Walden: thomas.walden.mgmt3076.17s@gmail.com

References

Neslon, Robert. 2015 Canadian Electrical Code. n.d.

B, Ian, Ian M and Ian N. https://buildyourownscoreboard.wordpress.com/setting-up-the-arduino/. n.d. Arduino Library. 2016.

Oscar, Liang. https://oscarliang.com/raspberry-pi-and-arduino-connected-serial-gpio/. n.d. November 2018.

Southwest London Youth Baseball. http://cdn.goalline.ca/data/org-logos/1106-logo-2057.png. n.d. png. 2018.

Texas Instruments. //www.ti.com/lit/ds/symlink/tpic6b595.pdf. n.d. Technical Datasheet. 2016, 2018.

van Heesch, Dimitri. http://www.doxygen.nl/index.html. n.d. September 2018.