One of the main lessons I learned was always schedule and prepare for the worst. I thought this course was going to be easy because the first professor was very relaxed in his way of teaching and advising. This caused me to loose focus and fall behind in my tasks that needed to be done weekly. Only after the summer break, when the other professor took over, did I get the right instructions and the right guidance to finish this project.

Another lesson I learned was to improve my skills and knowledge level for solidworks and cad drawings as this took a lot of time for me to create. Doing the dimensions in the drawings was hard for me as I did not have a clear understanding as to the criteria required for properly dimensioning the drawings on sheet format. Also there were a lot of components that I needed to create in order to complete my CAD modeling of the vacuum former machine. This took more time than to do than I thought.

The third lesson I learned was the importance of time management and to stay on top of the weekly tasks that are required. Throughout this project, I had several complications and setbacks. From the change from the initial drawings to the final render to the mismanagement of the EVA analysis, all these issues could have been avoided if I was on top of these tasks from the beginning and managed my time to complete these and other tasks on time or preferably well before the due date.

Another lesson learned is I need to improve my task management skills. I need to manage multiple projects and tasks at the same time and identify and prioritize which tasks are important and which can be attended to at a later time.

Towards the end, I had better communication with the project advisor and my overall confidence to complete the project improved with proper understanding of what was required of me and of what needed to be done in order for me to complete this course. Proper communication with all the stakeholders is key to completing the project.