Project plan help

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Sat, 02/13/2010 - 00:12
Chera
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Hi, I'm a newbie to Botball (our entire team is new, actually) and I'm heading the Documentation portion of our team. I'm feeling rather overwhelmed about the Project Plan due this Wednesday though...I'm really just not sure how to set it up, or what to put on it. Can anyone help me, or at least give me some tips?

Also, I'm a bit worried about the complexity - I know it has to be detailed and specific and stuff, but I also want it to be simple enough for me and my team to understand. What would be considered a good balance of simplicity and complexity?

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Sun, 02/14/2010 - 21:53
#1
Jake_Hall
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Hello,

On previous team homebases they have examples of kinda what to look for. Alot of teams use Excel sheets and labeling the rows and columns with the tasks needed to be completed divided into Building, Programming, Field building ect. then the dates those need to be finished. I would look at these links and get some more ideas.

These are Gantt charts found on google images.

http://www.gantt-chart.biz/gcImages/Gantt_Chart.gif

http://www.visitask.com/img/sample-gantt-chart.jpg

Jake Hall
College Student

~Grand Valley State University Team Leader~
Beyond Botball: * Trinity College Robotics: * Mircomouse: * DARPA 2012:

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Mon, 02/15/2010 - 11:24
#2
mcorey
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Hello Chera - be sure to look at the sample document that was included in the BOPD Handbook. You can find the handbook on the team flash drive or in the workshop files in the Botball Tools section of the home base.

The sample document gives you a good snapshot of what should be included in your project plan. Think about your milestones (ie, complete robot 1, or submit first period documentation, etc.) - the milestones are the big goals your team wants to achieve with a a deadline. The tasks are the things you'll have to do to complete the goal/milestone. For instance to achieve the goal of "complete robot 1" you'll need to accomplish the tasks of building it, programming it, testing it, and refining it. Set dates for getting each task done and show how you're doing (status) on your tasks.

Good luck!

Marci

Marci Corey
Botball Program Manager

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