Lecture Note

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Chapter 5. Managing the Design Process
Designers responsibility
1. Meeting Design objectives of functionality and
performance.
2. Doing so within a limited budget and within a
limited amount of time.
How much is the design going to cost?
When can you deliver?
To do this responsibility we have to know
1. How many people do we need?
2. What skill must they posses?
3. What load will you place on the lab and the
machine shop?
4. Will you be using any of you special (and
scarce) test equipment?
5. What kind of materials, How many, When do you
need?
To answer these questions,
The Design process should be organized,
structured, and planned in advance.
We need Project management!
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Definition of a Project
A quantifiable piece of work, with a defined
start and end, and with expectation of specific
outputs or deliverables.
Large company
(ex) construction of a space shuttle, bridge,
building, cell phone,
Attributes of a Project

• The output is low volume (prototypes), a unique
  product/service.
• There are measurable objectives.
• It uses a limited set of resources (people,
  materials, equipment).
• The work is often complex, uncertain, and/or
  urgent.

5.1 The Project Management Approach
5.1.1 Project Organization
project
Subproject 1
Subproject 1
Subproject 1
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small company
Project 1
Large company
Project 1
mechanical
mechanical
electrical
electrical
Other small company
Project 2
Meet requirement? Perform as it is wanted?

Meet budget? Meet schedule?
Meet requirement? Perform as it is wanted?
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5.1.2 Element of Project Management
1. Planning
- Defines the work to be done, the schedule to
complete work, a budget, materials, people,
equipment
2. Monitoring
- Manager must routinely monitor the fund
expended, the resources utilized, whether or not
the work is being completed on the scheduled date.
3. Control
- Manager must make choices to optimize project
performance, Break through.
To be successful, a project manager should posses
the right skill,
appropriate resources should be supported.
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5.2 The Project Plan
- The project plan answers
- What it will cost.
- What it will be completed.
- What resources will be needed.
- The project plan constitutes an agreement
between the project team and their employer or
client.
- Some companies employ a formal signoff of the
plan, requiring marketing, engineering,
manufacturing, finance and senior management
formally to agree to the plan prior to starting
the project.
- In essence, the plan becomes a pact(??) whereby
the company collectively agrees to expend certain
resources, in return for which it expect to
achieve certain results.
- For engineering firm, the project plan forms
part of its legal contract, providing the basis
for payment or , in unfortunate circumstances,
litigation(??).
- All project plans contain the following
1. Definition of work
2. Schedule
3. Resource requirement Estimates of the
individulas, materials, equipment, and support
services
4. Cost Estimate
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Planning Process
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5.3 Defining the Work (the first step in the
planning process)
- The project plan answers come from the block
diagram developed in the system design.
- Example RPM measurement device (RMD) for the
lawn-mower repair industry.
- A set of system specifications and functional
requirements has been established and block
diagrams finalized.
- Now, lets step back from the design process
and organize the project!
For a very simple project, this is sufficient.
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This is typical of what one expect as output from
the first step of developing a project plan
How many tasks? - properly
- One block is one task
- One task that can be an individual.
- One task that can be a milestone.
- trade-off
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5.4 Scheduling
5.4.1 Network Diagram (5.4.3 Bar Chart)

• Network diagram
• precedence diagram
• CPM (Critical Path Method) diagram
• PERT (Program Evaluation and Review
  Technique)

• The intent of the network diagram is
• to illustrate graphically each task
• to show the interdependence or
• precedence among the task
• to provide a technique for reordering the
• tasks so as to optimize the schedule.

Activity-on-arrow (AOA) method
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Activity-on-node Method (more popular, preferred)
It is easily can be seen - Precedence -
Critical Path - Slack Time(??? ??, ??? ?? ??,
????
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5.4.2 Reviewing the Work description (improving
the first AON)
!!!
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5.4.3 Bar Chart Gantt Chart milestone chart
Network diagram (good for to know
precedence, critical path)
Bar Chart (good for Presentation to customers and
manager)
Computerized systems (Myproject- Microsoft)
provide all of the features of bar charts. -
Presentation of precedence, slack time, and
critical path.
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Bar Chart Practice
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5.4.4 Additional Comments on Scheduling
As we work on the schedule, it is common to
revisit the definition of work, modifying,
splitting, adding, and deleting tasks so as to
improve the plan.
The importance of good schedule should not be
underestimated!
Bad schedule
Too many tasks Too few tasks Imbalance in
tasks No rule allocation
Be cautious!
- The project management system must serve the
project, not the converse. - The sophistication
of the system has no bearing on(????) the
accuracy of the information it present.
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5.5 Planning Resources and Estimating Costs
5.5.1 Costing Practice
Costs of personnel is not included! Accounting
department will reject!
Direct costs salaries, benefits, and other costs
directly attributed to the employee Indirect
Costs (overhead costs) rent, telephone, .
Burdened rate personnel costs overhead
costs Unburdened rate personnel costs
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• The important thing for the project manager who
  is establishing the budget to know
• is which of the resources will be charged to the
  project and what rates those charges will be
  made.

Personnel per hour or per day Internal
facilities charging fee of cost centers (shop,
drafting office) Outside services
(outsourcing) Supplies and materials PCB, Tr,
R, L, C, Op amps (exclude
paper, solder, these are in overhead)
3.Can be move to here for load leveling
System design Main Board PWR design Packaging Int
test Finalize Prototype PM
5.5.2 Estimating Personnel Requirements
(largest part of the project cost)
Approach 1 take the work definition and schedule
then simply determine how many people are require.
days
2.SE works 4080 of the time! Can do another
project!
Approach 2 look around at who is available then
figure out how to organize them to complete the
project, revising the schedule to meet end date.
Not plan for a person to work more than 8090
! (one may be sick.)
Approach 1.5 is preferred.
1. Too abrupt increase!
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5.5.3 Budget Preparation
Cash flow is especially important -when the
project is financed from lank loans -when it is
contractually tied to a advance payments from a
client.
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5.5.4 Putting the Plan Together (Making Plan
Document)
This document forms a commitment or contract
within an organization or between organizations.

1. Background

Why this project? What has been done?
Constraints, Key technology and special
skill, Key decisions and their justification
(commitments to customers), Market forecasts,
Feasibility studies, Relations with other effect
2. Project overview
Summary of entire project, deliverables, dates,
costs, for someone who has no time to delve into
the details.
3. Organization and management
3.1 Personnel duty, skill, deliverables of each
3.2 Organization and responsibilities
diagrammatic structure, frequency of report and
content
3.3 Monitoring and reporting , method for budget
and schedule control
4. Description of work
Detailed description of work similar to Table 5. 2
5. Schedule
A bar-chart-type
6. Budget
similar to Table 5. 4, 5.5
Attachments A Requirements specification
B System specification
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5.6 Managing the Project
- Three functions of project manager
Monitoring, reporting, and problem resolution
- Project manager should be able to answer these
questions
1. Are performance objectives being met? Will the
design do what we promised it work?
2. Are resources being used effectively? Do we
need more (or less) of certain skills?
3. Is the project on schedule? Will we deliver
when we promised we would?
4. Is the project on budget? Will it cost what we
said it would or is additional funding required?
5.6.1 Performance Monitoring
- Evaluation of whether or not the design process
is going to meet the performance as stated in the
system specification.
5.6.2 Task Progress

• Project manager should regularly discuss the
  process of each task with the team member
  responsible for its completion.
• More formal input may be required such as weekly
  or monthly written report.
• (how much of work has been done.)

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5.6.3 Schedule Status
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5.6.4 Budget Status

• A budget status is prepared at regular intervals.
• Are expenditures occurring in the amount
  planned?
• Are expenditure occurring when they were
  planned?
• Will the project cost end up the same as was
  estimated by the plan?

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5.6.5 Reporting

• At regular interval, it is necessary to report
  the status and progress of the project monthly
  is common.
• Important to
• project manager
• project members
• firms management
• client
• to other departments (marketing ,personnel,
  accounting, manufacturing,.)

RMD Design Monthly Report 1 Summary of work
completed 2. Problem areas 3. Plans for next
period 4. Schedule and budget Attachments A
Project schedule B Budget summary
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5.6.6 Problem Resolution

• A project may encounter three types of problems
• 1. It is taking longer than expected.
• 2. It is taking more resources than
  expected
• 3. It is proving technically infeasible to
  meet objectives.

• How to solve?

1. Accept a delay but stay within the
budget. (you can wait without using resources)
2. Add resources and increase the project
cost. 3. Change the deliverables. Adjust
specification, reduce or eliminate deliverables
with approval. These are good
euphemism (??) 4. Reorganize the project to
utilize more effectively with approval.