Page 18 - Anatomy of a Robot

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PROJECT MANAGEMENT 3
The following discussion is based on project management processes used within a
large company. The robot hobbyist, despite that fact that he or she wears all the hats in
the project, should still perform the basic tasks of a project manager (PM). This is due
to two reasons. First, the project will suffer if steps are skipped. Second, learning the
art of being a PM is well worth it and will further any career.
The classic reason for managing a project is that some of the requirements will not
otherwise be met. The truth is, even the most professional PMs have difficulty meeting
all their goals at the same time. Half the time, a project will be late, be over budget, or
fail to deliver the required results. If these goals were easy to attain, PMs would not be
required in the first place. By implication, if no projects had PMs, the results would be
much worse.
Many projects do not have formal PMs. Often, an engineer on the project handles
some of the PM duties as a side task. Sometimes the PM duties are distributed among
a few people, often with poor results. One person should be the PM and should be in
complete charge of the project. That person should have all the powers and responsi-
bilities of a PM. If you are the PM in your spare time, that’s fine, as long as you can
perform the tasks in the time you have to devote to the job.
First and foremost, a PM in a robot project is responsible for getting the robot done
within all the restraints and requirements imposed at the outset. Certainly, a project can
be executed and managed in almost any manner. To bring order to the situation, and to
give all participants a clear picture of what’s expected, it makes sense to use established
methods and rules. The following discussion lays out the basics of project management
processes but omits some of the details and reasoning to make it more readable.
Projects come in all shapes and sizes, and they are executed in all shapes and forms.
This document provides a standard way to manage projects that is known to all respon-
sible parties. It provides management tools that PMs can use to alter the course of a
project and make corrections. This makes information easier to find, decreases the
amount of negotiations involved, provides reliable channels of communication, and
brings a level of comfort to all involved.

Project Process Flowchart

Figure 1-1 is a graphical representation of the various processes and procedures that
will occur during the overall development cycle of the robot. The overall process is flex-
ible, and deviations are acceptable as befits the situation. However, in general, devia-
tions from the set process come at a sacrifice (see Figure 1-1).