Product Management

Every planned action can be considered a project. One must identify the goals of the action, formulate how to reach this goal, and then apply the decided process. Most of these actions are done with little time to prepare such as any sport, a social game, or leaving for a scheduled destination. However, there are less trivial projects that require much more forethought such as obtaining a college degree, buying a car, repairing a car, planning a social event, or passing an evaluation. These larger projects are heavily impacted by one’s project management skill, which like all things can be learned and improved.

I am learning this skill to better both my personal and professional success and am applying Kolb’s Learning Cycle to both aid my learning and provide hard evidence for myself that I am learning.

 Kolb’s Learning Cycle: Learning Project Management

Step 1. Experiencing: 

After research from Dr. Elger’s site, Project Management is done efficiently by adopting a few key values and following a step-by-step process.

            Important Key Values:

Being Goal Oriented- One must set goals and then strive to achieve those goals until they are met.

Accountability- One must be responsible enough to complete the goals established to their best ability.

Teamwork/Collaboration- One should strive to reach their goals in the best possible way which usually leads to working with a group for either the entire project or for parts of the project. Two minds are always better than one and one can never have too many hands when it comes to achieving a goal.

                        Critical Thinking- One needs to be data based and rational.

            Step-by-step Projects:

1.      Create a powerful drive for one to generate valuable goals.

2.      Establish one’s goals that are motivating by making them valuable, feasible yet challenging, and measureable so one can identify when the goal is reached. Generate these goals by using a diamond approach:

                                                              i.       Ask oneself what is success when this project is complete

                                                            ii.      Outline guidelines for goals

                                                          iii.      Brainstorm

                                                          iv.      Identify the best goals

                                                            v.      Analyze and modify the best goals

                                                          vi.      Decide on the goals to be set

3.      Break project down into small tasks/sub-goals, again using a diamond

4.      Assign tasks evenly among the collaboration team

5.      Complete the tasks/sub-goals

6.      Meet regularly to monitor task process, solve problems, identify and assign new tasks, and practice reflective thinking to improve.

7.      Achieve project goals

Step 2. Reflection:

Project management is not only time management, leadership, and perseverance, but a logical systematic approach to projects that can be replicated to reach success despite the circumstances. Personally in the past I have been successful in projects that innately were on importance to me, however, if I take a second to identify an important reason for valuable goals I can achieve things that are not within my main focus.

Step 3. Conceptualization:

I need to find the importance of projects that are at first not within my sphere, so that they can become part of it. This will result in more project success as well as an enlargement of my interests and abilities. By enlarging my interests and abilities I will become more competent in all things, making me an important asset professionally and making my personal life more productive and enjoyable.

Step 4. Planning:

I need to take time to identify the importance of projects and continue to expand my project management through real world experience.

Step 5. Repeat:  

1.      Experiencing: I am currently planning an ugly sweater party for my dorm hall.

My Step-by Step Process:

1.      Drive: The holidays are approaching as well as finals, everyone needs a light, small chance to unwind, have fun, and bond.

2.      Establish goals using a diamond:

                                                              i.       What is a successful Ugly Sweater Party?

                                                            ii.      Goals must be: Practical, obtainable, and measureable

                                                          iii.      Brainstorm:

Have Fun

Have over ten people present

Have everyone wearing ugly sweaters and other silly garb

Have entertainment

Have holiday food and drink

                                                          iv.      Identify the best goals:

Have fun

Have everyone wearing ugly sweaters and other silly garb

Mingling between guests

Have food and drink

                                                            v.      Analyze and modify the best goals:

Fun isn’t very measurable, but laughter and smiling can indicate fun

Ugly sweaters are important and silly garb helps to reduce exclusion of people

I want my hall to bond so mingling is very important and can replace entertainment/include entertainment

Food and drink cost money and I don’t have a lot of funds.

                                                          vi.      Decide on the goals to be set:

Have a Ugly Sweater Party with neighbors from my hall that have attempted to wear something ugly or silly, with cookies, crackers and cheese, eggnog, and juice that is full of light hearted conversation.

3.      Break project down using a diamond:

                                                              i.      What is do I need to do to accomplish my goal?

                                                            ii.      Tasks must be simple

                                                          iii.      Brainstorm:

Get cookies

Get decorations

Get crackers and cheese

Get juice

Advertise party to hall

Set up decorations

Get utensils for eating/drinking including plates and cups

Find number of people planning to attend

                                                          iv.      Identify the best tasks:

All of them

                                                            v.      Analyze and modify the best goals:

The number of people attending needs to be determined before food/drink and plates, cups, etc. are bought

Advertising must be done before I know how many are interested

Decorations can be bought at any time but shouldn’t be set up too early; they also must be bought according to a plan and need to be organized with enough time to set up

                                                          vi.      Decide on the tasks:

1.      Advertise- include a system to count those interested

2.      Plan and buy decorations

3.      Buy cookies, crackers, cheese, eggnog, juice, and cups and plates appropriately for the number of guests

4.      Set-up decorations (be done at least 30min before planned time)

5.      Set out food (out as soon as a handful of guests have arrived)

4.      Assign tasks evenly among the collaboration team

1-      Self

2-      Sarah and Michelle

3-      Will and Sean

4-      All

5-      All

5.      Complete the tasks/sub-goals

6.      Meetings:

1.      Established Goals and tasks

2.      Advertising poster are set up there is a sign-up sheet.  Everyone decided on also verbally advertising and updating count individually

3.      Updated count, planned budget, helped brainstorm decoration

7.      Achieve project goals

The party is not until Dec 7^th.

Step 2. Reflection:

This project had some tasks that were poorly defined. The decoration planning was difficult sense it was such a broad task, it took the whole team to decide on decorations meaning assigning it to just two people was a poor decision. Establishing a specific goal helped the project to have direction, making the tasks easier to identify. Having a drive of relaxing before finals makes the whole process more enjoyable because a very positive end vision is in place that benefits not only the team, but our entire hall.

Step 3. Conceptualization:

The key to success is goal setting. Goals give direction and vision, without them it’s very easy to become lost. Small goals are very helpful also, our decoration planning task had no goal and it hurt its execution.

Step 4. Planning:

I need to be specific in goals and tasks and each task should have a goal.

Growing My Performance in Collaboration

In the engineering field, almost all work is done in teams so collaboration and team work skills are vital for success.

                The first step to working well in collaborating, to learn and grow as a unit, is knowing how to grow as an individual. The most common block to growth is defensive reasoning. Defensive reasoning is a natural response to mental stress caused by feelings of judgment, failure, inferiority, etc. During these stressful situations, the mind naturally starts defensive reasoning, a mental fight or flight response, and one becomes emotional, stubborn, and/or irrational. These reactions cause a limitation of growth as one can never truly be challenged. However, one can overcome defensive reasoning, a natural reaction by recognizing it and making the conscious decision to move from the emotional, irrational state to a logical, self- reflective state, which may require time for the emotions to simply run their course. One system of reflective thinking is called SII.

                SII is an acronym for strengths, improvements, and insights. The process requires one to first identify personal strengths in actions, attitude, etc. that surround the situation. When identifying the strengths one must also take note how one made that positive action, etc. so one can replicate the strength and develop a specific reason replication the strength is important. By identifying the how and why of the strength one is both willing and capable of repeating the beneficial action, etc. Secondly, one should identify areas that are in need of improvement. Again the how and why need to be identified. One must recognize how to improve and why it is important to improve the lacking action, etc. Lastly, one must identify an insight in the areas that have been analyzed, i.e. a realization of a process or idea that improves the area as a whole.

                SII Example: Collaboration

Strengths:

·         I work hard on tasks assigned individually for later collaboration or application.

o   How- Once, these tasks are defined, I immediately start outlining how I am going to accomplish these goals and begin execution to provide the best possible contribution.

o   Why- My team is dependent on me to do these tasks. Doing these well also develops dependability and confidence within the team, which is essential for ambitious projects.

·         I am open minded to others ideas and encourage other’s to be open-minded

o   How- I look for beneficial assets of every idea as well as the flaws, encourage discussion of the positive and negative attributes of the idea, and record the idea for later reference (both the assets and flaws).

o   Why- Open-mindedness of all team members helps reduce argument and increases innovative thinking.

Improvements:

·         I tend to get side tracked and begin discussions on irrelevant things.

o   How- I can reduce this tendency by focusing on the topics to be addressed with the group before collaboration begins so my mind is primed with only applicable thoughts.

o   Why- These distractions are a waste of time and destroy the team momentum generated by focused, energetic work, so reducing/eliminating these will improve the results and effectiveness of all collaboration.

·         I occasionally arrive late to meetings.

o   How- I should not take on tasks that will interfere with the meeting times in any way, and should plan a departure time early in the day so I can plan my day accordingly.

o   Why- Tardiness slows down the group and hurts my dependability and hence overall team confidence in the team and myself.

Insights:

·         Teamwork requires all members to perform at their peak. So, by performing at my best I will encourage others to do the same.

The information in this blog is based off on Dr. Elger's website L4do.com

Tech Transfer and Intellectual Property

Gaylene Anderson gave a guest lecture, from the lecture I gained some useful knowledge in the invention and patent field. I learned the importance of confidentiality, the benefits of licenses, and about the services offered by University of Idaho Office of Technology Transfer.

Public disclosure/Confidentiality: Public disclosure, making information available to the public, is something that must be used carefully. When a patent is made, the information about the patent is fully public, however, if the idea is publicly disclosed, which includes simply telling someone about the idea without a confidentiality contract, the idea is void for a patent in the entire world except the United States. The United States will accept the patent within 12 months of public disclosure. So, if I have an idea that I believe is actually marketable, I should not display the whole idea if any part of the idea in any class i.e. ME 223, or I should go in for patent very quickly after words. This information if very beneficial in protecting ideas since any public disclosure before patented destroys protection.

Tech Transfer on Campus: The University of Idaho Office of Technology Transfer (OTT) is part of the university research office and is responsible for managing intellectual property.  OTT will pay for the patent and help sell or license an invention or idea if they believe it is marketable. The university would take part of the profits made from the idea or invention to fuel more patents and improve research on campus. However, if the idea is considered unmarketable by OTT, it is kept confidential so the inventor may attempt patent on their own accord. Applied personally, if I have any idea I can try to get a patent or simply visit to get an opinion on the idea to know if it’s worth further pursuit. To patent something for myself I must show that it is independent from the university, same as the work place setting. The university however, must give a profit “cut” to the inventor, but companies do not. A company may give a promotion or bonus to reward an innovative design.

License: Once a patent is established revenue can be made from the idea via marketing the invention by oneself, selling the idea, or licensing the rights to the idea to a company or companies. Selling the idea gives the inventor an instant gain whereas marketing the idea via licensing or by oneself is more long term. Licensing allows the inventor to receive part of the profits from the execution of the idea without having to go through the process, cost, or risk of the execution/manufacturing process. Personally using licensing rather than selling the idea or marketing it on my own allows me to focus on other avenues without further dedication to that one thing while still benefiting from it, at cost of a larger potential gain possible if I handled the idea/invention myself.

My Thermal Mug Math Model

 I constructed a math model for the following situation: "Warm water (an idealization of beer or soda) is poured into a container (an idealization of a chilled mug) that has been placed in the freezer. The system (i.e. mug plus water) is allowed to reach thermal equilibrium."

             The first thing I do when making math models is outline the situation and goal of the model. Secondly, I brainstorm the physics involved in the situation and then I relate those to equations all mentally and verbally. Then I organize my thoughts by writing down the equations and defining the variables. Then I start algebraically manipulating the equations until I have isolated the desired variable. Lastly, I put my equation into a calculator or computer program with some example values of which are easily testable or relevant to life. I then compare my values to experimental values to check the accuracy of the model. In this case I created a function for my model in Matlab. As I am a college student I actually don’t really have the resources of testing the situation in a common application easily, and I was unable of finding someone else’s results of a similar experiment, so I was unable to test my model in a timely manner

Math Model in Matlab:

For this example, the container is a large glass beer mugs, of which tend to weigh around 2 lbs (about 900g), the mug was in a common household freezer and 250 ml/g of water (about 8 ounces) at room temperature is poured into the mug.

Matlab Script:

function T= thermal(Mw,Mc,Cc,Toc,Tow)

Mw=.001*input('amount of water [g]');

%requests for the mass of water and converts from g to kg

Mc=.001*input('mass of container [g]');

%requests for the mass of container and converts from g to kg

Tow=input('initial temperature of the water [C]');

%requests the initial temperature of the water

Toc=-20.5; %common temperature of household freezers [C] (exemplary value)

Cc=.84; %specific heat of glass (exemplary container material [kJ/kg*C)

T=(4.18*Mw*Tow+Mc*Cc*Toc)/(4.18*Mw+Mc*Cc)

%the final temperature of the glass and water

Command of Model:

>> thermal;

amount of water [g]250

mass of container [g]900

initial temperature of the water [C]23

T =

    3.9006

 The situation is from Dr. Don Elger's website learning4doing.com

Designing Engineering Experiments

Experiment design is designing, executing, analyzing data of, and redesigning or repeating an experiment and reporting final data and conclusions from the experiments. Experiment redesign is done when the results are inconsistent and when variables and errors need to be eliminated.

           

Experiment design is done because it is the best way gather engineering data and learn. The experiments reveal how the real world works and if it aligns with one’s own math model or predictions then one obviously understands the principles of nature. Also, data cannot lie so one can be confident in one’s data and can be used to correct math models and misguided ideas. The reports resulting from experiment design can be shared and evaluated by others which is necessary for developing credibility.

Experiment design is done by first setting the goals for the experiment. Secondly, one must research the current knowledge about the subject(s) addressed in the experiment. Third, a hypothesis is generated. Fourth,: data measurement is planned, variables are defined, instruments are gathered and calibrated, the experiment is described step by step and all other needed materials and apparatus is gathered. Fifth, the experiment is executed; data is collected, recorded, and analyzed/ compared to one’s hypothesis and existing theories. Lastly, the process is repeated which may require a redesign of the experiment until reliable results are produced.

Some application of experiment design:

One can create multiple prototypes for a design project to generate data for deciding on a final design to best fit the goals of the project.

When one creates a math model, experimental data can be used for constant values (spring constants, mass, etc.) and to correct or confirm the model.

When learning one can teach another the ideas to provide evidence of personal areas of understanding and areas that lack understanding.

Experiment design is based on the scientific method, but not all people truly believe in things scientifically. These people exercise an “Alchemy” Belief System. They may believe in science but only when it supports their world view. When data contradicts their world view they employ defensive reasoning which is an irrational rejection of data. Those who have a Scientific Belief System, in contrast, use data and reasoning to continually develop and change their world view. The latter belief system is not as common because of biology. When a one faces a threat, in this case to one’s established understanding, a set of fear chemicals are released that reduce rational thought and increases instinctual reactions which are faster, in other words, one enters fight or flight. The Scientific Belief System requires rational thought, so naturally one does not exercise the Scientific Belief System. The Scientific Belief System requires one to actively decide to use rational thought during the specific time of threat described. Those who do make that decision benefit from new ways of thinking and better learning.

This is based on Dr. Don Elger’s website: learning4doing.com.

Temperature Measurement

I wrote a basic program for the Arduino to increase my knowledge of computer programming. I am studying to become a mechanical engineer so computer programming although not a focus of my studies is very important. A moderate knowledge of computer programming aids in  understanding the programs I may use in industry and will allow a solid foundation if I ever need to create my own program for specialized analysis.

I wrote my program by first researching for programs that are already created so I can analyze others' work for well and poorly designed systems. Then I outlined my goals for my program and then using the knowledge collected from research and from my background I wrote a program that I believe meets my goals. While writing my program I annotated each line of code to better understand what the code is doing for later reference and for other's to understand my code easily.

My Written Arduino Code:

//TMP36 Pin Variables

int temperaturePin = 0; 

//the analog pin the TMP36's Vout (sense) pin is connected to the 

//resolution is 10 mV / degree centigrade (500 mV offset) to make 

//negative temperatures an option

/*

 * setup() - this function runs once when you turn your Arduino on

 * We initialize the serial connection with the computer

 */

void setup()

{

  Serial.begin(9600); 

  //Start the serial connection with the computer to view the result 

  //open the serial monitor last button beneath the file bar 

  //(looks like a box with an antennae)

}

void loop()        

// run over and over again

{

  static int t;

  // t is a local variable

  t++; 

 // time increases with each loop

  

 float celsius= getVoltage(temperaturePin); 

 //getting the voltage reading from the temperature sensor

 celsius= (celsius- .5) * 100;          

 //converting from 10 mv per degree wit 500 mV offset

 //to degrees ((volatge - 500mV) times 100)   

                  

float fahrenheit= (celsius*9/5)+32;          

//converting the read temperature from celsius to fahrenheit 

 Serial.println("Time [s]");              

 // prints the label for time 

 Serial.println(t);       

 // prints the time elapsed 

 Serial.println("Temperature [F] and [C], respectively");     

 // prints the label temperature converted and read

 Serial.println(fahrenheit);       

 // printing the temperature in fahrenheit

 Serial.println(celsius);    

 // printing the temperature in celsius 

 Serial.println(" ");            

 // prints a space between each loop to help organize the serial monitor

 delay(993); 

 // delays 1 sec minus the error of approx 7 millisec per loop from the 

 //arduino processing and looping, (error calculated experimentally)

 }

/*

 * getVoltage() - returns the voltage on the analog input defined by

 * pin

 */

float getVoltage(int pin){

 return (analogRead(pin) * .004882814); 

 //converting from a 0 to 1023 digital range to 0 to 5 volts 

 //(each 1 reading equals ~ 5 millivolts

}

My code in action:

Ice on 1/8in Aluminum (only 60 sec intervals displayed)

Time [s]
1
Temperature [F] and [C], respectively
72.96
22.75

Time [s]
60
Temperature [F] and [C], respectively
71.20
21.78


Time [s]
120
Temperature [F] and [C], respectively
68.56
20.31

Time [s]
180
Temperature [F] and [C], respectively
67.68
19.82

Hot tap water poured into plastic bottle:

Time [s]
1
Temperature [F] and [C], respectively
77.35
25.20

Time [s]
2
Temperature [F] and [C], respectively
77.35
25.20

Time [s]
3
Temperature [F] and [C], respectively
77.35
25.20

Time [s]
4
Temperature [F] and [C], respectively
78.23
25.68

Time [s]
5
Temperature [F] and [C], respectively
79.11
26.17

Time [s]
6
Temperature [F] and [C], respectively
79.11
26.17

Time [s]
7
Temperature [F] and [C], respectively
79.99
26.66

Time [s]
8
Temperature [F] and [C], respectively
80.87
27.15

Time [s]
9
Temperature [F] and [C], respectively
80.87
27.15

Time [s]
10
Temperature [F] and [C], respectively
81.75

27.64

My code is based off of the code found at http://www.oomlout.com/oom.php/products/ardx/circ-10. However, I modified the code to be easier to read in the serial monitor output by including the time at which data was collected and labeling the data. I also included measurements in both Celsius and Fahrenheit to save time if conversion was needed. Lastly, I let my program run for an hour so I could calculate the error in the time reading caused by the Arduino looping the program and processing data. I then corrected the delay time to take into account the error for accurate data collection.