5.2. Deliverables

5.2.1. Project Proposals

The proposal isn’t just an idea; it’s a plan. It represents a plausible path all the way from a beginning to an ending. It should include every detail which can be worked out through research and discussion without actually fabricating or testing a prototype.

This process requires thinking through the entire process even in the presence of unknowns and contingencies. Ideally, it raises all the questions which the project might encounter, even though more will be discovered during the process, and then provides tentative answers.

The initial review of the proposal will be verbal in-class commentary, followed by written review. Please submit your proposal as a blog post to the 16-223 WordPress site by midnight prior to the day on which the proposal review occurs. Only one post need be submitted per group, but be sure to include the names of all contributors on the authors list (not necessarily in the post text).

For a detailed example, please see Sample Project Proposal: Waterfall Fireworks.

5.2.1.1. Proposal Checklist

1. Narrative description.
   1. Title.
   2. Short summary: how does it create delight or wonder?
   3. Preferred installation location in museum.
   4. A brief narrative description of a typical visitor experience.
   5. What would be a hallmark of success? What kind of observable behavior do you expect to see?
2. Technical outline.
   1. Short summary of the first-draft technical solution.
   2. What kind of materials, structure, and mechanism?
   3. What kind of sensors, actuators, and algorithms?
   4. What are the key technical challenges?
3. Project management.
   1. Designated individual responsibilities, as applicable.
   2. Objectives for the proof-of-concept demonstration.
   3. Objectives for the first on-site test.
   4. Known unknowns and contingencies. What cannot be decided now but may be revealed by a proof-of-concept test? What will be the possible alternatives from which to choose?
4. Budget outline.
   1. Identification of any special materials to be purchased or obtained.
   2. Bill of materials, including approximate quantities.
   3. Approximate cost estimates and total spending.
   4. If you exceed the amount promised from the course budget, please explain how the group will negotiate out-of-pocket spending.
5. Timeline. Please specify dates for the following milestones:
   1. Proof-of-concept test to clarify known unknowns.
   2. Design of custom parts.
   3. Purchasing of special materials or parts.
   4. Fabrication of custom parts.
   5. Mechanical and electrical assembly.
   6. Programming.
   7. Lab testing and debugging.
   8. On-site testing (see Fall 2017 Calendar).
6. Sketches.
   1. Isometric or perspective view of the overall device or installation. Please include scale and units.
   2. Detailed two-view or three-view sketches for any mechanical elements (structure, bearings, linkages, motor drives, circuit boards, etc.) Please include scale and units.
   3. Visual depiction of the project in context, as appropriate.

5.2.1.2. General Proposal Prompts

A good proposal will answer as many of the following prompt questions as pertinent:

1. What is your big idea, in a sentence or two? How does it address the museum context?
2. If you apply why-how laddering, can you identify an essential underlying question? What is the simplest abstraction of your idea?
3. Who is the audience? This might include user, viewers, or passive bystanders. What is the experience of the audience? What might they remember?
4. Are there existing projects you have referenced? Please include citations.
5. What will your proof-of-concept entail? Can you sketch it? Can you sketch the engineering elements (circuits, mechanical drawings)? Good drawings at this stage are invaluable, they can identify many potential problems much more efficiently than fabrication.
6. How do you propose to divide the tasks among the team? What roles will you each undertake and for which parts?
7. What features do you specifically propose to ignore? E.g., a project involving a wearable device could focus on sensing and actuation but choose to ignore battery operation in favor of a wired supply. In general, we’d prefer you keep your workload under control by emphasizing interesting behavior or interactivity over fit and finish.
8. What features do you specifically propose to test? How will we know if it worked?
9. What qualitative or quantitative metrics can we apply to gauge the success of the prototype?

5.2.2. Intermediate Progress Report

The intermediate project report is a progress report delivered after the first on-site test as a launch point for the second iteration. It should be submitted as a post to the 16-223 WordPress site with an accompanying summary documentation video and photos. Please write it as narrative text that includes answers to the following prompts:

1. Analysis
   1. What technical limitations did you discover during the visit?
   2. In what ways did children and adults find a moment of delight in your project?
   3. What aspects of the observed interactions were surprising to you?
   4. What are additional or different interaction features which would help visitors perceive more of the delight, magic, function, or purpose?
   5. How does this visit change your vision of the fully realized project?
   6. Summary video clip and supporting photos.
2. Revision Plan
   1. What will it take to resolve known technical limitations?
   2. How does the fundamental experience need to be modified?
   3. What new capability will you add beyond the initial objectives?
   4. Schedule: please duplicate and fill in the Phase 2 Schedule Template with a detailed accounting of tasks for the remainder of the semester. Please show specific tasks as text on a timeline, roughly similar to a Gantt chart format (without the dependency arrows, colored blocks optional). Each task title text should be positioned at the start date for the task. Please include a readable link in your progress report, either sharing the sheet with all CMU or your instructors.

No specific technical documentation is required at this point, but you may include code, drawings, or CAD files if you wish specific feedback.

5.2.3. Final Project Reports

Each final project requires an accompanying report submitted as a post to the 16-223 WordPress site. The primary purpose of the report is to present the project as a completed artifact, with an emphasis on explaining how it reflects the museum context. Overall, it should document how the context spurred questions, the specific choices made in response, whether they were successful, and how future work could improve the result.

The report should focus on inquiry and outcome more than development narrative. Please don’t just write the story of everything that happened; please carefully consider whether any mistakes and diversions would be enlightening to the reader.

Enough technical documentation must be provided that a person skilled in the art could replicate the construction of the project. A one-to-two minute video should be included showing the behavior of the project in context.

Please adhere closely to the following submission rules:

1. Text
   1. Report documents must be submitted within a single WordPress post on the 16-223 WordPress site, with supportive code and engineering files attached as uploads.
   2. Each group must submit one joint report. If a group member fails to fulfill their documentation role, the other group members should submit what they can on time and ask for an extension with an explanation.
   3. Please set the post category to ‘Reports’. Posts may be public or private at your discretion. Please add all contributing students as post authors so the post will show up on each student’s index. Some hints on using site features can be found on the Site Help page.
   4. Each report should clearly attribute the contribution of each group member. Individual grades may be adjusted from group grades if it becomes apparent that contribution is not equitable. A separate confidential peer evaluation may be requested individually from each group member at the instructor’s discretion.
   5. Reports must generally include a statement of objectives, general description, results, photos, technical documentation, and citations of related work.
2. Media
   1. The post should include inline project photos.
   2. Please embed your video so it can be watched directly from the post. The easiest way to do this is to host it on a third-party site. Videos hosted directly on the course site should be .mp4 files and use the appropriate video shortcodes. N.B. hosted QuickTime .mov files cannot be embedded.
   3. Project videos are encouraged to include a title and credits.
   4. Project videos must adhere to the minimum and maximum duration limits (including titles and credits).
3. Technical Documentation
   1. All program source code is required and must be provided as uploads. Source code should be provided in original format. Short explanatory fragments can also be included inline. Please don’t just paste the code into a post unless it is tagged for proper code indentation and formatting. A dump of unformatted code is unreadable and useless for evaluation.
   2. Any available electronic schematics must be provided as inline images or as a PDF upload. Schematics must reflect the as-built state. Schematics must use conventional symbols and notation. Hand-drawn or illustrated schematics are acceptable, but the use of schematic capture software such as EAGLE is recommended as it will help reduce errors. Breadboard diagrams are not acceptable substitutes.
   3. Mechanical drawings and sketches are encouraged and may be provided as inline images or as a PDF upload. Mechanical drawings should clearly specify the scale and units.
   4. Any original mechanical CAD files should be uploaded in the original format.

5.2.4. Project Report Template

Careful documentation of projects and meaningful reflection on outcomes and process is an important part of the course. The technical specifications for projects reports are in the Final Project Reports section. Following are the general prompts for expected content for the main report text in outline form.

1. Project Title

   1. Author 1, Author 2
   2. Submission Date

2. Abstract

   Provide a brief paragraph summarizing the overall goals and results.

3. Objectives

   State your goals, and discuss what specific features are within scope for the project.

4. Implementation

   Discuss your design choices.

5. Outcomes

   Discuss the successes and failures of your choices.

6. Contribution

   Please provide a clear statement of each author’s individual contribution to the outcomes.

7. Embedded project video (not to exceed specified limit, generally one or two minutes).

8. Photo Documentation.

   Provide captioned photos which support your discussion. Please consider the purpose of each photo and write a caption which helps the reader understand your intent.

9. Citations

   Please provide references or links to related work.

10. Required Supporting Material

    As detailed in Final Project Reports, the following additional elements must be included separately from the main report text:

    1. electronic schematics
    2. mechanical drawings
    3. source code