Gems of Wisdom
- Start Early
- Two and a half weeks fly by really quickly. As soon as you get the project description, meet and start working on your ideas. Don't wait until after the design review to plan the implementation of your design - those are 5 very valuable days! - Set Goals
- Know what you want to accomplish overall, but also set your own checkpoints along the way. Short term goals help you keep track of what you have done and what is left to do. - Communicate!
- Everyone on the team should be on the same page. If people share their ideas and concerns, your team can work more efficiently and avoid conflicts later on. It is also very helpful if everyone knows what is going on so not everyone has to be in the lab (or awake) at once. - Planning Pays Off
- Thorough planning of state machines and circuit schematics pays off later in the project. Have fresh eyes look at your designs and continue iterating as you go. Integration of all components goes smoothly if a lot of work goes in at the beginning stages instead of jumping right in. - Divide and Conquer
- Have a couple people work together on different parts of the project, but don't have everyone working together all the time. Having someone with you to bounce ideas off helps a lot, and things move faster if everyone is not working on everything. - Trust Your Teammates
- Since you can't do everything yourself, trust that your teammates are doing their work correctly and focus on making your part as strong as it can be. - Ask Ed to stand next to you when you're having problems. They will miraculously disappear.
- Molexes are finicky. So are wires. Secure them down somehow and that will eliminate a lot of problems.