IMD 4 Honours Project - a journey through sound
Semester 2 – a review
In semester two I started implementing the various aspects of the project, which I had worked out over semester one. This is something, which I would like to have seen being done at an earlier stage of the project. There are various reasons for this. One was that the elements looked at in the first semester took longer than anticipated as mentioned in my review of that semester. The other thing is that some elements in semester two itself took longer or could not be done at certain stages.
Financial constraints were a major factor. This was due to my own lack of realization at how expensive certain elements would be, but I feel this could not have been avoided as by the time this was realized the project was too far under way to have made significant changes which would have affected this, therefore it is just the nature of how such a project pans out. Another element, which contributed to this I feel, was a failing in communication by the course, in which we were not properly informed of how our budget could be used. For example the most expensive and major component in my project was bike itself, and this had to be put off being purchased when I was informed that I would not be able to claim back any of the cost of this from the allotted budget for the project. This affected the project by delaying this purchase to a much later stage than intended, and also by reducing the time, which I could dedicate to the project, as I had to earn more money to put towards the project.
This has made me realize the importance of proper financial management, which is something we had not fully experienced throughout the earlier years of the course, but is definitely a main factor when it comes to working in an industry environment, therefore while I feel this did make the project much more difficult to manage, I feel there is a positive lesson learned from this.
One of the decisions made at an early stage was whether to create a project, which I already had the knowledge and expertise to do at the time. In the end, I chose a project where I didn’t necessarily have all the knowledge and expertise, but that I did know I had the time and resources available to me to learn what was required. I feel that this decision has served me well as it has given me new challenges that have kept me interested for the duration of the project. As well as this, the actual subject matter of the project combined two passions, therefore again helping to keep and element of focus over the duration.
I feel that the prototypes, which I created, were thoroughly effective for gathering the information I needed to move forwards with the project. In each prototype it gave me the opportunity to look in depth at numerous elements, which have affected the outcomes of the project. By breaking the project into its various parts and building up prototypes in stages, it allows me to build on each by adding the elements together. This ensured that each stage was up to scratch before I built upon it. Although I have broken it up into three main prototypes, each was built upon the other after the required changes were made. This iterative approach was useful as it made me sure that I knew how each section worked, and that it worked, before moving on from there.
I do wish that I had managed to secure myself a bicycle early in the process as I had hoped to have final version by this stage. Alas, this was not to be, but the work I have done on the prototypes has made sure that all the elements do work as they should, and now I need to go forward in making this portable for a finished version.
Therefore, over the semester, I think I have been successful with my prototypes at ensuring progress was being made, but some better management by myself, and better transparency by the course could have aided my project greatly.