Planning Week 5 presentation

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO PLAN?

Planning refers to the process of setting goals, developing strategies and outlining tasks and schedules to accomplish the goals and also help in deciding objectives both in quantitative and qualitative terms. It is an essential foundation to complete a successful project. 

Planning involves many different steps from the initial idea, to the allocation of tasks to team members and the weekly or daily scheduling/allocation of the required work. 

HOW DOES ONE PLAN?

Planning can be done in various ways. Each individual plans and evaluates their tasks in different manners, mostly in accordance to its difficulty.

The basic steps involved are:

1.      Analyze opportunity, problem or goal (what needs to be done?)

2.      Identify an aim for the project, define objectives (what outcomes are you aiming for?)

3.      Identify, explore and evaluate alternative options or solutions; Select the specific course(s) of action best suited to the goal; Detail planning (working out specific stages of the plan by determining who will do what, when, where, how and why, identify potential risks and contingency plans, collect resources - e.g the use of a Gantt Chart to define milestones).

4.      Plan implementation.

PLANNING TOOLS?

There are many ways to ensure a successful plan, some of which have been incorporated into our project. These include:

-  The Gantt Chart (On Google Doc Excel spreadsheet)

-  Group meetings: Online & Face to face

-  Regular blog posts regarding our individual progress (Group/Individual blogs on Blogger)

-  Each member updating the 3 shared Google documents (Word, Excel & Power-point) § Sketching (during our site visit as we don't have many resources)

PLANNING IN OUR PROJECT

In relation to our project, “The Aerial Ropeway in Katoomba” we created a Gantt chart, for each of us to follow. Each team member was assigned a particular issue or problem to solve.

Following the above timeline, each team member will submit individual task every week to their blogs and collaborate their work with the group. 

We plan to have majority of the modelling done by the end of this week so we can move on to textures and importing these models into Cryengine so that we can work on their interactivities.

KATOOMBA SITE VISIT PLANNING 28.3.14

As we had only four members joining us on the site visit, we had to plan and assign particular goals to each of the four to make sure we were successful and efficient as we only had once chance to attain the necessary information. The four people that visited the site were Daisy, Yen, Maria & Iqra.

Our main goal for the site visit was to observe and record what we see in the Landscape. Objects relevant will be photographed, video captured, sketched and measured as references to our project. Also things like pamphlets and maps will be collected as additional resources to work off. 

Group Goals for site visit:

•       Where/ how the end product of our project will be used at the facility. 

On site Individual Tasks

Maria

•       Focus on main task “Coal and Shale Bucket”

•       Modelling & Texture Research

Iqra

•       Focus on main task “Wheel movement of Carriage & Sky (Shale) Bucket”

•       Topographic information

•       Modelling & Texture Research

Yen 

•       Focus on main task “Topography”

•       Photography capturing landscape & topography

•       Capturing images for 123D Catch

Daisy

•       Focus on main task “Ropeway Tower, Rope & Foundation” . Photography capturing textures for vegetation, timber, logs.

  

After planning and writing down several goals for the visit, most of our time was spent learning the mechanics behind the buckets movement, its separate components and the reasons behind its failure. Many images of the environment and its textures were taken in order for our model to be accurate. 

Our initial plan for this assignment was to create a before (working ropeway), the breaking, and the after (120 years later) levels separately and to have the character be able to travel to these different stages through portals. However, after the site visit and a discussion with Russell we realized we were way ahead of ourselves and should change our level concepts to before (working ropeway which shows the overall blue mountains environment), a close up section of the start of ropeway, another close up section of one of the towers to show the movement of the buckets overhead, and the last level being a “exhibition” with the bucket to show its details. 

We also realized the scope of this assignment and the (extreme) high hopes of Phil and John and so our new plan of action is to ensure that our models are accurate and as close to history as possible. The most important details were the mechanisms of the bucket and the towers as well as their placings.

PLANNING FOR THE FUTURE 

After the site visit, the team clearly understood on what was to be achieved for this project. With all the recorded measurements of objects, modeling members will edit and finalize modeling and place materials. Cryengine topography members will have topography and vegetations ready based on map and information recorded from the site visit. When models and topographies are finalized, all members will collaborate their work and work on the close up sections in Cryengine, interactivity and animations.

As we’re approaching the important stages of the assignment we need to ensure we stay on track and avoid any further setbacks such as the delay in the site visit. Many further discussions need to be held in regards to the placing and creating of the environment and the levels of detail were going to go to.

References:

first image of slideshow:
http://www.scenicworld.com.au/experiences/sculpture/

rest of the images/videos used in this document have been captured by group members Daisy, Yen, Iqra and Maria at Scenic World, Blue Mountains.



Link to pdf  of 1000 words: 
https://www.dropbox.com/s/d8j95ej8us3av01/Wiki%20Group%20Presentation%201000%20Words.pdf

Link to Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MkChjEu1mg4&list=UUGTk-TmPFR7yNpUi_lZ3ujA



Link to "seven images":
http://arch1392ropeway.blogspot.com.au/2014/04/wiki-group-presentation-7-images.html

Link to powerpoint:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/c0cptki6jl3nztz/Week%205%2C%20Group%20Presentation%20Dropbox%20upload.pdf