Sam

Dave and I have launched the Spectrum Spectator, a spectrum policy metablog, at http://projectbroadcast.org/spectrumspectator. The Spectator aggregates feeds from 38 blogs, most of which were suggested by class members (Wireless Policy Resources) or by Sascha Meinrath (one of our esteemed advisors). The metablog's RSS feed is published by FeedBurner. We're using Google Analytics and FeedBurner Analytics to track hits and subscribers.

Assignment

 

Devise a strategy to quickly, easily, and fairly (1) prioritize projects, (2) sign up for projects, (3) document the members and the progress of each project...without burdening ourselves with too much work.

 

Members: Jake, Max, Sam, Bobby, and Patrick

 

Documenting the members and the progress of each project

 

Use a wiki to manage the projects.

• The main page will link to each project's page. We will provide a framework or template for each project's wiki page. The template will include a list of group members and their contact information, as well as any memos submitted to Christian for grading. Other components of the template may include a timetable and weekly status reports. Does the class have other suggestions for common components of the project wikis?
• Group members can edit the wiki pages only for their own projects.

 

Signing up for projects

 

Constraints

• Each project must have at least two group members.
• Each project must have at least one graduate student.
• Every student must be designated the leader for at least one project
• Each project will be allotted a certain number of group members, depending on the perceived size and scope of the project. Erring on the side of having too many members (rather than too few) is preferred. Who should determine the number of members allotted to each group?

Signing up for projects

• Each class member should choose five projects and rank his or her interest in those projects from 1 to 5, with 1 representing the strongest interest.
• On the projects blog, each project will have a section in which class members can list their ranking for that project.
• Membership in each group will be determined according to the rankings.
• How does the sign-up process proceed as new projects are added to the list?

Choosing a project leader. Alternatives (need class input)

• Each project chooses its own group leader. However, no one who has already lead a project can lead a second project if there are members of the first project that have not yet led a project. This constraint should ensure that all class members are able to lead at least one project.
• Project leaders are chosen only from among those class members who expressed the greatest interest (highest ranking) for a project.
• The project leader designation is given to whichever project member asks for it first.
• Project members who are interested in leading a project 'apply' for the position by submitting a short memo.

 

Prioritizing Projects

 

Alternatives (need class input)

• Decentralize the decision-making related to prioritization of projects. If two projects are dependent (i.e., one project needs to reach certain milestones before the second project can reasonably proceed), then the project leader for the second project is responsible for (1) identifying that dependence, and (2) negotiating a reasonable set of deadlines/deliverables with the leader of the first project. The negotiated set of deadlines/deliverables will be listed on the project wiki for both projects, and the first project's members will be responsible (graded) for fulfilling the agreement.
• The Workflow group can identify dependences among projects and impose deadlines for which the affected groups would be responsible.

It turns out, sadly, that I have relatively few skills.
Fortunately, my friends have lots of skills, and I'm a grade-A mooch.

I have about 15 friends who own houses in an area of Champaign that's probably 5 or 6 square miles. We could probably convince all of them to let us mount transceivers on their rooftops.

Languages

• Mine: English
• Friends: Portuguese, Spanish, French, Polish, Russian, Mandarin, Hindi, some African dialects, Japanese, Korean, German, possibly Farsi
  

Equipment

• Digital camera
• Digital video camera
• Webcam
• Car (6 seats, trunk)
• Wireless router
• Access to NCSA supercomputer. Could be very handy if we want to do any modeling/simulation.
  

Tools

• Wire strippers/cutters
• Drill
• Needle-nose pliers
• Hammers
• Screwdriver
• Step ladder

Programming

• C
• CUDA
• Perl
• Java

Skills

• Computer engineering (I'm good with digital technologies, but not so good with analog)
• Computer programming

If this were a real entry, really important things would appear here.