Project Manager Onboarding

Role Purpose

Project Managers (PMs) are the connective tissue of EMBS teams. Without PMs, projects risk stalling or becoming disorganized because they make sure…

  • Each role (Hardware, Firmware, AI/ML, Research, CAD) knows what to do.
  • Deadlines are realistic and tracked.
  • Progress is documented and shared with the club.
  • Members stay engaged and feel supported.
  • The team is able to present results clearly to leadership, other members, and external groups (e.g., Purdue, IEEE).

Why It’s Needed

  • Without a PM, roles tend to silo and progress stalls.
  • PM ensures deadlines are realistic and achieved.
  • PM provides accountability while keeping things fun and collaborative.
  • PM makes sure final deliverables (demo day, reports, presentations) are polished.

Onboarding Process

  1. Learn → Review the learning resources (technical report writing, Gantt charts, GitHub Projects).
  2. Learning Check → Complete the Project Manager quiz using the learning resources.
  3. Assignment → Draft a mini project plan: Task Breakdown + Timeline + Gantt Chart.
  4. Demo → Create a GitHub Project board for a sample Arduino BLE Sense project.
  5. Review → An officer/mentor will review your submissions for correctness and provide feedback.
  6. Discord Role Update → Once approved, you are officially assigned the Project Manager role.

Skills to Learn

Organizational Skills

  • Task organization → breaking work into small, trackable tasks.
  • Task tracking → using GitHub Projects, Trello, or Google Sheets.
  • Scheduling → planning timelines, milestones, and meetings.

Technical Literacy

  • Understand enough about Hardware, Firmware, AI/ML, Research, CAD to:
    • Translate tasks between roles.
    • Spot dependencies (e.g., “firmware can’t start until hardware wiring is done”).

Documentation & Communication

  • Logs & Diagrams → document weekly progress in Google Docs/Sheets.
  • Version control awareness → know what GitHub is and how repos are structured.
  • Reports & Presentations → short updates for officers & external stakeholders.

Leadership & Soft Skills

  • Conflict management → resolving member schedule clashes or task overlap.
  • Motivation → encouraging consistent participation.
  • Outreach → recruiting more team members when needed.

Learning Resources

Learning Check

Complete learning check by answering the questions in this google form.

Assignment

Draft a mini project plan using a Gantt chart for a sample Arduino BLE Sense project (Project Ideas).

Deliverables:

  1. Task Breakdown
    • Break the project into specific tasks for each role (Hardware, Firmware, AI/ML, Project Manager).
    • Write each task so it can be scheduled on a timeline (e.g., “Breadboard sensor,” “Write data logging code,” “Train baseline model”).
  2. Timeline
    • Arrange these tasks into weekly milestones (4–6 weeks).
    • Make sure the order reflects what depends on being finished first (e.g., hardware setup before data collection).
  3. Gantt Chart
    • Use your task list and timeline to build a Gantt chart that shows the order of operations and overlaps between tasks.
  4. Submit the task breakdown, timeline, and gantt chart into this google form

Demo Task

Draft a mini project plan using GitHub Project for a sample Arduino BLE Sense project (Project Ideas).

Deliverables (Can repeat task breakdown and timeline assignment):

  1. Task Breakdown → List tasks for each of the different roles (Hardware, Firmware, AI/ML, Project Manager).
  2. Timeline → Define weekly milestones for 4 weeks.
  3. GitHub Project Board → Create a GitHub Project board with columns (Backlog → In Progress → Review → Done) and add cards for each task. Assign roles and connect tasks to weekly milestones.
Sample Github Project Outline

Submission:

  • Share the link to your GitHub Project board and upload your Task Breakdown + Timeline into this Google Form

Expectations Once Verified

  • Run weekly check-ins with your project team (15–20 minutes).
  • Keep the task board updated — no task should be unassigned or forgotten.
  • Attend officer meetings if required to update on project status.
  • Mentor new PMs by showing them your boards and templates.