Project Management Level 2 - Team Coordination

Learning Objective

Apply Level 1's foundation to real FRC team coordination: lead small project teams through effective meeting facilitation and conflict resolution, build a build-season schedule from FIRST's own Build Season Timeline template and track it in Basecamp (the team's own project and communication platform) using its Card Table, To-dos, and Schedule tools, map the sub-team dependency chain (CAD needs to be far enough along before Mechanical can fabricate, Mechanical before Electrical can mount hardware, Electrical before Programming can integrate) as a resource-allocation and risk exercise, track a real budget and parts inventory against FIRST's Example Budget template, and manage stakeholder relationships -- all built around the fact that, unlike most projects, an FRC competition ship date cannot slip. This level is self-guided and typically takes a couple of months; completing it means you can perform most of the day-to-day project coordination the team needs.

Prerequisites

• Project Management Level 1 - Personal Organization
• Business Level 1 - Fundamentals

Primary Resources

• Basecamp Help Center
• FIRST: Team Management Resources (Build Season Timeline, budget & business plan templates)
• LearnFRC: Project Management Through Build Season
• Team 167 (Iowa City Robotics): Team Administration

Tasks

1. Team Leadership

   • Facilitate effective team meetings
   • Manage team dynamics
   • Resolve conflicts constructively
   • Delegate tasks appropriately

2. Project Planning

   • Build a build-season schedule using FIRST's Build Season Timeline as a starting template
   • Track tasks and milestones using Basecamp's Card Table and To-do lists
   • Manage resource allocation across sub-teams
   • Monitor and report project progress

3. Risk Management

   • Identify potential project risks
   • Develop mitigation strategies
   • Create contingency plans
   • Map the sub-team dependency chain (CAD, then Mechanical, then Electrical, then Programming) and identify where a slip in one sub-team blocks another
   • Plan around a fixed competition ship date that cannot slip, unlike most project deadlines

4. Budget & Inventory

   • Track a team budget against actual spending using FIRST's Example Budget template
   • Manage parts-ordering lead times and Kit of Parts inventory

5. Stakeholder Management

   • Identify key stakeholders
   • Develop communication plans
   • Manage expectations
   • Build stakeholder relationships

Level 2 Completion Requirements

• Successfully lead a real team project or sub-team task list from schedule to completion
• Build and maintain a build-season schedule and Card Table in Basecamp for a real project
• Create a project plan that maps sub-team dependencies and a fixed-deadline risk plan
• Demonstrate effective stakeholder communication and resource allocation across a project

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