Progress Report
DUE FRIDAYS AT 5:00PM on OCTOBER 20, NOVEMBER 3, and NOVEMBER 17.
Table of contents
At this point, your goal shifts to making progress on your project. Every two weeks, we will ask you to share an update on your team’s progress during the past weeks, and plans for the next weeks.
Part 1: Vectoring
Start the week by meeting with your team to perform vectoring. What is currently the riskiest unanswered question in your project? What is core to answering that question, and what is periphery?
Part 2: Plan
Your answer to the vectoring question should make clear what you need to focus on. Identify a goal that your team thinks is achievable in two weeks to reduce the risk on the dimension of your selected vector.
Part 3: Report
Meet with your group to perform vectoring for the next two weeks. How far did you get, benchmarked against the goal you set? What is your new vector (in other words, what is now the riskiest unanswered question in your project)?
Your progress report should have the following sections, with a a few sentences for each section:
- Current vector: what is the vector, and why is that the riskiest unanswered question right now? (In future weeks, it will be fine to copy-paste this section from the “new vector” section of the last progress report.)
- Current plan: What is core and periphery, given that vector? What was your concrete goal to achieve by the end of the two weeks to reduce uncertainty in that vector? (In future weeks, it will be fine to copy-paste this section from the “next step” section of last week’s progress report.)
- Current result: What happened? Did this reduce uncertainty in the vector you selected?
- New vector: what is the vector, and why is that the riskiest unanswered question given what you learned this week?
- Next steps: What is core and periphery, given that vector? What is your concrete goal to achieve by the end of the next two weeks to reduce uncertainty in that vector?
- One sentence per person: what that individual did in the past weeks Execute that plan!
Submission and Grading
Submit your bi-weekly report on canvas. Only one submission is required per group. Your progress report will be graded on the following rubric:
- Vector: Did you select a vector that captures the main source of uncertainty in your project right now? (2pt)
- Plan: Did you create a plan that should reduce uncertainty in that vector? Is that plan achievable in a week? (2pt)
- Velocity: Did you make reasonable progress on your plan? We assume that plans may need to evolve as the week goes and you may need to re-vector midweek. We’re not grading on whether you stuck exactly to the plan, but on whether you maintained high velocity on your project. (4pt)