ECE4884 / 4007 – Culminating Design Project
Fall 2007
Weekly Progress Reports
Summary
As is typical for “real world” design projects, each design team is required to submit brief weekly status
reports summarizing current status, accomplishment of tasks, and planned activities.
Report Details
Reports must be submitted every Wednesday (before midnight) via email to both your project adviser and
Professor Michaels (via ece4007report@ece.gatech.edu). The first report is due on Wednesday, August
29th. The report should be submitted by your team leader and all team members should be copied. Only
official Georgia Tech email addresses should be used (e.g., xxxxx@gatech.edu). The report must be
submitted in plain text as the body of the email, not as an attachment. The subject of the email must be
“ECE4007xxx Progress Report: yyyyy,” where “xxx” is your section (L01, L02, L03 or RP1) and
“yyyyy” is your team name.
Each report must include the following sections:
1. Team Information. Team name, list of team members, and project advisor.
2. Current Status. Briefly summarize the current status of your project.
3. Task Status. Briefly indicate the status of all tasks assigned to each team member from the previous
week.
4. Planned Individual Tasks. Provide a numbered list of planned tasks for each team member for the
next week.
5. Problems. Indicate any problems your team is currently encountering, and summarize contingency
plans for overcoming the problems.
6. Other. Your project advisor may have additional requirements.
Note that the weekly report should be brief, coherent and informative, clearly indicating progress, plans
and problems. Example reports are attached.
ECE4884 / 4007 – Culminating Design Project
Fall 2007
Sample Unacceptable Weekly Progress Report
Remember, you are writing so that a technically astute but moderately uninvolved third person,
who may be paying or grading you, can understand your group’s scenario.
X-Mailer: QUALCOMM Windows Eudora Version 5.1.1
Date: 29 Aug 2007 23:59:59 -0400 late, due on 29 August
To: ece4007reports@ece.gatech.edu, profdoom@ece.gatech.edu
From: george@hotmail.com wrong email address formats
cc: george@gmail.com, Georgia@aol.com, BillyBob@prism.gatech.edu
Subject: AntiGravity wrong subject line format
AntiGravity Group status email: Due 29 August 2007
Dr. Doom’s dream-team: George, Billy Bob, and Georgia
Follow the format. Repeat all group details each week.
Current Status
It doesn’t work yet.
Nice intuitive synopsis, but be more formal and include quantitative specifics and additional details.
What does not yet work? Why?
Task Status
We are getting the stuff.
What stuff? Why? How much? Who is getting it?
Include quantitative specifics particular to each participant.
Planned Individual Tasks
George will get the stuff.
There is not much new in this line. What stuff? When? How much?
Georgia and Billy Bob will do the writing.
Writing what? Due when? Can we confirm next week that tasks were accomplished or otherwise identify
impediments?
Problems
We can’t find orange widgets.
Write more formally and with sufficient details of the problem. Propose a plan with specifics of dates and
thresholds for problem resolution.
ECE4884 / 4007 – Culminating Design Project
Fall 2007
Sample Acceptable Weekly Progress Report
X-Mailer: QUALCOMM Windows Eudora Version 5.1.1
Date: 29 Aug 2007 23:59:59 -0400
To: ece4007report@ee.gatech.edu, profdoom@ece.gatech.edu
From: gt123x@prism.gatech.edu
cc: gt123x@prism.gatech.edu, gt456y@prism.gatech.edu, gt789z@prism.gatech.edu
Subject: ECE4007 Progress Report: AntiGravity
AntiGravity Group status email: Due 29 August 2007
Advisor: Professor Doom
George P. Burdell gt123x@prism.gatech.edu 404-206-0000
Georgia Burdell gt456y@prism.gatech.edu 678-123-4567
Billy Bob Burdel gt789z@prism.gatech.edu 404-123-4567
Current Status
Our lab prototype presently can lift only 4.3 pounds. We now have a working cyclotron which we intend
to modify to produce the three needed non-lethal isotopes. Once we have prices for all the additional
widgets and determine whether or not they exceed our $147 budget or whether we can get a donation, we
shall propose to our instructors that we proceed with the primary widget modification plan. If too
expensive, we shall generate another plan using purple widgets or propose a software solution.
Task Status
George found prices and delivery times for all parts except for the orange widgets. Prices are within our
budget, and delivery is prior to 10 September.
Billy Bob and Georgia visited the radiation healthcare school’s cyclotron facility to acquire isotope
samples. They have 150 milligrams of each.
We all decided to meet outside of class at 3:30pm on Thursdays.
Planned Individual Tasks
George will find the prices for and availability of the orange widgets before next Wednesday.
Georgia and Billy Bob will finish the proposal by 4pm Saturday. We all shall review the proposal via
email prior to our next weekly report.
Billy Bob will contact the FAA prior to Tuesday to determine the environmental requirements and
whether we can visit an airport.
Upon arrival of the saucer’s mechanical drawings (anticipated next Wednesday), Georgia will modify
drawings for our new wheel.
Problems
Prompted by distributor feedback, we are concerned about the availability of orange widgets prior to
semester’s end. So, George is acquiring pricing and availability for purple widgets to which we shall
commit if orange is unavailable by 10 September.