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Copied over and updated from What are some good ways for an individual to prepare for iGEM? as requested by Nick. Keep in mind these are what I found to be personally useful and may not apply to everyone. Apologies for the length. I would rather err on the side of being too detailed than not being detailed enough. Things that are useful, are not taught in textbooks, but I'm not covering here are 1) how to do literature searches 2) how to do read the literature 3) how to think of great project ideas 4) how to stay motivated and many others, I'm sure.Something to keep in mind is the cost/benefit analysis and use that as motivation to do many things in parallel and throw in those extra little experiments that could tell you a lot about your system. For example, let's say you are doing 5 PCRs and 1 of them failed. Instead of trying to troubleshoot things serially, you should try many things at once (try different polymerases, try different Tms). Another example would be you don't know how much of a particular protein you need (your initial design will always assume you have perfect levels of that protein, this is almost never the case), so you could either 1) clone the gene after promoters of known strength 2) clone it after an inducibile promoter such as Pbad or 3) clone it into plasmids of various copy number or 4) make an rbs library and pick >24 clones to assay or 5) clone it into a DIAL plasmid and transform it into strains with various copy numbers http://www.jbioleng.org/content/5/1/10 .The key thing to remember is that cloning takes a long time. It's your time that ends up being expensive, not the reagents (assuming standard cloning and a decently funded lab). So in general, try to find the assumptions that could sink your boat, and conduct parallel experiments to ensure that they don't. You want to fail early and fail often. The earlier you fail (figure out something is wrong) the earlier you can reroute and make it actually work. So it's worth it to invest those extra little experiments that can test your basic assumptions and help you fail earlier.Always be thinking of alternate paths to your ultimate goal. And think about what your ultimate goal really is. It's often not "show X using the parts Y and Z". It's simply "show X using whatever parts work." Evolution finds answers to problems by sampling diversity. That's the approach you should take as well to "show X," do a literature search and find all of the components that could potentially be used to build a system to "show X."Numbers may really matter too. Is it simply "show X," or is it "show X with 99% efficiency"? If so, you may have to quantify each of the individual pieces in your system and define cutoff metrics for what is "good enough."Other tips off the top of my head:1) Learning how to clone is key. There are a lot of resources on the internet, but I'll point you to my advisor's http://openwetware.org/wiki/Arking:JCAOligoTutorialHome and a youtube channel that my labmate created http://www.youtube.com/user/bioetechniques1a) Learn about the different plasmids, what their copy numbers are, and who is incompatible with what. This is a good place to starthttp://www.qiagen.com/plasmid/bacterialcultures.aspx After that, learn about the R6K origin as well.2) If you are doing a PCR and subcloning, try to clone into a vector with a GFP reporter as background. Basically, you'd cut out the GFP gene and replace it with your DNA. That way, 1) you get the benefit of greater separation on the gel and 2) when you are inspecting colonies on the plate, you can screen for non-green colonies and know that they probably contain your insert. sfGFP is a great reporter for this purpose, it's really green. http://partsregistry.org/Part:BBa_I746916 and you can also buy some cheap UV flashlights (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001VZC5LAmatch the output to the GFP excitation wavelength) to excite the fluorophore @ your benchtop. RFP is okay as well, but in our hands needs longer to mature/become visible.3) Our standard PCR workflow is: try once with Phusion or Expand, try the kitchen sink troubleshooting, redesign the primers or question your template material (too complex? DNA degraded? wrong sequence?).3a) We also standardize our PCR protocols. So on every machine there will be the 1K55, 2K55, 3K55, etc programs. These will be Tm=55C, with 1kb, 2kb, 3kb, etc extension times. This way there's absolutely no editing of programs and no question about what you did.3b) Samples/plasmids from other sources/people are often wrong. Always sequence or verify the function. Never assume the sample is what they claim it to be until you prove it to yourself. Sequence data deposited at NCBI may also be wrong in my experience.4) Develop software or spreadsheets to keep track of samples. There is too much uncertainty in molecular biology as it is. Don't let your laziness in labeling tubes or having a good sample tracking system add to that uncertainty. A good rule of thumb is, "will I able to tell what this tube or sample is 6 months from now?"4a) I like to use a combination of google spreadsheets and ApE to store my data and manipulate the sequence, respectively. Something else I did was develop spreadsheet equations to automatically calculate fragment sizes for my digests and warn me if the desired fragment is too close to the background fragment. Bottom line is, if you find yourself doing something repetitive on the computer, you probably need some sort of script or program to automate it; computers can reduce time spent on those tasks by 100-fold but they can't help you pipette (yet).4b) Similarly, for sequencing reads, it's possible to write simple formulas that searches for the expected sequence within the actual sequence read and automatically tell you if the read is 100% correct, or if there is a problem. Then you can manually follow up with more detailed alignment. The goal is to get a solution that's good enough rather than something that will cover all use cases.5) In that same vein, try to streamline and standardize workflows. The PCR, digest, ligate, transform, miniprep is a good example. Develop your own routine and ALWAYS stick to it. That way you never forget a key step and you can mentally or literally keep track of the rough efficiencies (those success percentages that Christopher VanLang talks about) of each step and will know as soon as possible if it doesn't look right.6) Controls. Controls help familiarize you with the limitations of a new protocol and help debunk the false assumptions you made during the design. You may see an effect when you run the experimental sample, but if you also see it in the control sample, it strongly suggests it's not due to the mechanism that you think. ALWAYS think about the positive and negative controls you could run to troubleshoot either your protocol or your design.7) Learn about and use productivity-enhancing solutions. One example is the vacuum manifold (we call it the pig) for doing minipreps. Another would be using the multichannel pipette. Always be asking yourself or more experienced people "how can I do this better/faster?" If you can't afford to buy the manifold, consider building one. It's should be possible to jury rig one out of PVC pipe and other plasmid parts, I've seen some early stage startups do it.7a) Play around with manufacturer-recommended protocols. For example, for minipreps, it's usually okay to cut down spin times to 15s, except for the final drying spin.7b) Lab chores like making LB, agar plates, etc. If these media are just to grow up stuff for miniprepping etc then it's okay to fudge the numbers a little bit, the bacteria won't care if there was 24 or 25g / L, they're just happy to be alive. What we did was buy a bunch of scoops (like the ones in those protein powder tubs) and buy large tubs of LB powder. We bought scoops that were approximately the right volume to get 25g every scoop. That way you don't have to mess around with measuring powder everytime you make LB media.8) Visual bookmarking. Let's say you are pipetting a mastermix into 10 tubes. After you've pipetted into a tube, move it up one spot in your tube rack. That way you can easily keep track of which tubes you've already pipetted into.www.bitesizebio.com often has discussions and articles along this vein although their quality seems to have dropped recently.9) Don't laze around during incubation times. That 30 minute wait for the enzymes to digest IS NOT for you to check out facebook. You could be setting up the next experiment or answering questions on quora ;) Find a multi-timer and use it. I used to use http://skwire.dcmembers.com/fp/?page=ten-timer and we recently started developing a javascript/html timer with more functions useful for molbio http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2961290/GabeTimerV2.html(I like to label each timer and I'll write down notes telling me what to do when the notification box pops up). The human brain can only keep track of about 4-6 things (I think) at once in short term memory. Develop techniques to make things easier for you as you context switch your brain from experiment to experiment.10) (more iGEM-specific) Be a good guest in the lab. Be nice to the grad students. Ask them if they want help in making common reagents. Make sure you tell them if something is running low. Don't piss them off! Leave things cleaner than you found them.11) (more iGEM-specific) Have productive meetings. A lot of meetings end up with a list of action items but no one responsible for them. Volunteer to take care of action items as they come up. Have someone be a scribe and keep notes of who needs to get what done by the next meeting. Hold yourself accountable.12) Keep a daily to do list. At the end of every day, write down what you need to do tomorrow that's addressed to Future You. That way, when you come in the morning, there's no lag in figuring out what you have to do. Past You has already taken the time to write a nice note listing what has to be done. google tasks works well for me https://mail.google.com/tasks/canvas?pli=113) In our experience, KCM/TSS competent cells seem to be both the easiest to prepare as well as the most competent. Sample protocols forPrep: http://openwetware.org/wiki/IGEM:UC_Berkeley/2006/KCM_cells Usage:http://openwetware.org/wiki/IGEM:UC_Berkeley/2006/Plasmid_Transformation14) Bioinformatics tools and databases are unfortunately widely scattered across the web, unorganized, and non-standardized. Take time to familiarize yourself with each database or tool, it'll pay off in the long run. BLAST (all of the different flavors) is probably something you'll want to learn asap as it helps you identify what your sequence is (to make sure you are cloning the full length thing instead of some truncation). To quickly get genomic DNA, test my genomic PCRs, or just browse the genome of E. Coli I like to use http://microbes.ucsc.edu/cgi-bin/hgGateway?db=eschColi_K1215) Learn which restriction enzymes are good performers and which ones are bad. Generally, if you look at the units that NEB sells per $250, that is a good indication of how well that enzyme will perform. Some enzymes are just generally crappy cutters or tend to associated with the DNA and cause smearing in the gel. Also, read the entire FAQ section for the restriction enzyme you are having trouble with. NEB and Fermentas are usually pretty good at telling you what problems may occur. Not all restriction enzymes are created equally.16) "Hova bator" style egg incubators are cheap ways to get an additional 30C incubator without spending a ton of money.16a) you can build your own gel imager and save money and have much greater control over the shooting and where it saves/uploads the JPG file. Schematics from the Bustamante labhttp://panic.berkeley.edu/~ghe/GelDoc/ other DIY ideas from DIYbiohttp://openwetware.org/wiki/DIYbio/FAQ/Projects17) Brewing your own beer is a great way to practice microbiology!18) Time estimates are always probabilities. When you are first starting out, it's best to multiply the # of days planned by 2 or more. After you start collecting statistics you can get a better idea of how long things will take and what parts are risky. Knowing how long things will take will help you feel more in control of the project and ward of feelings of helplessness. Similarly, always keep probability and statistics in the forefront as you make decisions. Weigh information with a probability of being true (or your particular interpretation being true). Pursue back up plans... if something is 10% likely to be wrong, but you have another backup plan that also has about a 20% chance of being wrong, the likelihood that both will not work will be quite low.19) put information where you need it. For example, write the antibiotic you will be plating on on the rescue tube. Label tubes and plates that should grow up at 30c with an extra piece of tape on top to clearly differentiate them from plates that should be put in the 37C 'bator. Write what you should do the next day on culture tubes so you can read it and immediately refresh contexts. I like to think of it as loading programs into RAM.20) addgene and ATCC are great ways to get plasmids or strains. I think the registry also mails out DNA http://partsregistry.org/Main_Page if you email them (just expect a long time delay during the iGEM jamborree as they will be too busy).Often, other researchers are more than happy to send you samples and strains if you pay for shipping. A lot of them are also great to email to ask questions.21) And most importantly, think about what you want to get out of iGEM/lab/grad school. Is it to get a taste of what grad school would be like? Is it to get a taste of what synthetic biology is? Is it to work on a science project as a team? Actively think about and seek out the information and experiences that you want.

First, proof read your response to the school board… “How does one…”The RPF (Request for proposal) will likely have a long list of qualifications that you’ll need to show a response to. This will likely include very probing questions about your organizations experience and qualifications, past projects, references, insurance, bonding capacity and similar.Here’s a sample template for writing an RFP:http://name-aam.org/uploads/downloadables/RFP_Template.pdfHere’s a web site that documents an RFP for a school renovation and there are multiple downloadable documents, including the original RFP:Request for Proposals (RFP) for the Franklin School at 925 13th Street, NW

You did not specify what kind of proposal, here are two sources to start with, hope they are helpful.One:Source: WiKi how to do anythingwikiHow to Write a ProposalThree Parts:Sample ProposalsPlanning Your ProposalWriting Your Own ProposalCommunity Q&AWriting a good proposal is a critical skill in many occupations, from school to business management to geology. The goal of a proposal is to gain support for your plan by informing the appropriate people. Your ideas or suggestions are more likely to be approved if you can communicate them in a clear, concise, engaging manner. Knowing how to write a persuasive, captivating proposal is essential for success in many fields. There are several types of proposals, such as science proposals and book proposals, but the same basic guidelines apply for all of them.Sample ProposalsSample Proposal for Safety MeasureSample Proposal for Process ImprovementSample Proposal for Cost SavingsPart 1Planning Your Proposal1 Define your audience. You need to make sure that you think about your audience and what they might already know or not know about your topic before you begin writing. This will help you focus your ideas and present them in the most effective way. It's a good idea to assume that your readers will be busy, reading (or even skimming) in a rush, and not predisposed to grant your ideas any special consideration. Efficiency and persuasiveness will be key.[1][2] Who will be reading your proposal? What level of familiarity with your topic will they have? What might you need to define or give extra background information about? What do you want your audience to get from your proposal? What do you need to give your readers so they can make the decision you want them to make? Refine your tone to meet your audience's expectations and desires. What do they want to hear? What would be the most effective way of getting through to them? How can you help them understand what you're trying to say?2 Define your issue. It is clear to you what the issue is, but is that also clear to your reader? Also, does your reader believe you really know what you are talking about? You can support your ethos, or writing persona, by using evidence and explanations throughout the proposal to back up your assertions. By setting your issue properly, you start convincing the reader that you are the right person to take care of it. Think about the following when you plan this part: What is the situation this issue applies to? What are the reasons behind this? Are we sure that those, and not others, are the real reasons? How are we sure of it? Has anyone ever tried to deal with this issue before? If yes: has it worked? Why? If no: why not? Don't: write a summary obvious to anyone in the field.Do: show that you've conducted in-depth research and evaluation to understand the issue.3 Define your solution. This should be straightforward and easy to understand. Once you set the issue you're addressing, how would you like to solve it? Get it as narrow (and doable) as possible.[3] Don't: forget to comply with all requirements in the RFP (request for proposal) document.Do: go above and beyond the minimum whenever budget allows. Your proposal needs to define a problem and offer a solution that will convince uninterested, skeptical readers to support it.[4] Your audience may not be the easiest crowd to win over. Is the solution you're offering logical and feasible? What's the timeline for your implementation? Consider thinking about your solution in terms of objectives. Your primary objective is the goal that you absolutely must achieve with your project. Secondary objectives are other goals that you hope your project achieves. Another helpful way of thinking about your solution is in terms of "outcomes" and "deliverables." Outcomes are the quantifiable results of your objectives. For example, if your proposal is for a business project and your objective is "increase profit," an outcome might be "increase profit by $100,000." Deliverables are products or services that you will deliver with your project. For example, a proposal for a science project could "deliver" a vaccine or a new drug. Readers of proposals look for outcomes and deliverables, because they are easy ways of determining what the "worth" of the project will be.[5]4 Keep elements of style in mind. Depending on your proposal and who'll be reading it, you need to cater your paper to fit a certain style. What do they expect? Are they interested in your problem? Don't: overuse jargon, obscure abbreviations, or needlessly complex language ("rectification of a workplace imbalance").Do: write in plain, direct language whenever possible ("letting employees go").[6] How are you going to be persuasive? Convincing proposals can use emotional appeals, but should always rely on facts as the bedrock of the argument. For example, a proposal to start a panda conservation program could mention how sad it would be for the children of future generations to never see a panda again, but it shouldn't stop there. It would need to base its argument on facts and solutions for the proposal to be convincing.5 Make an outline. This will not be part of the final proposal, but it will help you organize your thoughts. Make sure you know all of the relevant details before you start.[7] Your outline should consist of your problem, your solution, how you'll solve it, why your solution is best, and a conclusion. If you're writing an executive proposal, you'll need to include things like a budget analysis and organizational details.Part 2Writing Your Own Proposal1 Start with a firm introduction. This should start out with a hook. Ideally, you want your readers enraptured from point one. Make your proposal as purposeful and useful as possible. Use some background information to get your readers in the zone. Then state the purpose of your proposal.[8] If you have any stark facts that shed some light on why the issue needs to be addressed and addressed immediately, it's a safe bet that's something you can start with. Whatever it is, make sure what you start out with is a fact and not an opinion.2 State the problem. After the introduction, you'll get into the body, the meat of your work. Here's where you should state your problem. If your readers don't know much about the circumstance, fill them in. Think of this as the "state of affairs" section of your proposal. What is the problem? What is causing the problem? What effects does this problem have?[9] Emphasize why your problem needs to be solved and needs to be solved now. How will it affect your audience if left alone? Make sure to answer all questions and cover them with research and facts. Use credible sources liberally. Don't: rely solely on generic appeals to emotions or values.Do: tie the issue to the audience's interest or mission statement as directly as possible.3 Propose solutions. This is arguably the most important part of your proposal. The solutions section is where you get into how you will address the problem, why you will do it in this way, and what the outcomes will be. To make sure you've got a persuasive proposal, think about the following:[10] Discuss the larger impact of your ideas. Ideas that seem of limited applicability aren't as likely to spark enthusiasm in readers as ideas that could have widespread effects. Example: "Greater knowledge of tuna behavior can allow us to create a more comprehensive management strategy and ensure canned tuna for future generations." Addressing why you will do something is as important as stating what you will do. Presume that your readers are skeptical and will not accept your ideas at face value. If you're proposing to do a catch-and-release study of 2,000 wild tuna, why? Why is that better than something else? If it's more expensive than another option, why can't you use the cheaper option? Anticipating and addressing these questions will show that you've considered your idea from all angles. Your readers should leave your paper assured that you can solve the problem effectively. Literally everything you write should either address the problem or how to solve it. Research your proposal extensively. The more examples and facts you can give your audience, the better -- it'll be much more convincing. Avoid your own opinions and rely on the hard research of others. If your proposal doesn't prove that your solution works, it's not an adequate solution. If your solution isn't feasible, nix it. Think about the results of your solution, too. Pre-test it if possible and revise your solution if need be.4 Include a schedule and budget. Your proposal represents an investment. In order to convince your readers that you're a good investment, provide as much detailed, concrete information about your timeline and budget as possible.[11][12] Don't: include objectives that are vague, impossible to measure, or don't relate to the stated problem.Do: detail responsibilities and time commitments on the level of departments or individual staff. When do you envision the project starting? At what pace will it progress? How does each step build on the other? Can certain things be done simultaneously? Being as meticulous as possible will give your readers confidence that you've done your homework and won't waste their money. Make sure your proposal makes sense financially. If you're proposing an idea to a company or a person, consider their budget. If they can't afford your proposal, it's not an adequate one. If it does fit their budget, be sure to include why it's worth their time and money.5 Wrap up with a conclusion. This should mirror your introduction, succinctly wrapping up your general message. If there are consequences to your proposal not being undertaken, address them. Summarize the benefits of your proposal and drive home that the benefits outweigh the costs. Leave your audience thinking ahead. And, as always, thank them for their consideration and time.[13] If you have extra content that doesn't exactly fit into your proposal, you may want to add an appendix. But know that if your paper is too bulky, it may scare people off. If you're in doubt, leave it out. If you have two or more appendices attached to your proposal, letter them A, B, etc. This can be used if you have data sheets, reprints of articles, or letters of endorsement and the like.[11]6 Edit your work. Be meticulous in writing, editing, and designing the proposal. Revise as necessary to make it clear and concise, ask others to critique and edit it, and make sure the presentation is attractive and engaging as well as well organized and helpful.[4] Have another set of eyes (or two) read over your work. They'll be able to highlight issues your mind has grown blind to. There may be issues that you haven't completely addressed or questions you've left open-ended. Eliminate jargon and cliches! These make you look lazy and can get in the way of understanding. Don't use a long word when a short word will do just as well.[14] Avoid the passive voice whenever possible. Passive voice uses forms of "to be" verbs and can make your meaning unclear. Compare these two sentences: "The window was broken by the zombie" and "The zombie broke the window." In the first, you don't know who broke the window: was it the zombie? Or was the window by the zombie and just happened to also be broken? In the second, you know exactly who did the breaking and why it's important. Don't: muddle your proposal with I believe that..., this solution may aid... or other qualifiers.Do: use strong, direct language: The proposed plan will significantly reduce poverty rates.7 Proofread your work. Editing focuses on getting the content as clear and concise as you can make it. Proofreading makes sure that your content is free of mistakes. Go over your proposal carefully to catch any spelling, grammar, or punctuation errors. Any mistakes on your end will make you look less educated and less credible, reducing your likelihood of getting approved. Make sure that your formatting is in line with whatever the guidelines require.two: Source How eGuidelines for Project ProposalsA technical proposal, often called a "Statementof Work,” is a persuasive document. Itsobjectives are to1. Identify what work is to be done2. Explain why this work needs to be done3. Persuade the reader that the proposers (you) are qualified for the work, have a plausiblemanagement plan and technical approach, and have the resources needed to complete thetask within the stated time and cost constraints.What makes a good proposal?One attribute isappearance. A strong proposal has anattractive, professional, invitingappearance. In addition, the information should easy to access.A second attribute issubstance. A strong proposal has a well-organized plan of attack. A strongproposal also has technical details because technical depth is needed to sell your project.Remember: A proposal is a persuasive document.Required FormatFormat consists of the layout and typography of a document. In formatting yourproposal, use the guidelines in Table 1. A template to produce your proposal exists at thefollowing web page:http://www.writing.eng.vt.edu/design/proposal_template.docOne aspect of layout is the incorporationof illustrations. In your proposal, eachillustration should have a name and be formally introduced in the text. Illustrations consist offigures and tables. Figures include photographs,drawings, diagrams, and graphs. Each figureshould have a stand-alone caption, and the key points and features should be labeled. Tablesare arrangement of words and numbers into rowsand columns. Use tables to summarize liststhat the audience will try to findlater (the budget, for instance).Table 1.Format guidelines for requested proposal.Aspect DescriptionFont for headingsBoldface serif or sans serif: size in accordance with hierarchyFont for text portion12-point serif such asTimes New RomanorBook AntiquaMarginsStandard, at least 1 inchLayoutOne column, single-sidedParagraphingIndented paragraphs, no line skip between paragraphs in a sectionPage numberBottom centeredFigure namesNumbered: Figure 1, Figure 2, Figure 3, and so forthFigure captionsBelow figure in 10 point typeTable namesNumbered: Table 1, Table 2, Table 3, and so forthTable headingsAbove table in 12 point type*Adapted from Guidelines at the Penn State Learning Factory:The Learning Factory2OrganizationAs given in the proposal template, yourproposal should have the following sectionsand headings:Title Pagea. Title of project in initial capital lettersb. The sponsoring company and contact person’s name and informationc. Team name and individual member namesd. Datee. An appropriate picture of the product, a team logo, or bothExecutive SummaryContent: A brief summary of the proposalLength: one-third to one-half page, never more than one pageEmphasis: highlighting of the proposed technical and management approachTable of ContentsStatement of Problem: the “Why?”Summary of the request by the sponsor (the original problem statement)Background:Brief description of company and their businessRelevance or importance of problemBackground information to educate the readerPrevious related work by others—literature review with credible sourcesPatent search, if applicableDetailed problem description, as you now understand itObjectives: the “What?”In the Objectives section, you translate the customer’s quantitative and qualitative needsinto clear, objective design specifications. Definethe scope of work and clearly state the projectobjectives, including the following:a. Design specifications in specific, quantitative terms. For example, “The plate must berotated three times at a speed of between 1 and3 rev/s” or “Control the temperature of a 1liter non-insulated standard glass beaker of water to 37.5 ± 0.5oC for three hours withouttemperature deviation.”b. Critical design issues, constraints, limitations.Technical Approach: the “How?”Although you may not know all the detailsof the problem solution, you should know afirst design on how you will attack the problem, and you should have some design concepts.The purpose of this section is to present theprocessby which you will arrive at the final answer.This section answers the following questions:31)What are the steps in the design process?(Describe and use the nine-step model fromChapter 1 of Hyman’s text)2)What are the benefits and advantages of employing a structured approach to design?3)How will you generate solution concepts?4)How will you analyze the performance of your solution?5)How will you decide on the best alternative?Specific recommendations for this section include the following:a. First, describe your overall design processin general terms. A one-page synopsis of Chapter1 in the Hyman text would be appropriate here.b. Provide at least three possible solution alternatives and document your methodology tochoose the best alternative. Include illustrationssuch as Figure 1. Try to be as inclusive andcreative as possible with your ideas. Strive toachieve at least one non-conventional or “outof the box” alternative.c. List and describe all the analytical, or computational tools you will employ to analyze yourdesign, such as ProEngineer®, SolidWorks®, MathCAD, and MATLAB.d. List and detailall the experimental proceduresyou willuse to test your design concepts.e. Evaluate your alternatives based on how well theysatisfy the design specifications. Explain the selectioncriteria by which you will evaluate designalternatives in specific, quantitative terms, such ascost, weight, reliability, ease of use, and ease ofmanufacture. A matrix table can clearly illustrate thisinformation.f. If possible at this time,rank your solution conceptsand list the pros and cons of each. At minimum, statewhat further information or additional work isneeded in order to arrive at a final solutionalternative.g. If any solution is totally unfeasible (or may have beenFigure 1.SolidWorks® model of atried before), state the reason for its elimination.Manual filter wheel with C-Mountadapters.Project Management: “How and When?”The Project Management section describes how the project will be managed, including adetailed timetable with milestones. Specific items to include in this section are as follows:a. Description of task phases (typical development tasks: Planning, Concept Development,System-Level Design, Detailed Design, Testing and Refinement, Production)b. Division of responsibilities and duties among team membersc. Timeline with milestones: Gantt chart (seeFigure 2 for an example). The following arerequired elements of your Gantt chart:i.Project duration is from the date yourproject is assigned to the completion date:25th Aprilii.Each milestone is to be labeled with a titleiii.Schedule alltasks not just “Design” or “Testing.” Break this schedule down tospecific assignments.4iv. Each task is to be labeled with a title and person or persons assigned to the task.v.Subdivide larger items so that no task is longer than about one weekvi. Link tasks which are dependent on the completion of a previous task.vii. Continue to update your schedule throughout your project. This tool is importantfor organizing and viewing the progress of your project.viii. Where possible, avoid a serial timeline (one task at a time, which must becompleted before next task can proceed).Figure 2.Example of a Gantt Chart.DeliverablesThe culmination of the proposal negotiation with your sponsor will be a completed“Deliverables Agreement.” Inthis section, provide adetaileddescription of what you areproviding and when you will provide it. Be asspecific as possible. Possible items includeDetailed design drawings (specifyComputer Aided Design format)Physical prototypeScale modelEngineering analysis (Finite Element Analysis, MATLAB, etc.)Economic analysis (return on investment calculations)Detailed description of test proceduresData from experimentsComputer program code, flowchart, documentationCircuit diagramsUser-friendly instructions including training for personnelBudget: “How Much?”Provide yourbestestimate of how project funds will be spent for your first design. Foran example, see Table 2. The sponsor will allow for only this amount. At this time, you need toknow the details for your initial design. You can divide up your budget into some majorcategories, such as equipment,materials, supplies, shipping (if Hershey), and Learning Factorycosts (that is, for the computerized numerical control, rapid prototyping, etc). Remember: Youare spending sponsor dollars and the sponsor needs to see that the money is spent wisely. Ifadditional funds or resources areneeded from your sponsor compared to their original “requestfor proposals,” ask for them here but justify the request.1.Be as exact as you can but estimate slightlyhigher for shipping. For any quantities, add anadditional 10–20% for error.2.Read all ordering requirements for eachcompany. Some companies have a minimumorder amount so you need to be aware of this in advance.3.You’ll need to have all (100%) your itemsordered and reconciledby the week before springbreak for your first design.4.Additional funds will not be released after this day without written justification for thedeviation (that is, why do you need to go with your alternate choice? What went wrongwith the first design?).Table 2:Requested items and funds for initial design.ItemSupplierCatalog No#QuantityUnit PriceTotalVacuum PumpMcMaster CarrIJ-608251$183.47$188.72Flow PumpNorthern ToolCJX-6891$139.99$156.62Water Filter WhirlpoolLowe's HardwareWHER251$33.73$33.7323/32" Plywood 4'x8'Lowe's Hardwarenone1$24.95$24.954" Ondine RainmakerMyArticle.com1298081$19.99$37.86Acrylic Tubing 5' (OD 8")McMaster Carr8486K6261$236.70$250.95"8" Flange (13" OD)McMaster CarrKD-ERW1$44.24$44.24Total $737.07Communication and Coordination with SponsorSpecify the interaction with your sponsor:a. Establish communication schedule and the responsibilities of each participant. See thesyllabus for exact dates of progress report, mid-semester presentations, final-presentations,Showcase, etc.b. Establish the form of communication (visits, weekly updates, conference calls,teleconferences).c. Specify who will receive information and how it will be transmitted.d. Clearly state what actions are requested with each communication: information only, replyrequested, etc.Special TopicsDefine any sponsor specific items, such as the handling of confidential information, andloan and return of equipment.Team Qualifications: the “Who?”a. In a paragraph for each person, establish theteam qualifications for the project. Highlightany specific job or course experiences that are relevant to the project.b. Include a one-page resume of each teammember in the Appendix.Do not include your hobbies.