Task Management

A project can usually be divided into smaller tasks. It is a science to manage tasks, but the principles are very simple. First of all, figure out the dependency of tasks. Next, schedule tasks so that they follow the dependencies. Last, parallelize tasks if possible and make the most efficient use of available resources.

The following is a list of general tasks and dependencies.

1. Understand the competition and rules of the competition.
2. Understand the overall design of micromouse robots, no details are needed. This depends on 1.
3. Search for sources of components and materials. Do not get fixated on any particular models. Just get a general feel and get catalogs of available components. Do this after 2.
4. Determine/Specify the requirements of a micromouse robot. You can do this as soon as 1 is completed.
5. Design multiple alternative designs based on the information collected in 3. Rule out certain designs based on the requirements determined in 4
6. Among the alternatives in 5, select the best design.
7. After taskSelectBest, acquire the necessary components.
8. Test each component acquired in 7. This is particularly important for components that are not well specified (such as surplus items).
9. You may need to repeat 5, 6, 7 and 8 if a component does not meet the requirements.
10. Assemble the micromouse using the tested components from 8.
11. Test the assembled unit from 10. You probably need to refine the design a little to make it work better.

It is not obvious from this list that multiple threads can proceed at the same time. For example, even before motors are acquired and tested, the processor board can be assembled and tested. This assumes, of course, the type of motor is already determined (DC versus stepper) because the type of motor does have an impact on processing resource requirements.