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Course OutlineModule 1: Project Management, Team Dynamics, andScholarshipModule 1: Project Management, Team Dynamics, andScholarship

Overview

This Module will cover the following topics:

Project ManagementWorking in TeamsScholarship Integrity

Learning ObjectivesAt the completion of this Module you should be able to:

identify key stages in project development and approaches to managing the processimplement strategies for creating and maintaining effective and productive team dynamics for online group workprepare documents in accordance with the highest standards of professional integrity

Project MilestonesNote: Project Milestones are not to be handed in for evaluation - they are merely points by which the students cangauge their progress as they work with their project advisor.

Submit a list of project ideas and preferences to the instructor. Your team will be selected and announced - you willneed to select a project director.

ReadingsNotes and readings from past RESS courses

CONTINUE TO NEXT PAGE

Module 1: Project Management, Team Dynamics, andScholarshipProject ManagementThere are several approaches to project management, all of which can be successful depending on the type of projectand persons involved. As a RESS graduate, you will likely be called on to manage the development of RenewableEnergy and Sustainability Systems projects.

Project Management Basics

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There is certainly not time in this module to fully explore the science and practice of project management. Some of youmay have taken a project management course as an elective in the RESS program. Others may have participated inother project management training efforts. Formal training in Project Management is very handy, but in the absence ofthat, here is a very brief overview. We’ll start with a list of the most common components of project management.

Project Start1. Development of Project Scope - define what the project will (and will not) accomplish2. Planning - establish team roles and responsibilities, create schedule of milestones/deliverables, and define amanagement scheme/plan

3.

Execution - individual and collective work, progress reports4. Monitoring - review progress, address shortcomings or needs for modification5. Closeout - report, reflection, discuss next steps6.

If you are the project manager, your role will be to guide this process by leading a team as it carries out the project.Alternately, you may not be the leader, but instead be part of the project team. In that case, it is still valuable to keepthe project management process in mind so that you can be a more effective and efficient team member.

Project Management and RESS

Many of you will be managing projects that are explicitly designed to develop sustainable and renewable solutions.However, another important role you may be called on to play is to incorporate sustainability into a project or corporateprocess that is not currently focused on sustainability as a priority. A secondary goal during this process may be toincorporate sustainability in the actual process of managing the project. As a project leader, you may want to initiate adiscussion with your team as to how you can best work together in a sustainable way - this will help set the tone for theteam’s efforts, and can serve as a good team building exercise.

Phases/Steps in Team Project Development for This Course

In this course, you will be working throughout the semester to develop a feasibility study of an existing or proposedRESS enterprise. The following outline lists the typical phases and the approximate amount of effort required for eachphase. This list is essentially a subset of the general project management list given above, with a focus on the firstthree steps (project start, development of project scope, and planning).

Team Orientation and Development (~5% of course time) - familiarize team members with each other, and selectteam leader (if not assigned externally)

Project Definition and Selection of Solution (~10% of course time) - clearly define project scope and requirementsfor success, brainstorm possible solutions, and select the approach that the team will follow

Initial Design (~20% of course time) - assign tasks to team members and carry out initial design of projectcomponents (design review and modification, if needed, to occur at end of this phase)

Detailed Design (~35% of course time) - carry out rigorous design of project components

Presentation Preparation (~30% of course time) - prepare documentation, presentations, reports as appropriate,review and refine internally


Module 1: Project Management, Team Dynamics, andScholarshipCollaborating Online - Disaster or Delight?If you are like most professionals, the thought of a group project is both attractive and disturbing. Working withcolleagues can be one of the most enjoyable and productive parts of your professional experience if it is done well.Unfortunately, group work is often marred by ineffective, inefficient, or downright useless team dynamics that canwaste time and generate rather impressive levels of frustration.

When the group is collaborating online, and is spread out across time zones and cultures, the challenges can becomeeven more pronounced. By the same token, the potential benefits can also be greater. In this section we will take alook at some strategies and approaches that can help maximize the potential and minimize the drawbacks that onlinegroup work presents.


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The Good...

First, let’s examine some of the benefits that can be gained from teamwork, and specifically online teamwork:

Shared Effort - An efficient team can share work on a project, reducing the load on individuals. The key here isthat the extra work related to team building and organization must be less than the savings in effort due to sharedefforts.Diversity of Views - Teams, when run effectively, allow for a multiplicity of perspectives to be brought to bear onthe problem at hand, allowing for a level of creativity and solutions to be developed that would not be possiblewithout the team. This can be especially true in the case of online group work, as the team need not be limited bygeography and can hence include a remarkable array of team members.Multiplicity of Skill Sets - A well selected team will have people whose skills complement each other and form acollective capability that far exceeds individual competency. This is especially valuable in Renewable Energy andSustainability Systems projects, where the scope of a challenge and the tools needed to complete the project areoften beyond the capability of any individual.

The Bad...

If that were the entire picture, teamwork would be an unending pleasure. Unfortunately, most of us have ampleexperiences with teamwork that has been far from the ideal. Some of the more relevant challenges related tocollaborating online include:

Time Wasted - often, the overhead for team development (in terms of meetings, paperwork, and seeminglyendless progress updates) can be onerous at best and squelch progress at worst.Lack of Shared Vision - The negative side of team diversity is that groups may not agree on how the projectshould be conducted, leading to individual contributions that do not synergize as they should. This can lead to“team shatter” or “lowest common denominator” delivery - two outcomes that we certainly would like to avoid.Unequal Participation - Most teams include members of varied ability, some who may not be able to produce atthe level needed for the project’s success. Furthermore, some groups include members who decide to contributeless than their fair share to the group’s effort.Personal Conflict - Conflict is a tremendous drain of time, energy, and momentum for a group.Communication Difficulty - This is especially problematic for online groups, since the technology forcommunicating online is not always 100% effective, and even when it is working, it does not provide the samelevel of communication quality as a face-to-face interaction.

So, with that in mind, the question is “how do we minimize the potential problems, and maximize the potential benefitsof group work in general, and online group work in particular?”


Module 1: Project Management, Team Dynamics, andScholarshipKey Factors in Successful Online Teamwork(Avoiding) The Ugly...

Research into online teamwork confirms that working effectively in teams online can be a challenging task. However,two features emerge from the literature that, when successfully implemented, play a critical role in making onlineteamwork effective: clear organization and trust/cohesiveness.

Team Organization

Clear team organization is critical in an online group environment. This means that each team member must have anexplicit role and task list if the team is to function successfully. While this is important for face-to-face groups, it is evenmore important for online efforts, because online groups do not have the same opportunities as face-to-face groups toinformally adapt their efforts and modify their structure as the project progresses. There are a variety of ways thatgroups can be organized and operated, but project development in a professional setting typically utilizes an“organized partnership” structure in which a team leader oversees the project as a whole, and individual teammembers or subgroups take on responsibility for specific components of the project.

Trust and Cohesiveness


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Trust and cohesiveness is the second key factor for online group effectiveness, and it is a real challenge to developsince “teambuilding” is traditionally carried out in a face-to-face setting. There is no real substitute for experienceworking together - teams that already have completed projects together will tend to be much more cohesive than thosethat have not. However, we do not always have the luxury of assembling a team of experienced and familiarcolleagues. Spend a few minutes doing an internet search for “online team building”, and see if you can find sometactics that are useful for building professional trust and cohesiveness.

In addition to the above two factors, there are a few other factors and suggestions that you should keep in mind whenworking with an online team. These come from previous team experience in the RESS and other online programs.

Accountability - The team leader must ensure that there is individual accountability to the group, but in a way that isprofessional and collegial. This should include hard deadlines for deliverables and a clear action plan for non-delivery.

Early Definition of Project Scope - Too often, groups spend most of their available time trying to decide on the“perfect project concept”, leaving no time to actually carry out the project. It is better to carry out a so-so ideathoroughly, than to not deliver on a brilliant concept.

Clear Team Member Tasks - It is not always easy to know at the outset all tasks that are required, or how much of theteam’s resources need to be allocated to each task. However, the closer you come to a clear delineation of tasks, thebetter chance you will have of being successful.

Crisis Check Point - The team needs sufficient flexibility to adapt its effort to unforseen problems and challenges inthe project. The team should also utilize a mechanism in which struggling team members can “call out for help” andreceive assistance if they run into snags that they are unable to handle effectively.

Communication Technology That Works - Time spent together as an online group is critical. There are manywonderful tools available for interacting online, but if they do not work smoothly for all team members, they will end upbeing an obstacle rather than a facilitative tool. Do not be afraid to use older, more stable technologies, if that meansthe team will be able to spend more time communicating, and less time fiddling with the technology.

Parallel Tasks - As much as possible, select tasks for team members so that they are not dependent on the output ofother team members. This allows the entire team to work simultaneously on the project, rather than waiting for onemember to complete their assignment before others can begin theirs.


Module 1: Project Management, Team Dynamics, andScholarshipScholarship Integrity for Project DevelopmentRather than working through a great deal of new material, you should review your notes from BIOET 533, and preparea reflective essay (Additional Assignment #3) for submission.

Project MilestonesRemember to submit a list of project ideas and preferences to the instructor. Your team will be selected andannounced - you will need to select a project director.

Module 1 Assignments

Discussion Exercise: Share Your Negative Experiences with Teamwork

Share a negative experience that you have had with a group project in the Teamwork Discussion Forum (under theLessons tab in ANGEL). Also, post responses to your classmates' stories, with ideas on what went wrong, and whatcould have been done better.

Essay: Developing Cohesiveness and Trust


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Submit a short essay in which you reflect on how you would develop cohesiveness and trust within a project team, in away that is appropriate to the professional setting as well as to the spatially distributed nature of the project team.

Essay: Ethical Issues in Project Management

Prepare a short (~1 page) essay that discusses key ethics issues that you foresee arising in this semester-longproject. How can you prevent these issues from becoming problems?

THIS CONCLUDES MODULE 1!

Module 2: Project Definition and Working WithStakeholdersModule 2: Project Definition and Working WithStakeholders

Overview


Defining Your ProjectWorking With Stakeholders


Demonstrate positive client interactions and responsiveness.Apply technical content from other RESS courses to real-world problems, demonstrating mastery of one of theRESS option areas.

Project MilestonesCreate your project definition statement, and definition of team roles.

Create a stakeholder interaction plan for your project. This document will be created by your project group andsubmitted by your group leader. The process should include a brainstorming/discussion session, drafting of the plan,and review/revising of the plan before it is submitted. The plan should be submitted in written form, and be ofprofessional quality.



Module 2: Project Definition and Working WithStakeholdersDefining Your Project


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Project Scope

Your RESS final project assignment is to develop a detailed plan and analysis for a Renewable Energy andSustainability Systems project. In this sense, you are conducting a project about a project. In order to reduce confusionabout that, we will refer to your plan and analysis as your “class project”, and the implementation of that plan andanalysis as the “RESS project”. I hope that helps.

With that in mind, a well defined RESS project will include a clear description of what the project will accomplish, andhow you will determine whether or not the RESS project will be successful. This can include:

Overall project goal(s)Project scaleProject objective(s)Project stakeholder(s)Measures of success

Without a clear definition of the RESS project, your class project will run the risk of meandering, with much wastedtime and effort devoted to ideas and possibilities that will not contribute to the RESS project’s success. Sometimes,people resist creating a clear project definition because they are more enamored with the idea of RESS rather than thereality. As a RESS graduate, your charge is to develop a great vision for RESS projects that also become anoutstanding reality.

So, let’s begin with a definition of the scope of your class project, to give you an idea of what should be in a projectdefinition, and how it can be used.


Module 2: Project Definition and Working WithStakeholdersDefining Your Project (continued)Definition of Your Class Project

You will need to develop a scope/definition document for your RESS project. As a way of illustrating this, here is abrief scope/definition statement for your class project.

Overall Goal: The overall goal of your class project is to deliver a reliable, team built analysis and detailed design of aRESS project. The RESS project could focus on Bioenery, Solar Energy, Wind Energy, Sustainability Management andPolicy, or a combination of those four application areas.

Project Scale: The class project will consist of a semester-long effort of a team of graduating RESS students, carryingout the following phases of effort: project definition, preliminary design, technology selection and detailed design, andpresentation followed by evaluation. Deliverables from the project will include a full written report, accompanyingappendices of calculations and related documents, and an oral presentation overview of project findings. Projectefforts will include regular project team meetings and consultation with a supervising RESS faculty member.

Project Objectives: The objectives of the class project are to 1) demonstrate students’ ability to conceive and develop


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a RESS project concept at a professional and rigorous level of detail, 2) demonstrate students’ ability to clearly andprofessionally communicate the results of their analysis, and 3) synthesize the subjects learned in the RESS Master’scurriculum, resulting in a single, cohesive expression of the student’s understanding of Renewable Energy andSustainability Systems.

Project Stakeholders: Key stakeholders for this class project include the instructor for this course, the faculty advisorfor the project, and industry contacts that will be consulted as part of the project. Secondary stakeholders include allother RESS faculty, as well as current and former RESS students.

Measures of Success: The class project will be considered successful to the degree that it answers the followingquestions:

How well was the project defined, and did the project stick to its intended scope?How effectively did the project team interact with stakeholders and incorporate feedback?How technically accurate were the analyses and designs of the project?How insightfully did the project team analyze and reflect upon the project as they developed their design andselected their technology?How well did the project team work together and/or address challenges within the group structure?How well was the project communicated in the oral and written report?

These measures of success will be reflected in the final grade assigned to the student using the grading scale listed onthe course syllabus.

The above is a statement of scope for your class project. Similarly you will need to work with your project team todevelop a project definition for your proposed RESS project, that follows a similar format to the list above. Note that wedon’t include this as an explicit assignment that you must turn in at this point. However, we do expect that your projectplan/scope will be included in your final project. Also, your project advisor may request that you submit it for review.

A Few Notes...

Do not “pre-select” your technology in the project definition. Leave room for comparing competing technologies andapproaches. Also, try to come up with measures of success that are quantifiable whenever possible. Even in the caseof difficult “non physical” parameters, you can often come up with a quantifiable metric if you are creative.


Module 2: Project Definition and Working WithStakeholdersWorking With StakeholdersStakeholder interaction is an oft-overlooked aspect of successful project management that must be deliberatelyaddressed if a project is to truly fulfil its potential. As an RESS graduate, you are expected to be able to conceive anddevelop technically outstanding projects, but you must also be able to develop projects that succeed within theirgovernmental, social, and cultural context. Stakeholder interaction is a key component to making that happen.

What Are Stakeholders?

Simply stated, stakeholders are those people or groups that have power over or interest in a project, but are not doingthe actual work of the project. Their power over the project may be great (as with a boss or investor) or small (as with adistant community member), and similarly, their interest level may vary widely. Sometimes it is useful to construct a listof four categories of stakeholder:

high power, high interesthigh power, low interestlow power, high interestlow power, low interest

Parsing the list of stakeholders into these categories can help project developers understand where and how best toput their efforts in working with stakeholders. However, be certain not to ignore low power stakeholders, not onlybecause they can influence high power stakeholders, but also for the idealistic and sustainability-related reason thatthose who are not in power deserve a voice.

Why Work With Stakeholders?


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This is a fair question. If people are not actually doing the work, whyshould they be involved? Here are a few good reasons; perhaps you canthink of others as well:

Stakeholder involvement may be required. Bosses and investorsare especially desirous of appropriate updates and interactionsrelating to a project.Stakeholders can provide you with access to data and resourcesthat would not normally be available.Stakeholders can support your project financially or otherwise.While financial support is obviously critical, non-monetarycommunity support can also be very important, since the opposite(community opposition) can be detrimental to the project, especiallyif opposition is based on misunderstanding of the project.Stakeholders can ensure long term project success. Often, yourrole in project development will only be a small piece of the totalsuccess of the project, and often stakeholders for your project willbe the active participants in complementary activities that will becritical to long term success. Consider, for example, thedevelopment of “E85 Flex-Fuel” vehicles in the United States.Without the support of ethanol producers, distributors, and retailers, the development of Flex Fuel vehicles willnot be successful, even though those entities are not directly involved in designing or manufacturing the vehicles.

Building sustainable cities - and a sustainable future - will need open dialogue among all branches of national,regional and local government. And it will need the engagement of all stakeholders - including the private sectorand civil society, and especially the poor and marginalized.

~ Ban Ki Moon, UN Secretary-General

How to Effectively Work With Stakeholders

The key to effective stakeholder engagement is creation and implementation of a Stakeholder Interaction Plan.While some people and groups carry out stakeholder interaction plans on an informal basis, it is best to explicitlycreate a written plan to that can be reviewed and revised, thus ensuring that key groups or activities are not excluded.Every stakeholder interaction plan should include, at a minimum, the following elements:

List of Stakeholders - list, characterize, and prioritize the stakeholders for your project.Objectives - describe exactly what you hope to accomplish with stakeholder interaction (try to be specific- usemeasurable goals if possible). Consider not only what you hope to gain from the interaction, but also what thestakeholders hope to gain.Methods - describe how you plan to communicate with and engage your stakeholders, and when this will occur,relative to the overall project schedule.Feedback - Explain how you will receive feedback from stakeholders, how you will incorporate their feedbackinto the project, and how you will assess whether or not your objectives have been met.

Project MilestonesRemember to create your project definition statement, and definition of team roles.

Create a stakeholder interaction plan for your project. This document will be created by your project group andsubmitted by your group leader. The process should include a brainstorming/discussion session, drafting of the plan,and review/revising of the plan before it is submitted. The plan should be submitted in written form, and be ofprofessional quality.


Module 3: Preliminary DesignModule 3: Preliminary Design


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The down select process is how you willidentify one or two design alternatives thatwill undergo feasibility assessment.

OverviewThis Module will cover the following topics:

Identifying Design AlternativesAssessing Feasibility


utilize creative brainstorming techniques to identify potential design options for a RESS projectutilize technical, economic and life cycle analysis skills to evaluate the feasibility of project alternatives

Project MilestonesWork with your project team to carry out a brainstorming session to identify possible design alternatives. Select onedesign and carry out a preliminary design and feasibility assessment.



Module 3: Preliminary DesignIdentifying Design AlternativesIdentifying design alternatives is often one of the more fun steps in project development. This is your chance to throwcaution to the wind and come up with creative and unusual alternatives that may or may not be a good possibility foryour project. There are many brainstorming techniques that have been developed over the years (look them up on theinternet) as tools to help this process, but the end goal is to come up with a wide variety of possible project solutions.In most cases there will be a “standard” or “traditional” solution that is the likely top candidate. If that is the case,consider ways to modify this approach to make it more successful, but also consider completely different approachesthat have the potential to change the paradigm for this type of project.

Once the alternatives have been defined, you will need to carry out a“down select” process to identify the one or two design alternatives thatwill undergo feasibility assessment. It may be obvious to the group whichdesigns have the greatest potential, but it also may not be completelyclear. Hopefully, through discussion and compromise, your group will beable to come to a consensus decision. If not, it will be the projectmanager’s job to make the difficult choice so that the group can move on.

Don’t feel bad if your personal favorite design is not chosen. That sort ofthing happens often in the professional world. At this point, you will needto set it aside and focus your full energy on helping the project be asuccess, even if the design is not the one that you would have selected(you can save your idea for use in the future).


Module 3: Preliminary DesignAssessing FeasibilityA feasibility assessment is a pre-design analysis that is intended to determine whether or not a project concept has the


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potential to succeed. Since the system has not yet been designed, the feasibility assessment requires a certainamount of estimation as to system performance and configuration. Nonetheless, it is still a very effective tool for"go/no-go" decision making, as well as for identifying potential trouble spots in a planned project.

Feasibility assessment is a fairly logical process, and generally consists of defining project components, thenanalyzing their expected performance, and finally assessing the project's suitability with respect to key performancemetrics. Let's briefly outline those three steps.

Design Project Components

What are the key components of your RESS project? Consider the physical equipment as well as the human capitaland supply chain needs. For example, a biomass heating system for a corporate headquarters might require a boiler, aboiler room, thermal storage, and a fuel storage area. Human capital needed would include a person to check andmaintain the boiler, plus a person to arrange and execute fuel supply contracts. Supply chain needs would include asource of biomass fuel, transportation equipment and roadway infrastructure for fuel transport.

Analysis of Performance

How is your system likely to perform? This step in the analysis need not be overly complex, since the specifics of yourdesign have not been established as of yet. However, you do need some real, science-based estimates ofperformance, based as much as possible on real data. Key performance data are likely to include energy production oruse and cost or value, labor requirements, capital equipment cost, waste and emissions. The results of your analysiswill be the primary data for the final phase, namely "suitability assessment".

Suitability Statement

At this point, you should sit back, look at your analysis results, and decide whether it looks good or not. Some of thequestions you may want to ask at this point include:

Overall

Does the design appear to achieve the project goal?What are the potential failure modes?Is the technology currently available?Is the technology proven?What is the status of the market for the product?What is the status of the availability of project inputs?What is the status of the supply chain for project inputs and outputs?(If applicable) Is the design compatible with the existing facility or operation?

Economics

What is the expected cash return on the project?What is the expected cash flow of the project?What are the non-monetary economic impacts of the project? Can they be monetized?

Society

Is the design compatible with the existing culture?Does the design enhance community resilience?

Ecosystem

How does the design impact utilization of non-renewable resources?How does the design impact emissions of wastes?How else does the design impact ecological quality?

Project MilestonesRemember to work with your project team to carry out a brainstorming session to identify possible design alternatives.Select one design and carry out a preliminary design and feasibility assessment.



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Module 4: Technology Selection and Detailed DesignModule 4: Technology Selection and Detailed Design

Overview


IntroductionTechno-Economic AnalysisLife Cycle AssessmentEnvironmental Impact Analysis


select a project design based on preliminary assessmentcreate a detailed design of the projectconduct a techno-economic analysis on your project designconduct a life cycle assessment of your impactconduct an environmental impact analysis of your project

Project MilestonesSelect your project’s configuration, and carry out a detailed design and analysis, utilizing techno-economic analysis,life cycle analysis, and environmental impact analysis.



Module 4: Technology Selection and Detailed DesignIntroductionThe outcome of your preliminary project design should be the selection of the final configuration of your RESS project.That done, it is time to carry out a detailed design of the system. Often, your detailed design will utilize one or severaltypes of assessment tools including "Techno-Economic Analysis", “Life Cycle Assessment”, and “Environmental ImpactAssessment”. Those tools are used to predict the performance of your design, in terms of performance, economics,and ecological impact.

Stated a different way, your project's detailed design should include four main components: Physical Systems Design,Additional Systems Design, Analysis of Expected Performance, and Sustainability Metrics.

Physical Systems Design

The design of the physical systems in your project should include selection and layout of all major components, themanner in which they are connected, product flow, and supply chain systems for the RESS project. The design shouldbe sufficiently detailed to allow a technically literate reader to be able to replicate your design.

Additional Systems Design

Your "additional systems design" consists of all non-tangible components for the project, such as training programs,maintenance plans, sustainability incentives, and community engagement plans. These components are neglected far


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too often, and can have significant impacts on the success of a project.

Expected Performance

The expected performance of the project should be calculated, in terms of inputs and outputs, labor and energyrequirements. A time-series simulation is probably the most satisfactory means of generating this information, but otherapproaches may be appropriate, depending on your project scope.

Sustainability Metrics

Key sustainability metrics should be determined for the design, including economic, ecological, and social benefits.

The manner in which you calculate the expected performance and sustainability metrics will vary depending on theproject. However, you will be expected to, at a minimum, employ Techno-Economic Analysis (TEA), Life CycleAnalysis (LCA), and Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA).


Module 4: Technology Selection and Detailed DesignTechno-Economic Analysis“Techno-Economic Analysis” is a somewhat vague term that refers to the assessment of both the technicalperformance and the economic performance of a project. In general, it consists of system simulation as well ascalculation of economic return and cash flow. Often, uncertainty exists as to the actual performance of a system, dueto scale up, variable input costs, or other factors. When this is the case, techno-economic analysis should be used todetermine the range of expected performance of the system.

Life Cycle AssessmentLife Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a term referring to “cradle to grave” analysis of the impact of a project. You have beenexposed to LCA in some of your courses, and should be familiar with its use and function. If not, spend some timeresearching the topic so that you can utilize LCA if appropriate. I highly recommend that you find a report or researchpaper on LCA of a project similar to your RESS project, as a benchmark for your efforts.

Environmental Impact AnalysisEnvironmental Impact Analysis (EIA) is a technical assessment of possible direct and indirect impacts of a project onthe environment. It is generally not as all-encompassing as LCA, and is focused on regulatory compliance of a project,with respect to ways that the project impacts the physical environment. For example, in the United States, the federalgovernment establishes specific guidelines [1] for what they refer to as “Environmental Assessment” and“Environmental Impact Statement” analyses.

As you may notice, these three tools tend to have common components. You will be expected to conduct all threetypes of analysis on your project, and include results of these analyses in your final report and presentation.Depending on your project topic, you may need to focus a greater portion of your time and attention on one of thesethree analysis approaches. Details of these analyses should be included in the appendix of your final report.

Project MilestonesRemember, you should select your project’s configuration, and carry out a detailed design and analysis, utilizingtechno-economic analysis, life cycle analysis, and environmental impact analysis.


Module 5: Presentation and EvaluationModule 5: Presentation and Evaluation


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OverviewThis Module will cover the following topics:

Final ReportsFinal Presentations


prepare a professional report on your project design (individually submitted).generate and present a professional presentation on your project design (group effort).

Project MilestonesStudents will prepare and present their final project oral presentations and reports. The presentation and report willcommunicate the key methods and findings of your project for a professional audience.

Written reports should be prepared and submitted separately by each student.

Oral presentations will be delivered collaboratively by your project team. Each member is expected to prepare anddeliver a portion of the presentation.


RESS Final Report Template [2]


Module 5: Presentation and EvaluationIntroductionOral presentations and written reports are the standard method for communicating project findings. While manyexciting technologies have come available in recent years to enhance communication, their use for projectdevelopment generally is still maintained within the framework of a presentation or report. The presentation and reportwill usually be the only way to convince others of the quality of your project. Therefore, it is vital that you devotesufficient time and effort to ensure that they are effective.

Final ReportsObjective

The objective of your final project report and presentation is to 1)educate your audience on the details of how yourRESS project functions and is expected to perform, and to 2) convey your level of understanding of the project andyour ability to communicate that understanding.

Audience

The audience for your final project report and presentation is assumed to be a group of your peers - professionals witha background in Renewable Energy and Sustainability Systems, but without specific knowledge of your project.

Description and Format

Your final report should contain all pertinent information regarding your RESS project, so that a hired technicalconsultant could thoroughly analyze your work and determine if it is reliable or not. Most project reports follow a


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relatively standard format. Your report must include, at a minimum:

Title PageExecutive Summary - This should be a <1 page summary of the project, including key findings andrecommendations, that a busy executive could read while in the elevator between meetings, and use that info togive their “thumbs up” or “thumbs down” decision on the project.ContentsProject Background - This section should explain why the RESS project matters, including relevant historical oreconomic motivators.Project Design - Include details on design objectives, components, and a description of how the design willfunction.Project Performance - Include details on modeled performance, in terms of physical operation, energy flows,economic, ecological, and societal impacts.Conclusions and Recommendations - This section should consist of a concise re-stating of major findings andrecommendations regarding the RESS project.Appendices - Appendices are often the most important section to a report, for it is here that you will include allrelevant data associated with the RESS project. This could include tables of data, lists of assumptions, modelinput, and other information that would be needed if a technical reviewer wished to fully analyze your study.Spreadsheet files can be embedded into an electronic report if the data are too extensive for print media, but ifthis is done the files must be carefully organized and painstakingly labeled so that readers fully understand thedata.

The report should be submitted in portable document format (.pdf) or approved alternate, with pages sized A4 or 8.5" x11", and 2.5 cm (1") margins. A 12 point, easily readable font should be used. Pages should be numbered and alltables and figures should be both numbered and labeled.

Probably the most important advice for successful project reports is that you absolutely should NEVER wait until thelast minute to prepare your report. A shoddy result is almost guaranteed if you do so. If you struggle with waiting untilthe last minute (this is a common temptation for most of us), then set an intermediate deadline with a friend orcolleague who will agree to read and critique your report when you submit it to them at that early deadline. This courseonly allows 2 weeks for this portion of the project, so it would be best if you complete your first draft by the end of thefirst week, and revise it thereafter.

Are you having problems with a particular aspect of your report preparation? Penn State’s Graduate Writing Center [3]

can provide help if you have specific questions or are stuck on a particularly tricky passage.


Module 5: Presentation and EvaluationFinal PresentationsYour presentation will be a summary of the information contained in your report, and should be designed tocommunicate the essence of what you have done, and what you have discovered. I suspect that we have allexperienced an outstanding professional presentation or lecture during our career, and have also experienced anabsolutely terrible presentation. Your objective as a RESS graduate will be to give consistently outstandingpresentations for consistently outstanding projects. How can you achieve this? Here are a few valuable pointers andbits of advice:

Start with “Who, What, How”. Before youbegin preparations for your presentation, askthree important questions: 1) Who is theaudience for this presentation? 2) What do wewant them to learn (what is their “take homemessage”?), and 3) How will you communicatethis to them? Your answers to those threequestions will guide all of your efforts.

1.

Remember the interest graph. Studies haveshown that an audience’s highest interest levelis during the very start and the very end of apresentation. The material in the middle isgenerally not carefully examined. Takeadvantage of this by placing your mostimportant information at the very start and thevery end of your presentation.

2.

Never “wing it”. A presentation that is poorly3.


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prepared is usually very obvious to the audience, and it reflects very badly on the presenters. Always plan topractice your presentation at least once (preferably twice) before the actual presentation.Observe the norms. The world business standard, at present, is to use on-screen slides (i.e. Powerpoint orequivalent) with voice. This is what is expected by the audience, and I recommend that you not shock them withanything too unusual. A little bit of innovation (i.e. animations, video, models or demonstrations) can be veryeffective, but is usually best received when it is a smaller component of the presentation.

4.

Focus on results and implications. Those of us who develop projects often love to talk about the process ofdeveloping the project. The audience usually finds that rather dull and would much rather hear about the resultsof your work, and the broader implications and possibilities that your work implies.

5.

Tips for Making Great Presentation Slides

Here are a few practical tips on preparing successful presentation slides:

Design your slides to complement the words that you will speak, and don’t merely read from your slides.Text should be at least 18 point in size, preferably 24Fancy transitions between should be used sparinglyGo over your presentation in advance USING THE MEETING SOFTWARE - this will allow you to ensure thatthere aren’t any unexpected problems with slide appearance, videos, etc.

Presentation Format

Your presentation will be delivered by your group through Penn State's Adobe® ConnectTM meeting software. Thisallows for transmission of audio as well as presentation software (i.e. "PowerPoint") files. You are advised againstusing video, as audience bandwidth is often not sufficient to ensure quality transmission. All team members mustparticipate in the preparation and presentation of the material. A computer headset is generally the most effective wayto deliver and hear the presentation. If you haven't yet, you are recommended to familiarize yourself with thepresentation software's functionality.

Peer and Self-EvaluationEach student will also be asked to evaluate their own and their team members’ contribution to the project. Theseevaluations will form the “participation in team” portion of the final grade for each student. Assign each team member aletter grade (A, B, C, or D), and give a brief evaluation and description of their contribution to the team. Devoteadditional space to evaluation of your own effort, with focus on strengths and weaknesses of your contribution to theproject.

THIS CONCLUDES THE COURSE!

Links:[1] http://energy.gov/sites/prod/files/nepapub/nepa_documents/RedDont/G-DOE-greenbook.pdf[2] https://elearning-ag.vmhost.psu.edu/courses/abe589/sites/edu.courses.abe589/files/pdfs/RESS%20FinalReportFormatTemplate.pdf[3] http://pwr.la.psu.edu/resources/graduate-writing-center/GWC


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