Time Reporting Rules:
[Review the example time reporting link
for examples of good time-log entries, and bad time-log entries ]
- The Documentation Manager is responsible for the setup, and use, of the time-reporting
system.
- It is strongly recommended that the Webmaster maintain a link to each
individual's time reporting file, which in turn is maintained directly by
the group member.
- Alternatively, you may wish to use collaboration software such as that
provided by Google.
- All students are required to dynamically report the hours they have
worked on the project, online, at the group web site this quarter. These
hours must be updated regularly. A running total of hours spent by each team
member must be maintained.
- All students are required to regularly review the hours reported
by other group members, and will have to write about these contributions,
and hours reported, on exams. If something is not right, bring it up
at a group meeting as early as possible!
- The "proj.html" file, in the group shrike (students.depaul) account, has a link to
the master time-reporting page.
- The master time-reporting page must (a) be in HTML, (b) identify the
name of the group on the page, and have a date of last update, (c) list each
group member's full name (but alphabetically, by last name), with a hot link
to pages which show, in turn, a line-item listing of their hours, and the
total number of hours spent, along with the date of last update, (d) report
the total hours spent by each group member next to the hot link, as copied
from their individual pages. (e) report the sum-total of all students'
current hours, which is also copied to the "proj.html" page.
- The sum total of all hours reported by group members must be
copied to the appropriate place on the group "proj.html" page. [Sidebar:
which rule of computer science does this violate?]
- Individual pages must have a line-item entry for each day/set of hours
worked, must have a total number of hours worked, and must have a date
of last update. [See example, above.]
- Note that ALL time spent on the project should be recorded, but with
appropriate specificity, such as: "thinking" time; meeting time;
research time; class time related to the project; time spent on work that,
ultimately did not make it into the project, but seemed like a good idea
at the time. This is IMPORTANT because we will examine the real costs of
developing projects, which must include estimates for this kind of work.
- Group members should report time spent in group meetings, including
that time meeting in your group in class, but NOT lecture time in class.
- All students will be required to print copies of their hours to turn in
at designated times during the quarter. This log is likely to be the
major justification for getting project credit toward your grade on the
"final assessment."
- Mangers -- it is your responsibility to allocate group discussion
time to verify that working time is being accurately reported.
Tips:
In general, if all of your entries were jumbled up at the end of the
quarter, and the dates and times removed, there should be enough information
in each entry so that you could put them back in order, assign a reasonable
date to each entry, and a reasonable amount of time spent on the tasks,
similar to the original. One sentence at the end of each day worked is much
better than no sentence recorded. Two or three sentences for each day worked
on the project is usually sufficient for an excellent entry. More sentences
are probably not necessary.
I recommend a low-tech, text-editor approach, that is easy to use, but
high-tech, auto-total, html-generating, mechanisms can work too.
It is a rule of the universe that if you do not write down your hours at
the time you worked them, and instead try to do it at the end of the week,
the process will be painful, and your entries will be inferior.