Project documentation

List the five basic documents of a technology project (report, drawings, list of materials, planning schedule, and budget) and write a sentence explaining what each contributes and who would need it.

Match each document to its content and justify one of the pairs: (a) report: justified account of the whole process; (b) drawings: technical drawings with the measurements of the object; (c) list of materials: everything needed, with quantities; (d) budget: itemised costs and their total. Which document would you consult first if you wanted to repeat the project?

Explain the difference between a rough sketch or draft (a quick freehand drawing for brainstorming) and a final technical drawing (an exact, dimensioned drawing for manufacturing), and explain why both are necessary and neither can replace the other.

Order the parts of a project report and explain what each one describes in one sentence: conclusions and difficulties, project objective, chosen design, construction process, final budget.

Write the 'objective' section of the report for a specific project: an adjustable tablet stand made from recycled materials. Write between four and six lines addressing what problem it solves, for whom, under what material constraints, and how it will be known to work.

During the stress test of a toothpick bridge with a $40\ \text{cm}$ span, the structure fails at $18\ \text{N}$ (approx. $1,8\ \text{kg}$). After the test in the workshop, two technical facts are confirmed:

1. The wooden members did not fracture, but the joints of the lower nodes detached cleanly, revealing glue applied in a thick layer without clamping, tested after $12\ \text{h}$ of drying instead of the recommended $24\ \text{h}$.

2. The upper truss suffered lateral buckling (it bowed to one side) seconds before the collapse of the nodes.

Write the "Incidents, failure analysis, and improvements" section of the technical report: determine the physical or process cause of each problem using structural technical terminology, and detail two specific modifications (one design-related and one manufacturing-related) for version 2.0.

The figure shows the planning of a six-week project using a Gantt chart: each row is a task and each column is a week.

Between construction and presentation there is a covered task occupying weeks 5 and 6: testing the object and correcting any errors that appear. Explain what is done in this task, why it is useful for it to overlap slightly with construction, and the risk of planning without allocating time for it.

Explain what a Gantt chart is: what each row and column represents, what it means when two bars overlap in time, and why it helps to know if a project is running behind schedule just by looking at it.

In project planning, the task 'purchasing materials' overlaps with 'finishing the drawings'. Explain why this overlap makes sense (timber can be bought while deciding on the hardware), which task should never overlap with construction, and what happens if two interdependent tasks are planned in reverse order.

A list of materials is used for buying items without forgetting anything or having leftovers. State the minimum four pieces of information each line must have (item name, quantity, specification or measurement, unit price) and write three example lines for a wooden coat rack.

Complete the budget for a wooden laptop stand: (a) two pine boards at $8\ \text{€}$ each; (b) a box of screws at $4\ \text{€}$; (c) half a tin of varnish if a whole tin costs $7\ \text{€}$; (d) four rubber feet at $0{,}50\ \text{€}$ each. Calculate the subtotal for each item and the total, and explain why 'a box of screws' appears in the list even if you only use eight.

Describe a simple shelving unit: two side panels of $60\ \text{cm}$, three shelves of $50\ \text{cm}$, twelve screws, glue, and four bracket supports. Write its full list of materials with quantities and specifications, and add a line for 'tools required', which are not purchased but condition the project.

You must prepare a comparative budget to build 10 nest boxes in the workshop. Option A uses new plywood boards: material cost of $24\ \text{€}$, estimated manufacturing time of $10\ \text{h}$, and a $5\ \%$ scrap rate (cutting waste). Option B reuses pallet wood: material cost of $0\ \text{€}$, but requires $8\ \text{€}$ in water-based fungicide treatments, specific screws for $6\ \text{€}$, a working time of $22\ \text{h}$ (dismantling, de-nailing, sanding), and a $25\ \%$ scrap rate due to cracked boards. If labor is valued at $5\ \text{€/h}$ and a $10\ \%$ contingency is added to the accumulated total cost of each alternative: calculate the unit cost per box for each option and technically justify which one you should choose if the workshop only has 14 class hours available for the entire term.