Getting through the assignment was interesting, especially the last few days, where the fundamental modeling was completed and imported into UT3. The last few days before the due date we spend some time touching up the fabrication work, such as adding external decorations, signs, sounds and other effects.
We left the light to last. When building the environment it took us quite a long while especially building the lights. Towards the last day we’ve encountered the last and final problem when trying to cook the file, the report spit out an error, after multiple fixing, trial and error and google help, we still was not able to find a solution. Our last option was to go to BECU and test it out with Graham before the 9am submission. To our surprise it print out a successful result, we are still not sure what when wrong as it was simply clicking the cook button. However overall it was a success as we managed to hand it in on time. Lesson learned in this situation was to make use and exploit our opportunities, finding help from different places until the problem is resolved.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Friday, June 6, 2008
Fabrication Arrangement
As Jeffrey continue working on the terrain, the four of us girls (Azize,Cettina,Rachel and myself) will continue working on the mapping, modeling and collecting textures, furnitures and fittings to put in the Wombarra House. Our decision at the last group meeting was to allocate different rooms between us all to work on mapping the textures and putting in the components.
Due to time and place constraints it is most likely that we have to design our allocated room individually at our own time. We understand that each of our room might have different mood as it is design by different group members. However we have addressed this issue through a group meeting, it was decided that we want the house to have a warm homey mood, and the colour scheme we wanted to portrait this is white, dark chocolate and gold. These colours are also an excellent blend to the context of the house representing rich, purity of the beach.
Due to time and place constraints it is most likely that we have to design our allocated room individually at our own time. We understand that each of our room might have different mood as it is design by different group members. However we have addressed this issue through a group meeting, it was decided that we want the house to have a warm homey mood, and the colour scheme we wanted to portrait this is white, dark chocolate and gold. These colours are also an excellent blend to the context of the house representing rich, purity of the beach.
We have also decided to modify the design of the house by moving the stairs closer to the entrance to allow for maximum view to the coastline while been use as a circulation space.
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Task 11 - Conflict
Conflict in collaboration will always exist in any type of projects. Therefore it is not the issue of how to avoid conflict, but how to resolve it when it does occur. Developing a system to resolve these conflicts is a good approach to take when working as a group.
Conflicts come in two ways destructive and constructive. Destructive conflict often end with hard feelings, “co-workers avoiding one another, people taking sides and subtly or overtly harassing “the bad guy”, and lower productivity.” Constructive is what should be aim for as it turn conflict into collaboration, it improve communication, improve production and reduce absenteeism and staff turnover. [1]
When conflict arise it is best to address it as soon as possible, as the longer it is left unresolved the more complicate it is to find a solution. The conflict will grow like a type of virus, the earlier the cure the better.
Figure1 Conflict should be resolve as quickly as possible, before it brakes.
Strategies to approach conflict and turn it into a constructive conflict: firstly to recognise that when resolving it should not be a win-lose situation but instead a win-win confrontation. Both parties in conflict must understand what they really want and not simply want to win the argument. Then they could negotiate by addressing those concerns together. As Linda Gravett, PhD in SPHR concluded “You may not always get what you want, but I’ll bet that you get what you need.”[2]
Conflicts come in two ways destructive and constructive. Destructive conflict often end with hard feelings, “co-workers avoiding one another, people taking sides and subtly or overtly harassing “the bad guy”, and lower productivity.” Constructive is what should be aim for as it turn conflict into collaboration, it improve communication, improve production and reduce absenteeism and staff turnover. [1]
When conflict arise it is best to address it as soon as possible, as the longer it is left unresolved the more complicate it is to find a solution. The conflict will grow like a type of virus, the earlier the cure the better.
Figure1 Conflict should be resolve as quickly as possible, before it brakes.
Strategies to approach conflict and turn it into a constructive conflict: firstly to recognise that when resolving it should not be a win-lose situation but instead a win-win confrontation. Both parties in conflict must understand what they really want and not simply want to win the argument. Then they could negotiate by addressing those concerns together. As Linda Gravett, PhD in SPHR concluded “You may not always get what you want, but I’ll bet that you get what you need.”[2]
Figure2 Working towards a common goal.
As a group we have not encounter destructive conflict. However we did have some minor constructive conflicts such as how task should be done, what task needs to be place on priority, etc. As these conflicts occur, as a group we sought out our common goal that leads as back to understanding our group’s objective. In this process we constantly develop informal and formal action plans to help us understand what task need to be done and by when. So therefore the outcome was a reconciliation between all the group member, it did not go according to what each group member’s wanted, however it was definitely what was needed to continue the fabrication task. As a saying in the movie Fruit Basket go “…we might not all agree, however we can meet halfway.” In our situation the conflict was positive and constructive as it addressed our problem and pushed us to better organise our fabrication processes.
___________________________
[1] Gravett, L., “Turning Conflict into Collaboration”, e-HResources.com, (2001), http://www.e-hresources.com/Articles/Oct2001.htm, viewed 3 June 2008.
[Figure1] Business Training Works, “Conflict Resolution Training”, Business Training Works, (2006), http://www.businesstrainingworks.com/Onsite%20Training%20Web/Course%20Outlines/15%20Conflict%20Resolution%20Skills%20Onsite%20Training%20Program%20Outline.html, viewed 3 June 2008.
[2] Gravett, L., Op cit.
[Figure2] Wayne County, “Why Should I Learn About Conflict Resolution”, Wayne County, http://www.waynecounty.com/coalitiontochangetheculture/learn.asp, viewed 3 June 2008.
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Task 10 - Planning
Planning is a process of forecasting what task will or need to be done at a certain period in time, to assist in guiding the direction of a project towards success. 
Planning could come in many levels when talking about an Architectural design; it involves the planning of site, the planning of spaces and the planning of levels. It is these planning that allow a building to be built. Just as Le Corbusier has mentioned “the plan is the generator”, without the plan building cannot be generated.
In looking at planning for our group fabrication project, we have to first determine our group’s goal which is to match the falling water model, or surpass the falling water model if time permits.
To accomplish this goal, our strategy was to do a SWOT Analysis to determine our strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.
Strength – knowledge in 3dmax. Build on our strength we decided to do the all the modelling and mapping of the house in 3dmax.
Weakness – limited knowledge in UT3. Technical problems such as importing the model into UT3. In resolving our weakness we have allocated the 4 initial weeks to learn UT3 for all the group members. And about 3 weeks for testing and trial any technical problems e.g. importing issues and will also allocated to learn more advance knowledge in UT3, to create a highly interactive environment.
Opportunities – Tutors and other group members. Exploit our opportunities; ask for technical help from tutors and other groups.
Threat – Assignments in other courses. To avoid our threats we have to manage our time, allocate time correctly to do other assignments.[1]
After analysing SWOT an action plan is developed, it outline what needs to be done, by whom and when.[2] This action plan is scope to a 14 weeks period. The action plan will help to clarify the group plans and ensure every members are directed to know what to do and by when. It’s a good strategy to allocate the group resources (people and time). Below is an action plan I’ve developed to assist us in accomplishing our group’s goals.
Fabrication Task Action Plan:
The above plan will be revised weekly to alter any task reallocation.
__________________________
Planning could come in many levels when talking about an Architectural design; it involves the planning of site, the planning of spaces and the planning of levels. It is these planning that allow a building to be built. Just as Le Corbusier has mentioned “the plan is the generator”, without the plan building cannot be generated.
In looking at planning for our group fabrication project, we have to first determine our group’s goal which is to match the falling water model, or surpass the falling water model if time permits.
To accomplish this goal, our strategy was to do a SWOT Analysis to determine our strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.
Strength – knowledge in 3dmax. Build on our strength we decided to do the all the modelling and mapping of the house in 3dmax.
Weakness – limited knowledge in UT3. Technical problems such as importing the model into UT3. In resolving our weakness we have allocated the 4 initial weeks to learn UT3 for all the group members. And about 3 weeks for testing and trial any technical problems e.g. importing issues and will also allocated to learn more advance knowledge in UT3, to create a highly interactive environment.
Opportunities – Tutors and other group members. Exploit our opportunities; ask for technical help from tutors and other groups.
Threat – Assignments in other courses. To avoid our threats we have to manage our time, allocate time correctly to do other assignments.[1]
After analysing SWOT an action plan is developed, it outline what needs to be done, by whom and when.[2] This action plan is scope to a 14 weeks period. The action plan will help to clarify the group plans and ensure every members are directed to know what to do and by when. It’s a good strategy to allocate the group resources (people and time). Below is an action plan I’ve developed to assist us in accomplishing our group’s goals.
Fabrication Task Action Plan:
What | Who | When |
Learning UT3, Modelling and Mapping in 3dmax | ||
Learning UT3 | Cettina Mangano, Jeffrey Aguas, Azize Ceylan, Rachel MacKenzie & Chivonda Lam | Week 2-5 |
Modelling the house in 3dmax | Azize Ceylan | Week 6 |
Importing trial | Azize Ceylan | Week 7-8 |
Modelling of components e.g. railings, doors and windows 3dmax | Rachel MacKenzie, Azize Ceylan & Chivonda Lam | Week 9 |
Textures and mappings on the house in 3dmax | Rachel MacKenzie & Chivonda Lam | Week 10-11 |
Furnitures and fittings in 3dmax | Cettina Mangano | Week 10-11 |
Textures and mappings on Furnitures and fittings in 3dmax | Cettina Mangano | Week 12 |
Start UT3 work | ||
Terrain in UT3 | Jeffrey Aguas | Week 9-11 |
Components in Terrain
| Jeffrey Aguas | Week 12 |
Import model, textures, furniture and fitting on to the terrain | Azize Ceylan | Week 12 |
Interactive environment trial– using UT3 CD tutorials | Rachel MacKenzie, Chivonda Lam, Azize Ceylan, Jeffrey Aguas & Cettina Mangano | Week 12 |
Add interactive environment, might require programming
| Jeffrey Aguas, Rachel MacKenzie & Chivonda Lam | Week 13 |
GOAL 1 REACHED - Match Falling Water Model | ||
Make the environment highly interactive
| Rachel MacKenzie, Chivonda Lam, Azize Ceylan, Jeffrey Aguas & Cettina Mangano | Week 14 |
GOAL 2 REACHED - Surpass Falling Water Model | ||
The above plan will be revised weekly to alter any task reallocation.
__________________________
[Figure 1] Robin Good, “Design Planning: Guidelines for The Effective Development Of A Collaborative Communication Project - RItalia”, Robin Good, (31 March 2007), http://www.masternewmedia.org/design_planning/communication-strategy/guidelines-for-strategic-collaborative-communication-project-development-RItalia-20070331.htm, (viewed 25 May 2008).
[1] Invest-Tech Ltd, “Developing a strategic Plan”, PlanWare, (2008), http://www.planware.org/strategicplan.htm#5, (viewed 24 May 2008).
[2] Ibid.
[1] Invest-Tech Ltd, “Developing a strategic Plan”, PlanWare, (2008), http://www.planware.org/strategicplan.htm#5, (viewed 24 May 2008).
[2] Ibid.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Task 9 - Remuneration
Remuneration often come after a satisfying result or the effort a person put into completing task set out for them. Remuneration comes in two types monetary and non-monetary. Monetary remuneration could come in the form of salary, gift, bonus and commission. If you are contracted to work on a project, remuneration such as salary are often a negotiation between you and your client. A client will often consider a higher paid contract to be more important, serious and professional due to the sum of money involve. Often when working within a group of contractor the client will be more open to offer a higher management position to a contractor that gets pay more, again it is the money level that determines professionalism. 
Figure 1. Monetary remuneration.
Figure 1. Monetary remuneration.Non-monetary remuneration could include things such as promotion, knowledge and recognition from employer or client and/or the public such as a simple thanks or award. However most people are happier in a job when receive non-monetary remuneration, as it is these that make them feel like a team, it creates a friendly work environment.
When developing a remuneration system a company should try to make the remuneration something that “attract, retain and motivate employees and at the same time support implementation of company’s strategic objectives and enforce its organisational culture”[1], this way their work quality could be improve as they feel that they are working towards something. This way it acts to the advantage of the company overall, employee get remuneration and company get better work standard.
Remuneration in terms of our collaborative project: Praising and thanking a team member for work done is remuneration. It is require in a team environment as it is the thing that drive the success of the project, and makes each member feels that they are part of a team.
In this project I am sure that most group members would agree that knowledge and experience is the most obvious remuneration gained. Knowledge gain from doing this course includes collaboration amount students and tutors, reflective work for wiki and blog, effective communication, presentation skill and learning UT3. For me personally it is the experience gain form been in a presentation environment, which I am certain will help in preparing for the future when presenting project to clients.
_____________________________________
[Figure1] Umicore, “Performance management”, Umicore, (2008), http://www.humanresources.umicore.com/ourPhilosophy/performanceManagement/, viewed 20 May 2008.
[1] HRK Partner, “Effective remuneration”, HRK Partner, (2006), http://www.hrkpartners.pl/en/effective_remuneration.php, viewed 20 May 2008.
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Task 8 - Context
Context is usually referred to the surrounding, environment, or setting of a place.[1] These could be items such as the topology, trees, river, sea and etc. It is these items that we often categorised into context such as rural, suburban and/or urban. 
Figure1. Context
Architecture and its design often effect by these contexts as seen in the falling water project, or architecture could be an eloquent item that affects the context it is in, so strong that it inherent in the geographic region and become the main characteristic of the site. This is why Architecture could be considered as the source that creates a meaningful place and space that “enrich the lives of the people who use them...”[2] It form a part of human and nature.
In our fabrication project, in understanding the site and then represent it in our ut3 environment research and analysis is required. For our group in particular it has been planned that some or all of the group member will visit the actual site and collect information about its context. Data such as photos and sounds will help in understanding the real feel of the site.
It is understandable that some of the unbuilt project that some of the other group selected are situated where it is not feasible to visit personal however it is still possible to collect information about the city, site, and the actual location of the project through other mean such as maps, aerial photograph, drawing of the surrounding buildings and planning reports. Whichever mean the groups use, it is recommended by a paper that information of other projects of similar type should also be look at to better represent the context.[3]
In some case the context of a project could be deliberately misrepresented. It might be due to lack of resources and information on the context. Otherwise it might be because the context is not something that supplement the beauty of the project but instead subtract its attraction. If context changes the architectural design concept will be affected, this is especially true when the design concept base itself on the surrounding, which could be seem in most design, therefore with the removal of the contexts, others might lack the understanding of the design.
___________________________________
[1] Wikipedia, “Context”, Wikipedia, (3 March 2008), http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/context, (viewed 12 May 2008).
Figure1. ContextArchitecture and its design often effect by these contexts as seen in the falling water project, or architecture could be an eloquent item that affects the context it is in, so strong that it inherent in the geographic region and become the main characteristic of the site. This is why Architecture could be considered as the source that creates a meaningful place and space that “enrich the lives of the people who use them...”[2] It form a part of human and nature.
In our fabrication project, in understanding the site and then represent it in our ut3 environment research and analysis is required. For our group in particular it has been planned that some or all of the group member will visit the actual site and collect information about its context. Data such as photos and sounds will help in understanding the real feel of the site.
It is understandable that some of the unbuilt project that some of the other group selected are situated where it is not feasible to visit personal however it is still possible to collect information about the city, site, and the actual location of the project through other mean such as maps, aerial photograph, drawing of the surrounding buildings and planning reports. Whichever mean the groups use, it is recommended by a paper that information of other projects of similar type should also be look at to better represent the context.[3]
In some case the context of a project could be deliberately misrepresented. It might be due to lack of resources and information on the context. Otherwise it might be because the context is not something that supplement the beauty of the project but instead subtract its attraction. If context changes the architectural design concept will be affected, this is especially true when the design concept base itself on the surrounding, which could be seem in most design, therefore with the removal of the contexts, others might lack the understanding of the design.
___________________________________
[1] Wikipedia, “Context”, Wikipedia, (3 March 2008), http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/context, (viewed 12 May 2008).
[Figure1] Nolan, M., "Environmental Sciences", University of Washington Libraries, (31 October 2007), http://www.lib.washington.edu/subject/environment/, (viewed 13 May 2008).
[2] Atre, S., “Architecture and Context”, (Prof., California Polytechnic State University), http://www.calpoly.edu/~arch/program/fifthyr/atre.pdf, (viewed 12 May 2008).
[3] Ibid.
[2] Atre, S., “Architecture and Context”, (Prof., California Polytechnic State University), http://www.calpoly.edu/~arch/program/fifthyr/atre.pdf, (viewed 12 May 2008).
[3] Ibid.
Monday, May 5, 2008
Task 7 - Record
Since ancient time the process of recording has surpass many world power such example as the Ancient Rome and Greek. The records they left behind have made it possible for the new generation to further analyse their philosophy and assisted in knowledge advancement. These records are often analyse by historian the process is known as historiography. When historian analyse record often it require filtration of information as some records are personal recount of the past, therefore it might be biased or partly incorrect. Some are incomplete which require the historian own interpretation and often their analysis and interpretation change over time as they discover more records.[1]
Record comes in many different forms. Apart from the trillions of books there are also tapes, records, magazines, telegrams, newspapers, and with modern technologies we see the introduction of CD, DVD, USB, hard drives, etc. The technology has made it possible to store more records. Things that get recorded include text, images, video, music and many other medias. Records have made collaboration and communication easier.
Many organizations today cannot avoid recording. Records are vital for the success of the organizations, especially “accurate and up-to-date records”, a document compare keeping record to as keeping score in a football game, so without it you will not know who is winning.[2] Such recording of incomes, expenditures, customers details, emails, letters, meeting notes and minutes, objectives and goals, just to name a few. It acts as a core foundation and for future direction.
In project management term those who record control the direction of the project. A project time line is required to set project deadlines. It is especially needed when dealing with external entities such as clients. The recording of the design brief, alternations, meeting minutes, tasks completion and many more: all act as evidences of the project progression. Recordings can be use for clarification if conflict arises.
In looking at the fabrication project; task timeline, meeting minutes, personal diary, online calendar, email and phone messages all form parts of record keeping. In determining what should be recorded depend on if the element can act as an evident of what has happened at a point in time, similar to a historiography. There are things that we set to “go on record” such as the due date of the project, the wiki, the blog writing each week and the presentation all required to be completed at a particular due date, the breach marking of the group ut3 environment with the falling water environment could be set to go on record, which mean it need to be accomplish by a certain date. Sometime records accuracy could be questioned such questions as, if the task could be complete as scheduled? If the time allocated to complete the task is too long?
__________________________________
[1] Nancy F. Partner , “Historiography”, Concordia University of Wisconsin, http://www.cuw.edu/Academics/programs/history/historiography.html, viewed 4 May 2008.
[Figure1] Canadian Museum of Civilization Corporation, “govt01b”, Civilization (2008), http://www.civilization.ca/civil/egypt/images/govt01b.jpg, viewed 5 May 2008.
[2] The State of Queensland (Department of Tourism, Regional Development and Industry), “The importance of record keeping”, Queensland Government (2007), http://www.business.qld.gov.au/dsdweb/v3/documents/objdirctrled/nonsecure/pdf/22652.pdf, viewed 5 May 2008.
[Figure2] Marcato web solutions & Coventry Gang Show, “diary”, Coventry Gang Show (2007), http://www.coventrygangshow.co.uk/article/page100, viewed 5 May 2008.
Record comes in many different forms. Apart from the trillions of books there are also tapes, records, magazines, telegrams, newspapers, and with modern technologies we see the introduction of CD, DVD, USB, hard drives, etc. The technology has made it possible to store more records. Things that get recorded include text, images, video, music and many other medias. Records have made collaboration and communication easier.Many organizations today cannot avoid recording. Records are vital for the success of the organizations, especially “accurate and up-to-date records”, a document compare keeping record to as keeping score in a football game, so without it you will not know who is winning.[2] Such recording of incomes, expenditures, customers details, emails, letters, meeting notes and minutes, objectives and goals, just to name a few. It acts as a core foundation and for future direction.
In project management term those who record control the direction of the project. A project time line is required to set project deadlines. It is especially needed when dealing with external entities such as clients. The recording of the design brief, alternations, meeting minutes, tasks completion and many more: all act as evidences of the project progression. Recordings can be use for clarification if conflict arises.
In looking at the fabrication project; task timeline, meeting minutes, personal diary, online calendar, email and phone messages all form parts of record keeping. In determining what should be recorded depend on if the element can act as an evident of what has happened at a point in time, similar to a historiography. There are things that we set to “go on record” such as the due date of the project, the wiki, the blog writing each week and the presentation all required to be completed at a particular due date, the breach marking of the group ut3 environment with the falling water environment could be set to go on record, which mean it need to be accomplish by a certain date. Sometime records accuracy could be questioned such questions as, if the task could be complete as scheduled? If the time allocated to complete the task is too long? __________________________________
[1] Nancy F. Partner , “Historiography”, Concordia University of Wisconsin, http://www.cuw.edu/Academics/programs/history/historiography.html, viewed 4 May 2008.
[Figure1] Canadian Museum of Civilization Corporation, “govt01b”, Civilization (2008), http://www.civilization.ca/civil/egypt/images/govt01b.jpg, viewed 5 May 2008.
[2] The State of Queensland (Department of Tourism, Regional Development and Industry), “The importance of record keeping”, Queensland Government (2007), http://www.business.qld.gov.au/dsdweb/v3/documents/objdirctrled/nonsecure/pdf/22652.pdf, viewed 5 May 2008.
[Figure2] Marcato web solutions & Coventry Gang Show, “diary”, Coventry Gang Show (2007), http://www.coventrygangshow.co.uk/article/page100, viewed 5 May 2008.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Task 6 - Intend
Intend could be understand as a purpose to have something go a certain way.
In any project the intended outcomes need to be identified. It is vital in a collaborative project for the intention of the project to be explicitly known to all members, this way each individual can contribute to the evaluation and implementation of the intended outcomes. The evaluation could become continuous processes to make sure project is heading toward the right outcomes.[1] See figure 1.
Figure1. Outcome cycle - for continuous evaluation of intended outcomes
Just like goals, intended outcomes needs to be realistic and achievable and can be set in short term intentions and long term intentions. This way budget and timeline can be accurately allocated. In a project the outcome intention is not always achievable, e.g. untended budget spend. A project found itself in this situation after reviewing its outcome, they found two unintended outcomes one was the unintended role of the some of the members and to what extent they should try to complete their task when there are constraints and the second was the unintended time committed to tasks.[2] Unintended outcomes are apparently common due to constraints and unforeseeable events.
It has been noted down that project manager are responsible for managing the “…overall intention of the project, and to the specific description of the desired final product”, which is only reasonable as they are the one who set time frame, estimate costs on tasks and have the responsibility to make decision if more time is needed to complete a certain task.[3]
Intention can be proven through many different forms of communication whether through speech, written form, or any other visual form. The intention of the project must be addressed from the start to finish, this way goal and objective can be achieve effectively and efficiently.
In relating back to the fabrication task, each group should have an intended outcome to better plan out the tasks required to accomplish the project which in this case fabricating a model in UT3 that is as good as or even better than the falling water model. And the sub criteria to completing this task is to have it completed within due date with all project intended criteria met.
____________________________________
[1] Rick Cummings, “Formative and Summative Evaluation of the Overall Project”, Murdoch University (2004), http://www.tlc.murdoch.edu.au/archive/cutsd99/finalpdfreports/Ch2Evaluation.pdf, viewed on 28 April 2008.
[Figure1] Sara Burns, Sally Cupitt, “The Outcomes Approach”, Homeless outcomes, London Housing Foundation, http://www.homelessoutcomes.org.uk/Outcomes_approach.aspx, viewed on 29 April 2008.
[2] Rick Cummings, op cit.
[3] Martyn Sanjay, “the Specifier guide to Project Management”, Specifier (2007), http://www.specifier.com.au/professionalDirectory/Project-Manager.html, viewed on 27 April 2008.
In any project the intended outcomes need to be identified. It is vital in a collaborative project for the intention of the project to be explicitly known to all members, this way each individual can contribute to the evaluation and implementation of the intended outcomes. The evaluation could become continuous processes to make sure project is heading toward the right outcomes.[1] See figure 1.
Figure1. Outcome cycle - for continuous evaluation of intended outcomes
Just like goals, intended outcomes needs to be realistic and achievable and can be set in short term intentions and long term intentions. This way budget and timeline can be accurately allocated. In a project the outcome intention is not always achievable, e.g. untended budget spend. A project found itself in this situation after reviewing its outcome, they found two unintended outcomes one was the unintended role of the some of the members and to what extent they should try to complete their task when there are constraints and the second was the unintended time committed to tasks.[2] Unintended outcomes are apparently common due to constraints and unforeseeable events.
It has been noted down that project manager are responsible for managing the “…overall intention of the project, and to the specific description of the desired final product”, which is only reasonable as they are the one who set time frame, estimate costs on tasks and have the responsibility to make decision if more time is needed to complete a certain task.[3]
Intention can be proven through many different forms of communication whether through speech, written form, or any other visual form. The intention of the project must be addressed from the start to finish, this way goal and objective can be achieve effectively and efficiently.
In relating back to the fabrication task, each group should have an intended outcome to better plan out the tasks required to accomplish the project which in this case fabricating a model in UT3 that is as good as or even better than the falling water model. And the sub criteria to completing this task is to have it completed within due date with all project intended criteria met.
____________________________________
[1] Rick Cummings, “Formative and Summative Evaluation of the Overall Project”, Murdoch University (2004), http://www.tlc.murdoch.edu.au/archive/cutsd99/finalpdfreports/Ch2Evaluation.pdf, viewed on 28 April 2008.
[Figure1] Sara Burns, Sally Cupitt, “The Outcomes Approach”, Homeless outcomes, London Housing Foundation, http://www.homelessoutcomes.org.uk/Outcomes_approach.aspx, viewed on 29 April 2008.
[2] Rick Cummings, op cit.
[3] Martyn Sanjay, “the Specifier guide to Project Management”, Specifier (2007), http://www.specifier.com.au/professionalDirectory/Project-Manager.html, viewed on 27 April 2008.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Task 5 - Knowledge
Knowledge is vital for any collaborative work, whether knowledge in a certain topic such as architecture, management, engineering, etc, or maybe social knowledge such as technological or society. Just as an Indian quote goes “knowledge is the true origin of sight not the eyes.”- Panchatantra. It is the eyes of individual, group and organisation. Knowledge is categorised into two types tacit and explicit. Tacit are more embed, it is knowledge that possess by individuals and explicit is tacit knowledge that has become available to everyone.[1]
Figure 1. Knowledge in collaboration
In collaboration knowledge help resolve conflicts face by the group as it provides a wide range of resolutions. Due to the recognition of the important of knowledge possess by individuals many organisations are encouraging the process of documenting and sharing of these knowledge such as in the form of documents, discussions, meeting notes and more, so that they become an explicit knowledge. The process involved “capturing, dispersing and using knowledge…” to “…help them achieve their strategic objectives.”[2] Today technology has become the driving force of knowledge sharing with the introduction of collaborative programs such as the wikis. However there is disadvantage to these technologies as most of the time it is only useful for those that are using them and for those that are not in the collaborative space they “lack the context to understand what they are seeing.”[3] Due to this problem knowledge or information needs to be control and manage by employee or external consultant in such a way that it get review and revise regularly to check its quality and relevant.[4]
Related to this theme, the knowledge possess by each individual before the fabrication task is a tacit knowledge, unless it is reveal and use as explicit knowledge in their fabrication works it would otherwise render as useless. In the process of knowledge or information collection and the learning process, team members need to determine the relevant and usefulness of knowledge and if a knowledge supersede another. Determining and comparing knowledge from different disciplines to find which is most useful to incorporate into the task. In these processes there will be many trials and errors; however this will act as knowledge gained from experiences which helps to better establish strategy in the future.
____________________________________
[Figure1] C&C Reservoirs, “Customized DIGITAL ANALOGS Knowledge System”, C&C Reservoirs (2007), http://www.ccreservoirs.com/Services/index.htm, viewed on 22 April 2008.
[1] James, W., Cortada, John, A., Woods, “The Knowledge Management Yearbook 1999-2000” (Butterworth-Heinemann, 1999), p.1-4.
[2]Ibid.
[3] Step Two Designs Pty Ltd, “Collaboration tools are anti knowledge sharing?”, CM Briefing (2007), http://www.steptwo.com.au/papers/cmb_antiknowledgesharing/index.html, viewed on 22 April 2008.
[4] James, W., Cortade, John, A., Woods, op cit., p.202.
Friday, April 11, 2008
Task 4 - Hierarchy
Hierarchy had been termed as “a system of ranking and organising things or people…”[1] It is structured in two main ways flat and pyramidal organisation. The speed of collaboration is determined by these structures.
Pyramidal structure tend to occurred in large project where the owner sits in the peak of the structure, information then travel down from one level to the next, as seen in figure 1.
A flat structure allowed communication to travel faster as there is only one level of management to report to with other layer of management being removed. This structure is becoming popular due to the following features “…faster decision making, shorter communication paths, stimulating local innovation…”[3]
All levels in both the flat and pyramidal hierarchy play an important role in the project collaboration, just as all five fingers play a part in the functioning of a hand. The cease of collaboration of one division will cause delay to the project, in both monetary and non-monetary terms, as the “ability to meet schedule commitments and remain within budget is directly related to the performance of both the design team and the owner”[4], which basically mean everyone within the hierarchy.
There is also the hierarchy of the tasks which involve organising and determining task priority. This allow for a comprehensive overview of the project, allowing every divisions in the hierarchy to have a clear project goals and aims.
The project that we are working on in my opinion has a flat hierarchical structure, with all five of the team members reporting to the group leader. With the collaboration of all members decision-making has been easy and fast. Communications are vice versa and efficient, through methods as face to face meetings, email, blogging, wiki, every member is informed simultaneously. The flat structure of the team has offered a chance for every member to collaborate and contribute their design innovation freely.
The group has also planned out the hierarchy of the fabrication tasks in order of priority by:
1) Collecting images of interior design to simulate ideas in term of styles, colour scheme, etc.
2) Modeling of furnitures and fittings, focusing on rooms that are most interesting placing hierarchy of importants on different spaces.
3) Create, insert map and texture.
4) Programming in unreal – adding sound effect on the environment, animation of doors, windows.
The above tasks guideline has helped the group to have clear project goals and objectives.
_________________________________
[1] Wikipedia, “Hierarchy”, Wikipedia, (21 March 2008), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hierarchy, (viewed 9 April 2008).
[2] American Society of Civil Engineers, “Quality in the Constructed Project: A Guide for”, (US: ASCE Publications, 2000), p.28.
[3] Kettley, P., “Is Flatter Better? Delayering the Management Hierarchy”, IES, (July 1995), http://www.employment-studies.co.uk/summary/summary.php?id=290, (viewed on 11 April 2008).
[4] American Society of Civil Engineers, op. cit., p. 80.
[Figure 1] American Society of Civil Engineers, op. cit., p.90.
Pyramidal structure tend to occurred in large project where the owner sits in the peak of the structure, information then travel down from one level to the next, as seen in figure 1.
Figure 1
Often on each level meetings are conducted if there is any conflict or any decision making needed to be resolve, the solution of the meeting is then communicated to other levels, and possibly need the approval of the top levels, therefore the collaboration is slow, as decision are often pass back and fore, if this can be condense it will “helps control costs by reducing the number of revisions during the design and construction.”[2]A flat structure allowed communication to travel faster as there is only one level of management to report to with other layer of management being removed. This structure is becoming popular due to the following features “…faster decision making, shorter communication paths, stimulating local innovation…”[3]
All levels in both the flat and pyramidal hierarchy play an important role in the project collaboration, just as all five fingers play a part in the functioning of a hand. The cease of collaboration of one division will cause delay to the project, in both monetary and non-monetary terms, as the “ability to meet schedule commitments and remain within budget is directly related to the performance of both the design team and the owner”[4], which basically mean everyone within the hierarchy.
There is also the hierarchy of the tasks which involve organising and determining task priority. This allow for a comprehensive overview of the project, allowing every divisions in the hierarchy to have a clear project goals and aims.
The project that we are working on in my opinion has a flat hierarchical structure, with all five of the team members reporting to the group leader. With the collaboration of all members decision-making has been easy and fast. Communications are vice versa and efficient, through methods as face to face meetings, email, blogging, wiki, every member is informed simultaneously. The flat structure of the team has offered a chance for every member to collaborate and contribute their design innovation freely.
The group has also planned out the hierarchy of the fabrication tasks in order of priority by:
1) Collecting images of interior design to simulate ideas in term of styles, colour scheme, etc.
2) Modeling of furnitures and fittings, focusing on rooms that are most interesting placing hierarchy of importants on different spaces.
3) Create, insert map and texture.
4) Programming in unreal – adding sound effect on the environment, animation of doors, windows.
The above tasks guideline has helped the group to have clear project goals and objectives.
_________________________________
[1] Wikipedia, “Hierarchy”, Wikipedia, (21 March 2008), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hierarchy, (viewed 9 April 2008).
[2] American Society of Civil Engineers, “Quality in the Constructed Project: A Guide for”, (US: ASCE Publications, 2000), p.28.
[3] Kettley, P., “Is Flatter Better? Delayering the Management Hierarchy”, IES, (July 1995), http://www.employment-studies.co.uk/summary/summary.php?id=290, (viewed on 11 April 2008).
[4] American Society of Civil Engineers, op. cit., p. 80.
[Figure 1] American Society of Civil Engineers, op. cit., p.90.
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Task 3 - Disciplines
There are several meaning to discipline, we will be looking at academic disciplines which termed by Wikipedia as “field of study, is a branch of knowledge which is taught or researched at the college or university level…Fields of study usually have several sub-disciplines or branches.” [1]
Figure 1. Disciplines
There are various disciplines involved in an Architectural Collaboration such as architects, interior architects, landscape architects, project managers, planners, graphic designers, CAD personnel, photographers and a range of engineers: civil, structure, etc. All these disciplines contribute to the success of the project. Through effective collaboration time, budget and other constraints are met.
It is the involvement of a wide of disciplines that pushes the design process to its peak. Today many significant design works are an outcome of collaboration among many professional disciplines as they combine their talents and ideas.[2] A research done by Joanne Cys a senior lecturer of University of South Australia found that a project done by multi-disciplinary team members created positive result to the design processes, as it “added richness”, “inspired you to be more creative and push boundaries”, and that the “different disciplines brought something different to the table”.[3] Problems can be solve effectively with varies knowledge from different disciplines.
The project that we are working on is a good example of discipline in architectural collaboration. Our different skills and expertise we brought into the course is what branches us to different sub-disciplines of computing architecture. Clearly in the group work there are different roles played by each of us, example there are group leaders who check and organize meeting to see the progress of the work, project manager, modeling personnel, textural personnel, programming personnel for unreal, etc. One team member might take on more than one of these sub-disciplines. However it is beneficial for each of the team member to have a clear understanding of their strength or their discipline and how they can contribute those to the design work, this is what makes the project enriching. As point out by Joanne Cys “Those secure in the knowledge of their own field make the best collaborators”[4], as they are able to communicate their ideas effectively. In understanding each team member discipline tasks allocation are made easy, as the right task is given to the right person to complete, this way time and resources are not wasted.
_________________________________
[Figure1] Usability Professionals' Association (UPA), “Related Fields”, Usability Professionals' Association (2005), http://www.usabilitybok.org/related, (viewed on 8 April 2008).
[1] Wikipedia, “List of academic disciplines”, Wikipedia, (5 April 2008), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academic_discipline, (viewed on 7 April 2008).
[2] Davis, C., “The Significance of Culture and Collaboration”, Design Intelligence, (1 July 2007), http://www.di.net/articles/archive/the_significance_culture_collaboration/, (viewed on 8 April 2008).
[3] J. Cys, “Collaboration: experiment, mess and risk” (Snr. Lecturer diss., University of South Australia, 2006), p.11.
[4] Ibid, p.2.
Monday, April 7, 2008
Image collection
I have uploaded some images of bathrooms, kitchens, bedrooms,
living rooms, outside sittings on to google group and google album. I suppose our
next meeting, we will be go through the images that we upload and
pick the one we like to guide our modelling and texture on.
living rooms, outside sittings on to google group and google album. I suppose our
next meeting, we will be go through the images that we upload and
pick the one we like to guide our modelling and texture on.
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Task 2 - Collaborative Document Editing
Collaborative document editing is a process in which multiple people are able to edit a document using different computers. It replace the need to have a face to face document editing and multiple copies of the same document been edit individually.
Let’s start with the wiki. It is a web-based software that allow viewers of the site to edit the content of the page online using a browser. Wiki was first known of in 1995, the first wiki called WikiWikiWeb, today there are over 200 wikis they are sometime call wiki clones, to name a few are UseModWiki, MoinMoin, PhpWiki, WakkaWiki, etc. Wiki has been used: 1) in a closed work group or 2) directed to everybody over the World Wide Web. Wiki can be utilised in many ways as “an open, web-based content management system (CMS) for the editing and management of web presence or to supplement an existing CMS…” or “as your internationally accessible notepad or as discussion forums for general and specialised discussions”.[1] Social perspective is attack as most people find uncomfortable when they first started to use wiki, they felt that “…contribution from “others” will destroy…” their work. A Swedish data systems specialist Lars Aronsson still support the wiki system as she writes: “Most people, when they first learn about the wiki concept, assume that a website that can be edited by anybody would soon be rendered useless by destructive input…Still, it seems to work very well.”[2]
For this particular assignment we will have a feel of how wiki works as we use it for the group’s combine work. A useful feature of wiki is its history tool; it allows user to go all the way back to the first version of the file, however this might be narrowed due to limited space. This tool is handy for the group work when there are any coordination problems; any mistake could be undo easily. Some wikis offered what is called a “Diff” command, this tool is used to compare changes in two versions. This command will be a fast and efficient tool for the group to retrieve any deleted information that might be needed in the future. Another effective tool provided by wiki is a recent changes page, it provide an outline of recent changes to wiki pages within a certain time period, this will allow other team members to see and keep a record of changes done by others. [3] However there is short coming to wiki, some editors does not support concurrent editing. A user who is involved in writing projects and reports that involved collaboration noticed that if an online document was accidentally edited by two people at the same time it could cause one to lose all their edited work.[4]
Google Documents is another collaborative document editing program that is well known; it is very much similar to a wiki. Google Documents originated from a product called Writely and became Google Documents in March 2006 when it was bought by Google.[5] Many people who have experienced Google Documents would agree with Gordon McKinlay comment, that this is a great collaborative program for “allowing people to work together on a paper when they are not anywhere near each other.” [6] An advantage of this product is that it allows simultaneous editing however changes are only refresh every 30seconds (approximately). [7]
MoonEdit(ME) take one step further by allowing multiple members to edit a document in real-time, it does this by providing each member a cursor with a unique colour for differentiation on the screen, every single text changed are visible at real-time. It has a keyboard typing sound simulation that make a sound when someone else is making a change to the document. It has a history tool similar to wiki, it show what changes occurred when they last access it.[8] MoonEdit could be used as a collaborative text forum when trying to combine thoughts of different team members; taking advantage of its real-time feature we create something that is similar to a face to face meeting but even better.
Another one of this real time editor is SubEthaEdit. It basically promotes the same idea as the MoonEdit by allowing multiple people to edit a document at the same time and changes are refresh instantly. A user of this editor has described the experience this way “The effect is one of literally seeing multiple cursors on the page with everyone typing at once. It’s extremely cool”. However they also felt that there are some down sides to this product, they found to be confusing when there are too many people working on the document with no clean cut purpose which was hard to keep a track of who did what. And the product is only available for Mac OS X. [9] There are quite a few other products that offer real-time editing such as CoWord, ACE, UNA, to name a few that supports different computers.
In conclusion we see the commonality between those programs as it allow for collaborative document editing without the user been anywhere close to each other. What contrasts them is their add on commands and their different approach to attract different markets. Feature such as real-time editing found in MoonEdit and SubEthaEdit distinguish them from programs such as Google Documents and some wiki editors.
Click for video explaination of wiki
Click for video explaination of Google Documents
____________________________
[1] Ebersbach Anja et al., “The Wiki Concept”, in Reading in Wiki: Web Collaboration, (Berlin; New York : Springer Science & Business Media, 2006).
[2] Ibid.
[3] Ibid.
[4] Good Robin, "Collaborative Document Review Online: PleaseReview", Masternewmedia, (Thursday, June 2 2005), viewed on 26 March 2008, http://www.masternewmedia.org/news/2005/06/02/collaborative_document_review_online_pleasereview.htm
[5] Wikipedia, “Collaborative real-time editor”, Wikipedia, (19 March 2008), viewed on 26 March 2008, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collaborative_real-time_editor.
[6] Ramblings Gordon, "Collaborative Documents", Gordon's Ramblings blog, (09 March 2007), viewed on 26 March 2008, http://gordonsramblings.blogspot.com/2007/03/collaborative-documents.html
[7] Wikipedia, op. cit.
[8] Rossi L C D, "Synchronous Collaborative Text Document Editing Online: MoonEdit", Masternewmedia, (20 February 2005), viewed on 26 March 2008, http://www.masternewmedia.org/news/2005/02/20/synchronous_collaborative_text_document_editing.htm
[9] McLellan Drew, "Collaborative Document Editing", All In The Head, (28 May 2004), viewed on 26 March 2008, http://allinthehead.com/retro/205/collaborative-document-editing.
Monday, March 31, 2008
Allocation of task 2
The five topics that our group has decided to research on are:
A. Synchronous Messaging (research by Azize Ceylan)
B. Collaborative Document Editing (research by Chivon Lam)
C. Shared Repositories (research by Jeffrey Aguas)
D. Social Networks (research by Cettina Mangano)
F. Asynchronous Messaging (research by Rachel MacKenzie)
A. Synchronous Messaging (research by Azize Ceylan)
B. Collaborative Document Editing (research by Chivon Lam)
C. Shared Repositories (research by Jeffrey Aguas)
D. Social Networks (research by Cettina Mangano)
F. Asynchronous Messaging (research by Rachel MacKenzie)
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Task 1 - "Hill House" by PlasmaStudio
Quote: “For a beautiful rural site in Hampshire, UK the extent of buildable area was limited. With an extensive programme of 5 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms, music room, steam room and generous living area, we developed a large loft-like living zone and a series of enclosed ancillary rooms on two levels to the East.”[1]
The building I have chosen is a quiet residential house designed by plasmastudio for Alresford Hants country home competition in 2005. It is situated on a quite rural site in Hampshire, UK, it has a building area of 520m2.[2]The building has a very dynamic shape with features of contemporary architecture. The site of the building allow for a dialogue between man-made object and the nature, which will make this project interesting to work on.
The building I have chosen is a quiet residential house designed by plasmastudio for Alresford Hants country home competition in 2005. It is situated on a quite rural site in Hampshire, UK, it has a building area of 520m2.[2]The building has a very dynamic shape with features of contemporary architecture. The site of the building allow for a dialogue between man-made object and the nature, which will make this project interesting to work on. It won 2nd place in the competition with some interesting eco friendly design features. As the site is surrounded by scenic greenery, the building uses glass materials to open itself to the beautiful surroundings. Sky lights are used throughout the building allowing natural light to warm and lit the building, especially friendly in the cold UK climate.
As you enter the house and step down the stairs to the open living area, you will immediately notice the framing of the beautiful country view in the north-west side of the building. The public spaces are located to the west which includes the kitchen and other daily living areas; this zone is a double height volume and is exposed to natural light throughout the day. A series of large sliding panels are used to divide or join the lounge room and the dining room.
[3]
As you enter the house and step down the stairs to the open living area, you will immediately notice the framing of the beautiful country view in the north-west side of the building. The public spaces are located to the west which includes the kitchen and other daily living areas; this zone is a double height volume and is exposed to natural light throughout the day. A series of large sliding panels are used to divide or join the lounge room and the dining room.To the east are a series of private spaces, it is the backbones of the house’s structure with more close and solid materials used. It is organised into a series of divided rooms, angled in positions that allow the morning sun to enter the rooms and welcome the residents to a new day. [4] The rooms on the ground floor included a guess room with an en suite, a spare room, technical room, steam room and a change room with a back entrance purposefully built for easy access to the yard. Another set of stairs in the lobby will take you to the second floor of the house; the circulation spaces on this level allow one to over look the living zone to the view in the west. The level consists of four bedrooms, two with en suit and a bathroom.
Parking spaces are disjoined from the building to the south-east side of the house, with stairs on the side to another living quarter with a bedroom, living room, kitchen and a bathroom. This living quarter might have been used when seeking privacy from the main house.
Above are the features of the house which I think would be exciting for us to explore if we choose this building.
___________________________________
[1] Plasmastudio, 2008, “Hill House”, Plasmastudio, viewed on 13 March 2008, http://www.plasmastudio.com/.
[2] Ibid.
[3] Ibid.
[4] Ibid.
[2] Ibid.
[3] Ibid.
[4] Ibid.
[Image 1] North-west view, 2008, “Hill House”, Plasmastudio, viewed on 13 March 2008, http://www.plasmastudio.com/.
[Image 2] Program, 2008, “Hill House”, Plasmastudio, viewed on 13 March 2008, http://www.plasmastudio.com/.
[Image 3] Ground floor plan, 2008, “Hill House”, Plasmastudio, viewed on 13 March 2008, http://www.plasmastudio.com/.
[Image 4] Level 1 floor plan, 2008, “Hill House”, Plasmastudio, viewed on 13 March 2008, http://www.plasmastudio.com/.
[Image 5] Perspective1, 2008, “Hill House”, Plasmastudio, viewed on 13 March 2008, http://www.plasmastudio.com/.
[Image 6] Perspective2, 2008, “Hill House”, Plasmastudio, viewed on 13 March 2008, http://www.plasmastudio.com/.
[Image 7] Perspective3, 2008, “Hill House”, Plasmastudio, viewed on 13 March 2008, http://www.plasmastudio.com/.
[Image 8] Perspective4, 2008, “Hill House”, Plasmastudio, viewed on 13 March 2008, http://www.plasmastudio.com/.
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