Project Development Roadmap
This page serves as a reference based on the official Project Plan shared with our stakeholders. To accommodate the format here, some modifications may have been made from the original document.
Please consider this page for reference purposes only. Updates to reflect changes in the official project documentation may not be immediate. In instances of discrepancies between this page and the officially submitted documents, the officially submitted documents should be regarded as the accurate source.
This project plan document outlines the high-level projected timeline for the development of the Coast Companion chatbot in accordance with the requirements set out in the Terms of Reference document. We, the Backbenchers team consisting of Abhigyan Dabla, Dabin Im, Devam Sisodraker, Jonathan Qiao, Mattias Sebanc, Matthew Kang, Melanie Kent, Peter Newman, Phillips Ng, Vihara Jayaweea, shall adhere to the timeline set out in this document to ensure the timely completion of Coast Companion.
To view our development progress before Project Completion, please refer to the Pre-Release Notes.
Development Team
The development team for Coast Companion consists of 10 members, specializing in various parts of the development process. Please refer to the Team Page for our development team members.
Schedule Outline
The Gantt chart (embeded above) provides a visual representation of our project plan outlining the critical path across distinct phases. As described in our project plan, we have meticulously divided our timeline into key stages: Initiation, Requirements, Beta Implementation, Pilot, Final Implementation, and ultimately Project Completion. Each stage corresponds to specific activities and milestones critical for project progression. The Gantt chart serves as a roadmap of our critical path illustrating sequences and timeline of tasks within each phase. Each team/individual responsible for the tasks in Gantt chart below are listed in the Responsibility Table.
Initiation
January 15, 2024 - January 28, 2024
The initiation stage of our critical path is the first stage that sets the groundwork for our project's journey. Firstly, the Local Development Environment Setup involves configuring individual computers to ensure all developers have a working and consistent development environment. We also lay the foundation for our cloud infrastructure using AWS that aligns with project requirements. Knowledge Acquisition is an important aspect where our teams engage in thorough research to understand the domain, technologies, and any specific nuances as well as vernacular relevant to the project. Our last stage is Mockup Creation, where visual representations of the project's user interface and functionalities are crafted. This not only aids in conveying design concepts but also serves as a reference for our project sponsor.
Requirements
January 15, 2024 - February 11, 2024
The requirements stage is a critical phase in our project development, determining what we need to build and what we need from the project sponsor. The Sponsor Question & Answer session serves as a pivotal opportunity for the development teams to clarify their expectations, provide insights, and address any queries raised by the project sponsor. Shortly after, the Technical Design Modelling phase involves crafting a detailed blueprint of the technical architecture outlining system components, interactions, and functionalities. This step lays the groundwork for a robust technical framework. Lastly, the Data Collection aspect involves gathering relevant data sets that will be utilized throughout the chatbot, ensuring that our solutions are informed by accurate and pertinent information. Together, these components within the requirements stage are crucial for establishing a solid foundation that will guide the subsequent phases of our project development.
Beta Implementation
January 25, 2024 - February 25, 2024
After our requirements and initial project setup is complete, we begin with the Beta Implementation stage of our critical path. We start off with our front-end and our back-end. Front-End Implementation involves translating the previously created mockups into tangible user interfaces, ensuring a user-friendly and visually appealing design, while Back-End Implementation focuses on realizing the logic and functionality that supports the front-end, creating a seamless and robust user experience. We also perform any additional AWS Configuration that is needed to accommodate the evolving needs of the project. For the proper use of our chatbot, we need knowledge. This acquisition is done during the Data Indexing stage. After most of the implementation is complete, we commence to End-to-End Testing, which enables us to validate the integration and functionality of the entire system, while simultaneously doing Unit and Integration Testing to ensure the reliability of modular components and services.
Pilot
February 27, 2024 - March 31, 2024
When the Beta is released and becomes available to the project sponsor, we begin the Pilot stage. This enables project sponsors to interact with the beta version of the Coast Companion and provide feedback to our team for modifications.
Final Implementation
February 27, 2024 - March 31, 2024
The Final Implementation stage is where the bugs from the Beta Implementation are corrected, and any additional features requested by the project sponsors are added. Front-End Modifications and Back-End Adjustments ensure that user interfaces are polished and services are optimized, performant, and robust for a seamless experience. The Additional Data Ingestion stage will have us implement any new data requirements that have arisen from feedback supplied by the project sponsor. QA Effort and Staging involves rigorous testing to guarantee the reliability and stability of the entire system. Stretch Task Implementation addresses any additional features or enhancements identified during the development process. Language Model Tweaking fine-tunes our models for optimal performance.
Project Completion
February 27, 2024 - April 7, 2024
The final phase of our project involves critical activities that contribute to its successful transition into project sponsor production use. Deployment to Production Environment is the culmination of our development efforts, where the project is released into the live environment, making it accessible to end-users. Knowledge Transfer is an essential step, involving the sharing of project insights, documentation, and expertise with relevant stakeholders, enabling them to effectively operate and maintain the system. Additionally, the Warranty stage commences, where the development team stands by to address any unforeseen issues or bugs that may arise post-deployment, ensuring we deliver reliable and trouble-free user experience.
Responsibility Table
The table below outlines which teams and roles are responsible for completing specific tasks throughout the project phases. This clear delineation of responsibilities ensures efficient progression and accountability within the project.
| Project Phase | Task | Responsible Team(s) & Roles |
|---|---|---|
| Initiation | Local Development Environment Setup | Front-End, Back-End, AI/ML |
| AWS Infrastructure Setup | Back-End, AI/ML | |
| Knowledge Acquisition | AI/ML | |
| Mockup Creation | Front-End, Experience | |
| Requirements | Sponsor Question & Answer | Project Manager, Experience |
| Technical Design Modeling | Project Manager, Front-End, Back-End, AI/ML | |
| Data Collection | Back-End, AI/ML | |
| Beta Implementation | Front-End Implementation | Front-End |
| Back-End Implementation | Back-End | |
| AWS Configuration | Back-End, AI/ML | |
| Data Indexing | Back-End | |
| End-to-End Testing | Quality Assurance, Front-End | |
| Unit and Integration Testing | Back-End, AI/ML, Quality Assurance | |
| Pilot | Pilot Testing | Project Sponsors |
| Final Implementation | Front-End Modifications | Front-End |
| Back-End Adjustments | Back-End | |
| Additional Data Ingestion | Back-End, AI/ML | |
| QA Effort and Staging | Quality Assurance, Front-End, Back-End, AI/ML | |
| Stretch Task Implementation | Quality Assurance, AI/ML | |
| Language Model Tweaking | AI/ML | |
| Project Completion | Deployment to Production Environment | Team Backbenchers |
| Knowledge Transfer | Team Backbenchers | |
| Warranty | Team Backbenchers |
This table complements the visual representation provided in the project's Gantt charts, offering a concise reference for team responsibilities and task assignments throughout the lifecycle of the project.
Team Workflow
To ensure efficient and timely completion of the project, we have split up the development period into 4 Project Increments (PIs). Each increment represents a phase of the project's development and is built upon in the following increment. Incremental development would enable us to progressively build on the program’s functionality with specific expectations to meet at the end of each phase. That being said, our first PI began on January 15th, 2024. PI start and end dates can be visualized in our Gantt Chart.
Sprints
Each of our 4 PIs would consist of 3 sprints, with each sprint spanning a week in length. Splitting phases into sprints allows us to set a period of time to focus on specific work that has to be completed by the end of the corresponding PI. Each sprint begins with a planning meeting which decides what Epics1 and User Stories2 will be tackled in it.
Furthermore, the subteams have outlined their goals for each sprint, allowing us to stay on track and meet our objectives for seamless collaboration and project delivery. By breaking down our project into smaller, more manageable chunks, we can ensure that we are making steady progress towards our final goal. Regular check-ins and status updates will help us stay on track and address any issues that may arise.
Key Deadlines
Our project plan is based around various upcoming key deadlines. As we need to deliver the Beta version of our project by February 26th, we have set an internal “soft” deadline of February 18th for each subteam to complete their tasks related to the Beta version of the program. This deadline will allow time to be set aside for collaboration among various teams for crucial integration and end-to-end testing. After receiving feedback from the project sponsors, our final product will be delivered by April 8th.