Implementation of Project Management and Knowledge Management Practices in Activities of a Clean Snowmobile Competition Team 2017-01-1261

The University of Idaho has sponsored entries in the Collegiate Design Series (CDS) Clean Snowmobile Competition since 2001. During this period, a topic of ongoing concern among its student leaders is project and knowledge management. The need for holistic implementation of specific methods/tools is underscored by survey feedback from current CDS teams and University of Idaho alumni, many now employed in the automotive/motorsports industry. This paper details local implementation of nine developmentally appropriate practices for CDS teams composed of students at multiple levels in their academic study (underclassmen, seniors, and graduate students). These practices include (1) networking with alumni/faculty/staff/students to validate and resource annual goals, (2) shared understanding of different team roles communicated in an organizational chart, (3) an evolving curriculum of special topics on vehicle design realization/testing (for students at all levels in multiple disciplines), (4) work packages for each sub-team that are periodically updated to reflect unforeseen technical challenges, (5) a regularly updated Gantt Chart/Action Register for communicating as well as managing weekly activity, (6) student-authored sub-system design guides and wikipage references for common testing procedures, (7) public outreach to cultivate oral communication skills, (8) an extended design paper review/editing process that engages on-campus authors with alumni in industry, and (9) a mid-project assessment to identify strengths and areas for improvement in meeting annual performance goals. Against this backdrop, recommendations are made for a formal project management and knowledge management component in the CSC event, such as is done in the FHSAE event.