Case study title:

Autonomous vacuum cleaner

Course Title: Project management UNC448
Spring 2021
Supervised by: Dr. Mona Abou-Elaz
Presentation
outline
Stakeholder engagement plan

Phase 1 initiation & definition

Phase 2 planning
Stakeholder engagement
process
What is a stakeholder engagement process?
• Identify Stakeholders
• Assess needs
• Define actions
• Establish communication channels
• Gather feedback
• Monitor and review
 Internal stakeholders
Identifying The
External stakeholders
• Project group
• Employees
• Supervising professor

stakeholders • Supplier of hardware parts

• Robotics academies
• Mechatronics department

• Homeowners

• Hotels

• University clubs

• Researchers
Means of communication.
• Employees • Phone calls

• Supplier of hardware parts • Face to face

• Robotics academies • Phone calls

• Homeowners • Survey

• Hotels • Survey

• University clubs • face to face

With a survey being the most
convenient communication channel
with end users,
we’ve gathered the following data.
With a survey being the most
convenient communication channel
with end users,
we’ve gathered the following data.
 Phase 1 :
project initiation &
definition
 Identifying the need:
• A lot of time and energy are spent
vacuuming in homes, hotels and
hospitals.
• Similar robots aren’t present in Egypt
• Surveys have shown that the project
appeals to a lot of people
• Less human activity means less likely-
hood of contracting covid-19
Project scope:

Designing and manufacturing an

autonomous vacuum cleaner locally
to be  used in houses, hospitals, and
hotels. Which will reduce human
activity and reduce the likely hood
of contamination with covid-19.
 Objectives:
• Feasibility study in the first week of
initiating the project
• Design by the fourth week of initiating the
project
• Prototype by the tenth week of initiating the
project
• Manufacturing by the thirteenth week of
initiating the project
 Deliverables:
• Multiple models of an autonomous
vacuum cleaner
• An opportunity for internships to students
• Lower risk of contracting covid-19.
• Reduce the time it needs to vacuum a
house.
• Providing work for engineers.
• Making money.
Means of data gathering:
• Survey
• Phone calls
• Past projects similar in
nature
• Similar projects outside
of Egypt
A brief introduction
of the Working
principle of the
vacuum cleaner.
Guesstimate  
1
Components
24 v battery
Estimated cost
13$

hardware and 2

3
AC motor

Arduino mega
19$

14$

software 4 Ultrasonic sensor 2.5$

resources
5 Lidar sensor 30$

6 Lcd display screen 8$

7 4 wheels 10$

8 Chassis 14$

Software components 9 Motor encoder 2.5$

 Python because the project is 10 Proximity sensor 10$

raspberry pi based 11 Stereo camera 18$

 C because a microcontroller 12 Ac motor 19$

will act as a slave to control the 13 Wi-fi module 13$

motors 14 Raspberry pi B 150$

  Total cost 300$

Initial basic economics
• Initial estimated total cost per unit is around $300
• The selling price of a unit is $500
• 45-55 units are expected to be sold per month which will a net average of
$25,000 per month
• The expected total salary for all employees is $4000 
• The expected funds needed for marketing are around $4000
• The expected rent for the workshop is around $2000
• So, the estimated first cost is around $10000
Raising the funds

 Creating and sharing a

fundraiser
 Hosting offline fundraising
events
 Asking the university for
financial aid
 Sponsor group events
 strategy
 Collect Data through surveys.
 Estimating the project costs.
 Build The team, (Software Programmers, mechanical
designers, embedded system engineers and marketeers).
 Partnering with Delivery Company and with selling
vendors.
 Building a prototype of the robot.
 Market towards Mansoura.
 Conduct and analyze a market research
 Eventually expand towards other cities and provinces
 Risks that may affect the Project
• The Fluctuation of our currency (M)
• Inability to copywrite the product (L)
• A legislation that may affect the needed components like lidars (H)
• Lack of investments (M)
• Lack of recourses of motors and sensors (M)
• Lack of materials (L)
• Lockdown due to covid affecting the timeline and working hours (H)
• Lack of interest from homeowners (M)
Alternatives
Ximei
Eufy
Xiamoi
Competitive advantage
Customer service more readily
available
Cheaper Product yet as efficient
 Potential team
 A Team of hardware engineers who
are well versed in embedded
systems.
 A Team of mechanical engineers to
design the robot’s body.
 A Team of software engineers.
 A team of marketeers to market the
product
 A team responsible for finances
Phase 2:
planning
Assigning key team members

• Software team leader

• Hardware team leader
• Mechanical team leader
• Marketing team leader
• Finances team leader
Goals
Having a steady production line
Enhancing the quality of life and hygiene in
Egypt
Providing a new product not available
locally
• Expanding via contracts with companies
or hiring more employees and contractors
Quality Standards
• Mapping range of at least 10m radius.
• Battery life of 8 hours.
• light but durable chassis.
• A vigilant customer support.
• A one-year guarantee.
Resources Required
• Training on Python and C for some software
members
• About 10000$ in liquid funds
• Workshop for the use of mechanical and
electrical teams
• Components shipped due to their lack in local
stores
• licensing for designing programs
Budget and cashflow
Semiannual Cashflow
33,280$ 31,360$ 34,560$
Month Cash inflow Cash outflow 28,800$ 30,080$

October 0$ 10,000$

November 28,800$ 23,680$

December 30,080$ 24,448$

January 33,280$ 26,368$

February 31,360$ 25,216$ 10,000$

March 34,560$ 27,136$
23,680$ 24,448$ 26,368$ 25,216$ 27,136$
Budget indicators.
The project will have a first cost of 10000$ with a
monthly cost of 15000$ and a year life span,
income is expected to be 25,000 per month with an
estimated yearly 5% interest rate.
First cost (C) = 38,400/12 + 30,000 = 33200$
Benefit (B) = 50,000$
Disbenefit (D) = 4000$

• Benefit-cost = (B-D)/C = 1.38

• Payback period = 38,400/23,000=1.7 ≈ 2 months
• Present value = 42,904x(1/(1.05)^)1=45,049$
Work breakdown structure
Software
Mechanical
Hardware
Marketing
Activity network
 Precedence table
Activity symbol Duration (days) precedence
Program movement A 7 …
Program sensors B 11 …
Mapping C 17 A, B
Designing chassis D 30 A
Manufacturing chassis E 6 D
Designing PCB F 16 C
Manufacturing PCB G 10 F
Assembly H 8 E, F
Testing I 12 H
Creating a marketing strategy J 7 F
Testing marketing strategy K 30 J
Conducting market research L 9 K
Analyzing the market research M 4 L
Operational timetable
Activity Time ES LS EF LF Slack CP
A 7 1 1 8 8 0 Yes
B 11 5 5 16 16 0 Yes
C 17 17 17 3 3 0 Yes
D 30 12 12 11 11 0 Yes
E 6 13 13 19 19 0 Yes
F 16 4 4 20 20 0 Yes
G 10 22 22 2 2 0 Yes
H 8 6 6 14 14 0 Yes
I 12 16 20 28 2 5 No
J 7 8 8 15 15 0 Yes
K 30 16 16 16 16 0 Yes
L 9 17 17 26 26 0 Yes
M 4 27 2 31 17 6 No
Gantt chart
Risk assessment.
Risk Description consequence Likely impact risk Management Risk owner
    hood P S $   action  
   

A legislation that may affect the needed Resorting to less H H H H I   PL

components like lidars efficient more expensive Finding components that
components do a similar job like a
  Kinect
Lack of interest from homeowners. Inability to sell the l N M L U Shift marketing Marketing team
  estimated number of campaign towards hotels
units and saloons.
Manufacture defects in the operating Impact on the opening M H H M U We will make a Manufacturing team
Machines the project department for quality
    assurance
 
Lockdown due to covid affecting the Impact on the opening L H H M U Resort to online meetings PL
timeline and working hours the project whenever possible.
   
Cost of machining is Inability to place M M H H I Adopt a value Finance team
underestimated contracts engineering approach to
the design
Inability to find a project sponsor. Inability to fund the L H H L U Initiate campaigns PL
  project
 
 In conclusion.
In an age where technology is quickly advancing, and People are more and more dependent on
machinery
The market for an autonomous vacuum cleaner is for the taking.

Our product is efficient.

And out project is well planned.
Thank you
for listening.
Questions ?