Managing a large/complicated hobby project

[jeremy]

Hi all,

Nowadays, most of my hobby projects get pretty complicated and require multi-week/month work. Often I get to the infamous 90% completion and never manage to finish them I was wondering if anyone had any tips or techniques they use to help themselves finish that last 10%? Yes, I understand that it is a hobby project and I don't *have* to finish it, but I think that in my case I am usually disappointed later on that I got distracted by work/other life stuff and have a pcb that only just works.

[Psi]

Break the project into smaller chunks, that way the final weeks are just putting all the pieces together into a complete system.
Since that's usually quite fun and relatively easy it will be something you want to do.

Another thing i do, which is similar, if there's some feature or part of the project which will be fun to implement i leave it till last.

[Basstudio]

I think this is a classic development question and I think you need to take a step back and say to yourself how do you know when you are finished?

There is a simple answer and that is requirements. Have you designed, implemented and tested your requirements. If you haven't got any requirements then you will never know. For basic development projects your requirements will probably be in your head (typical homer projects for instance), take this to a complicated design then this isn't so straight forward. I always write my requirements down probably because professionally in engineering you will pay for not doing this at some point. Also writing the requirements makes you break the problem down and makes you ask what do you really want.

Anyway I could go on about this but I better not 

[SArepairman]

I think usually when I stop is when I put alot of work into building something and then learn of a better method of doing it that is either in a different direction or requires more money.


I think honestly the key to succeeding in this complicated projects is to have deeper pockets... like buying the right tools and parts to make the job comfortable and efficient.

I mean, is it frustration or boredom thats preventing you from finishing your projects? If its frustration then you need to spend more money, if its boredom then you just need projects that you are more passionate about.

I think myself being a tight ass is the number one thing that prevents me from finishing a project... I often find out that the little details that I want will cost me hundreds of dollars being the perfectionist that I am some times...


But I think that passion is the part that is most difficult to find. And I don't know how to find it sometimes

[Abstr7ct]

Before you start any project, write down the specifications and work toward achieving them. Don't move into another hobby project until you finish the first one.

[chasxmd]

I'm glad you posted this, I find myself also running into the same issue where I have a lot of significant projects which are on the "need to get back to this" list. I look forward to what others reply. I think I like writing a scope that states in which state I'm happy that this is considered completed. I'm pretty good about breaking things into separate projects.. it's the problem of putting off that one part of the project that is no fun..

[jeremy]

Anyway I could go on about this but I better not 

Please do! I think the answers have been very useful so far.

[IanJ]

Publish your design in an article/blog on the web........you'll feel more compelled to finish it of folks are following it and expecting things.

Ian.

[HackedFridgeMagnet]

Often I get to the infamous 90% completion

There's your problem. You are not at 90% otherwise you would have the inclination to finish.

You do need specifications and with milestones if it is big enough to do in parts.
And you need to know how to test that the milestone is complete, and importantly working reliably.

I'm not saying you need even to write this stuff down but at the very least it needs to be firm in your mind.

That said hobby projects are meant to meander and change, but it is nice to get something useful at the end, and some hobby projects I just they can just count as learning experiences.

[apelly]

Publish your design in an article/blog on the web........you'll feel more compelled to finish it of folks are following it and expecting things.

Ian.

Dave might disagree with this 

[c4757p]

Publish your design in an article/blog on the web........you'll feel more compelled to finish it of folks are following it and expecting things.

It's working for me!

[PA4TIM]

For me my site started as a sort of notebook so I must make decent schematics and this way I Always can find them. Later I added the rest like testgear and tutorials.

Most of my project ended as soon as it was clear my idee was good. but projects grew in size and complexity. I have the bad habbit to make a lot of notes on the back of everything and then loose them. Since a few years I use several paper notebooks to write up project (desings, ideas, calculations etc), in a second book I make notes related to measurements and electronic subjecs that are handy for future use. Simple things like how to connect some IC's like a 555 (pin layout, formulas etc )
A third book is for repair/restauration/calibrations because I Always forget when and what I repaired.
Besides these books I have a ordner to put printed schematics, pages that fell out the notebook and other loose papers grouped together. My last project took 2 years and now I still must do the last %'s (some mods I like to do) so when I want to do that I have all my notes together. The project I'm doing now goes faster and is almost finnished but that was still around 3 months and about 30 sheets of paper.

I split things up in parts and finnish them first. But I still have problems to get all in a cabinet. Because projects grow while I'm building/desinging them I have no clue about the cabinet and at the end the one I want  is alway a few mm  to small.

[Smokey]

If someone comes up with a good way to finish all your projects, I want to know too.  The list of 90% projects I have going outnumbers the number I've completed recently by a fair bit.

I think the problem for me is that the most interesting part is the learning a new thing.  Once I'm fairly confident I can get something working, the actual thing becomes less interesting.

[dannyf]

I was wondering if anyone had any tips or techniques they use to help themselves finish that last 10%?

Very simple: be disciplined.

[marshallh]

I was wondering if anyone had any tips or techniques they use to help themselves finish that last 10%?

Very simple: be disciplined.

I'll add to this: sell the product and have people waiting. Helps you learn discipline

[aargee]

I think it's the same problem I have, I often enter into projects due to a new idea or hardware application that grabs my imagination. What happens next is I learn everything (almost) there is to know about my new 'project' and after that is where the drive to finish tapers off.

What I have done is used the project to satisfy my brains need for stimulus (education).

Often I look at what will be the end result and realise that I'm going to end up with a bit of hardware or software or both that I'm not going to use but the journey has been fun and engaging!

So to quote a cliche - It's the journey not the destination.

Having said that, I have a few projects that have been finished, although they too have had the definition of 'finished' altered at the end.

Ultimately I have come to the conclusion that this is not a bad thing. (Otherwise I'd be going nuts  )

- Rob.