A Cog in the Cosmic Machine
A narrative based resource management game for Bradley University's FUSE Showcase.
Overview
When: August 2020 - Present
Role: Producer
Team Size: 22 people
Tasks:
• Implemented JIRA & SCRUM into the production pipeline
- Organized and scheduled tasks for team members for 6 milestones, across 12 sprints, over the course of a year and a half
- Utilized burndown charts after each sprint
- Held standups, sprint retrospective/planning meetings
• Ran team and discipline leads meetings 4 times a week
• Clarified communication, messaging, and organizational issues from team members and solved them. Removed any and all bottlenecks
Visual Examples of Production
Sprint / Schedule Planning
Explanation:
• Image 1: Original milestone timeline given to me by my professors
• Image 2: Example of a milestone sprint schedule I created for my team
- End dates for each sprint were on days right before playtesting/milestone turn in days to maximize time
• Image 3: 2021 Q1 sprints created in Hansoft
- I learned Hansoft for this project as many AAA companies such as Volition and EA use it
• Image 4: Example sprint with a Kanban board containing detailed tickets
Reflection:
• Having a detailed sprint schedule made scope control much easier to determine
• Utilizing sprints in JIRA and roadmaps in Hansoft made communication clearer
![(1) Deadlines](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/5c901dd8a74806e8b7baf32de1936e0c/4d89dc40-8edc-4d5b-890c-17788079cb71_rw_1200.png?h=84d7d7c2aad945a723441017f0f61319)
(1) Deadlines
![(2) Alpha Sprint Schedule](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/5c901dd8a74806e8b7baf32de1936e0c/23399e27-11bf-418f-b62d-f643c7baccaf_rw_1920.png?h=fcbe06ec3c57542563741749cf17bc22)
(2) Alpha Sprint Schedule
![(3) Roadmap (Hansoft)](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/5c901dd8a74806e8b7baf32de1936e0c/1180c366-0c49-4279-a896-48d4431e1648_rw_1920.png?h=195299b8212f1f58cecf552af705ca22)
(3) Roadmap (Hansoft)
![(4) Sprint Example (JIRA)](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/5c901dd8a74806e8b7baf32de1936e0c/a07e23fc-8a9b-4bff-81d9-134d9d2ce7fd_rw_3840.png?h=723721c03756146dc08da6250f86a18f)
(4) Sprint Example (JIRA)
Burndown Charts
Explanation:
• Created burndown charts in JIRA for 8+ sprints
• Assigned storypoints in tickets to track how much work can be done in a sprint based on previous charts
• The Fibonacci sequence was used (1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13) to determine storypoint values
- Ex: 1 = 1 hour | 5 = 1 day | 13 = the whole sprint
• Each sprint was named after a bird as our team is named after one
- Ex: Sprint 1 = Albatros | Sprint 2 = Blue Footed Bobby | Sprint 4 = Doodoo
Reflection:
• Problems: Tickets were either not moved or not completed in a steady pace. This resulted in crunch.
• Solution: Make moving tickets in JIRA part of stand-ups and break down tickets further
![Sprint 6](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/5c901dd8a74806e8b7baf32de1936e0c/4fa420b3-f536-4f54-ae17-109fa1ffb679_rw_1920.png?h=974148d4ddf1cfb1c7b02c227d994339)
Sprint 6
![Sprint 3](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/5c901dd8a74806e8b7baf32de1936e0c/bdafab9f-b50d-4236-bf25-10610b3fced3_rw_1920.png?h=3862934c462e06c8238b65f2e396d6d1)
Sprint 3
![Sprint 5](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/5c901dd8a74806e8b7baf32de1936e0c/7270bb1b-4a3f-44b7-a39b-0000a4f5e316_rw_1920.png?h=b2f658ad4776b0bbaee8a6e8a7e802a4)
Sprint 5
![Sprint 1](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/5c901dd8a74806e8b7baf32de1936e0c/9cd4591e-2489-403e-81b2-f19f53537feb_rw_1920.png?h=ff98c5d01918112dfa984aab03c49d5f)
Sprint 1
Meetings
Explanation:
Image 1 and 2: Team Meetings (Tue / Thu)
• Quick stand-ups by leads
• Made announcements
• Communicated information from professors to teammates
Image 3 and 4: Lead Meetings (Wed / Sat)
• Detailed stand-ups with leads
• Made high level decisions with leads
Reflection:
• Powerpoints helped create a detailed archive of work for each week
• Each meeting made decision making and dissemination of information very quick and efficient
![All Team Meetings](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/5c901dd8a74806e8b7baf32de1936e0c/0217d2fe-4106-4804-89fa-ab3216844b39_rw_1920.jpg?h=cf5836bb0afdc00f8fbf072994f402ba)
All Team Meetings
![An Example Slide from our Lead Meetings](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/5c901dd8a74806e8b7baf32de1936e0c/05c8490f-51d8-4a21-8411-506b07e55d57_rw_1920.jpg?h=398440970ed6aa903634b748a04685d0)
An Example Slide from our Lead Meetings
![All Lead Meetings](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/5c901dd8a74806e8b7baf32de1936e0c/60381bdf-981a-47bb-af59-280ad790c087_rw_1920.png?h=b4293f1e4d30f11062ad36a932b67ffa)
All Lead Meetings
![An Example Slide from our Lead Meetings](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/5c901dd8a74806e8b7baf32de1936e0c/87f79c6a-8de6-463c-823e-f79f473ed93d_rw_1920.jpg?h=e996cd5b447dc1181310f420bf235bd2)
An Example Slide from our Lead Meetings
Role Sheets
Explanation:
• Created role sheets with each lead
• Clarified roles and responsibilities for each lead and discipline
• Each lead had to sign off on every role sheet to show they agreed on each disciplines roles and responsibilities
Reflection:
Role sheets acted as an unbiased source to help settle disputes about responsibilities
![Role Sheet for Art](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/5c901dd8a74806e8b7baf32de1936e0c/46d803b9-6eba-4357-b84b-6214ab900b17_rw_1200.png?h=fa6efb3f0370c0fb8cd3c366fc3850ec)
Role Sheet for Art
![Role Sheet for Audio](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/5c901dd8a74806e8b7baf32de1936e0c/0bd596e2-67aa-4ca5-9de4-379dc4d8547b_rw_1200.png?h=a74bf7e7600b47c50f284b98ffa7e397)
Role Sheet for Audio
Asset Lists
Explanation:
• I created the framework for each sheet in Google Sheets
• Each sheet contained basic asset information (name/description/status)
• Each asset had to be approved by relevant leads
Reflection:
• Asset lists greatly increased communication and clarity on goals and priorities
• Lead approval increased accountability
![Asset List for Art](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/5c901dd8a74806e8b7baf32de1936e0c/97843325-c6e9-4d8a-a2a0-fb0db9d4f58a_rw_1920.png?h=939663fdb6056f03998b469d6a5ec6f1)
Asset List for Art
![Asset List for Programming](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/5c901dd8a74806e8b7baf32de1936e0c/ab55e0a8-4817-4166-ace9-7239540f95bc_rw_1920.png?h=b18d8914bb295c0ad732331973d919f9)
Asset List for Programming
![Asset List for UX](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/5c901dd8a74806e8b7baf32de1936e0c/5f415218-37a2-469d-ad9b-287e90879a95_rw_1920.png?h=c25492d73dd9592b2314b3384b902238)
Asset List for UX
Recap Video
Explanation:
• A video that showcased the progress made throughout the year
• I created this video and all the images in it were taken from a database I created
Reflection:
• Lots of claps, cheers, and tears after my teammates watched it
• Lots of people mentioned that this video inspired them to continue working hard and helped reduce their burnout