The Integrated Technology Ventures (ITV) Program

Overview

Expectations for ITV stakeholders:

Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
Chief Business Officer (CBO)
Chief Technical Officer (CTO)
Inventor(s)
Business Team Members
Engineering Team Members

• Establish major milestones for overall project and manage all team participants to timely completion of the milestones.

• Assist the students by guiding their practical application of learned principles, helping them to interpret or enhance learned theories as required to serve real-world needs.

• Provide performance feedback to CTO and CBO on students

• Meet bi-weekly with teams (all-hands meetings or separately with teams)

• Attend ITV Board meetings (minimum of 4) and end of year IPPD presentation

• Review and comment on 3 major engineering deliverable reports: preliminary design report (mid-Oct.), system level design report (mid Dec.), and final design report (mid April); review and approve final engineering prototype

• Submit business plan and powerpoint presentation to UF EDA University Center Coordinator within the defined period of time outlined in the agreement

• (specific duties have been laid out in the contract SOW)

• Provide general guidance as a facilitator, attempting to focus team’s efforts on the highest leverage use of their time while allowing mistakes to be made in the name of learning

• Facilitate development by the team of a schedule of deliverables, and keep team focused on timely execution of that plan

• Meet weekly with the team to insure progress

• Require regular meetings with the engineering team

• Facilitate intra-team, inter-team and CEO conflict resolution

• Review and provide critique on deliverable drafts

• Provide guidance and course corrections, but allow students to make mistakes

• Help team develop a project schedule to meet IPPD deliverables

• work with team to meet major milestones

• Require team to meet with business team on a regular basis

• meet at least weekly with team

• require team to publish pre-meeting announcements, agendas, and meeting minutes

• facilitate conflict resolution as required (team should work this out on their own when possible)

• attend IPPD faculty meetings on a regular basis

• Review draft documents prior to release to CEO

• Disseminate critical schedule and project information to the entire company

• Bring in the inventor(s) as required

• Provide performance and professional development feedback to team members on a regular basis

• Assign grades to engineering team members

• Balance program educational goals with project technical goals

• Approve all project expenditures

• Meet with team leader weekly to plan agendas

• Collect project work hours from each team member on a weekly basis

• Provide technical advice to student teams

• Be available for meetings with students several hours a month

• Share knowledge of device technology, physics, potential customers and marketing information

• Provide guidance and course corrections, but allow students to make mistakes

• Provide feedback to CBO & CTO on student performance

• Consider the CEO as the leader of this virtual company. Treat him with respect. Expect his overall direction. Keep him totally informed of and involved in all operating and strategic issues.

• Consider the engineering team as the other half of your company business team. You are not their leaders. The CEO is your overall leader. Treat them with respect. Involve them in your meetings. Seek their opinions.

• Respect meetings, both time and content. This pertains to meetings among yourselves, with the CBO, the engineering team, the CEO, the inventor and the ITV board. Start meetings on time. End them on time. Respect the time of meeting attendees and have an agenda.

• Establish by early September a monthly schedule of mid-term deliverables leading to final achievement of creating a business plan and a funding presentation of that plan in time to enter CEI’s Business Plan Competition. Share the operating plan and periodic updates with engineering counterparts and the CEO.

• Formulate an aggregate outline for the intended business plan and for the funding presentation, and secure approval of the outlines from the CBO.

• Check email twice daily for communications from CEO or engineering team members and respond within 24 hours.

• Meet weekly as a group of business team members. Meet at least bi-weekly with the engineering team. Invite CEO to these meetings.

• Provide direction by influence to engineering team counterparts to keep development in line with market requirements.

• Keep CEO informed of all team activities. Meet with CEO as a business team or as a company team at a frequency directed by the CEO.

• Participate as a company in all major design reviews.
  

• take initiative, do not let problems fester

• devote 10 to 15 hours a week, on average, to project, and to provide evidence of this effort in an up to date design notebook

• come to class or to alert CTO in advance if you cannot make it

• develop a professional attitude; always give your best effort

• be prepared—read the book and training manual, consult the weekly schedule regularly, and learn and practice the IPPD process

• bring design notebooks to every project activity and keep good records

• participate in project presentations

• work at developing competencies in areas of weakness (such as leadership, public speaking, planning, writing, analysis, etc.)

• individual and team accountability

• aggressive follow up on important tasks before they become urgent

• ask for help when they need it—nothing good ever comes from waiting

• check email at least twice a day

• treat IPPD/ITV like a job

• maintain project records on IPPD secure network

• set a good example for your teammates

• Respond to CEO requests within 24h (don’t have to have the answer, but do have to respond)

• Copy the CTO on all correspondence to the CEO

• Communicate frequently with your teammates and the business team

• Be prepared to work in areas outside of your expertise

• Participate in all major design reviews

• Provide feedback to requests within 24 hours