SPEX Standard - Project Definition Document

This is an RIT Space Exploration Standard defining guidelines for content and formatting of project definition documents (PDDs).

This repository includes the IEEE Conference Proceedings LaTeX formatting template (the SPEX internal standard), a sample document with style guidelines, and an archive of reviewed and approved PDDs.

What is a Project Definition Document?

The intent of a Project Definition Document (PDD) is to organize and document a project idea and its objectives. In the ideal project life cycle, an idea undergoes an initial research phase where an individual or a small team develops the primary objectives and requirements. The PDD is a snapshot of the known challenges, risks, and anticipated areas for research at the very start of a project.

How do I use this template?

This document is intended for a member of RIT Space Exploration to bring forward an idea for a project to be conducted under the RIT SPEX banner.

Write

1. Read this Readme in its entirety.
2. Read the template PDD. This document is an example that also explains the intent behind writing a PDD.
3. Create a branch from master to start working on your own document.

git branch -d my-new-pdd

4. Copy the COPY_THIS directory, then gut the .tex file and replace its contents with your own ideas!
5. Use a LaTeX compiler to build a PDF from the .tex source file. To learn how to do this, read our tutorial.
6. When you're ready to have your PDD archived in the master branch, create a Pull Request and ask others to review your work!

Review

A PDD is reviewed by a panel of peers (any current or alumni member of SPEX) in order to refine the document into the best that it can be. This usually includes feedback regarding grammar, wording, or areas where the wording is confusing. Reviewers may also request additional detail is needed to fully explain the project idea or justifications for certain assumptions and estimates made in the PDD. However, this peer review feedback loops should not be a review of the concept itself.

A pull request is created for the new PDD to bring in the .tex, PDF and other supporting files into the repository. GitHub’s pull request review interface allows reviewers to make line-by-line comments on the document source file, and tracks changes as the author addresses those comments. Once reviewers have "approved" the pull request, the document is archived in the master branch of the repository.

FAQ

Are all the sections in the template required?

Short answer: No.

Long answer: The template was written as a functional example. Read it! One reason to write a PDD is to guide you to focus and refine your project concept. Writing this document will hopefully guide you to think about how your project will benefit SPEX in the future and and what major obstacles will be in your way. While many sections of the template are specific to the template as a PDD itself, I expect many of the same discussions to appear in your project as well.

Who should write a PDD?

Anyone is welcome to write about a project and present it using the PDD format. If any SPEX member, university faculty member, or enthusisastic individual has an idea for a SPEX project, writing a PDD is a great way to document their concept, archive it, and perhaps present it to SPEX. The project "Champion" is the primary author of the definition document and, similar to a Principal Investigator, leads a preliminary team in developing a project idea. The Champion is not necessarily the project manager for a project they propose. Faculty recommendations, advice, and support for a project is not necessary but is strongly encouraged. The Champion is the main point of contact for the PDD. The project's Champion be handed off over time, but a project must always have a Champion.

Will my PDD be rejected?

PDDs are not approved nor rejected. PDDs are archived, so a definition document that doesn't initially take off may be picked up by a new team somewhere down the line.

Is my definition document binding?

In the ideal project life cycle, a PDD defines a set of objectives or deliverables which are fulfilled and discussed in a final report or paper. In practice, this is not always the case but an PDD should guide a project such that "feature creep" is avoided and good science is achieved.

I wrote my PDD. Now what?

You need to submit it for review so we can make it the best that it can be. This is also covered in the the tutorial as well.

Should I rewrite my PDD?

Probably not. The purpose of a design document is to capture and preserve the essence of your original idea. In reality, ideas may grow and change over time. If this is the case, it is better to use your old PDD as a template for a new one than to go for a rewrite. On the other hand, it is acceptable to polish and edit a PDD for the sake of clarity and concision, but usually this is done before work has begun on that project. This question lies squarely in the spirit of a PDD, and is thus up to interpretation. Use your best judgement, I trust you.

Why use LaTeX instead of a regular word processor?

LaTeX is not a word processor. It allows you to write content without worrying about formatting or typesetting -- LaTeX handles all the organization, placement of text, spacing, headings, and so on. It is the de facto standard for technical and scientific documents, and it is beneficial for you to be at least somewhat familiar with using it, especially if you plan to do research in the future. For more about LaTeX, visit their homepage.

But I don't know how to write LaTeX code!

Fear not, my apprentice. LaTeX can be tricky to work with, especially when starting out. Lucky for you there is a vibrant TeX community on stack exchange and across the web. I recommend new users to modify templates, ask lots of questions, and experiment.

Answers to frequently asked questions are found at the end of this Readme.

The template is broken or missing something important!

Let us know in the Issue Tracker so we can fix it!

Writing tips

This advice goes for PDDs, Readmes, Wiki pages, conference papers, or even theses.

1. READ. Read a lot of technical writing, good AND bad. This will help you refine your skill while giving you goal posts to shoot for and pitfalls to avoid.

2. WRITE. You don't get better without practice. Personal projects are a good safe place to do this because nobody sees the writing unless you share it. If you think it's good, its an amazing feeling to share a well documented project--it makes the project itself look that much better.

3. DON'T OVERTHINK IT. With technical writing, the goal is to convey your ideas as completely yet as concisely as possible. Sometimes sharing too much detail can obstruct the main idea you're trying to convey. Likewise, not enough detail and the main idea gets lost or misunderstood. It's a balance that you'll discover with tips 1 and 2.

4. DON'T TAKE IT PERSONALLY. Even if your words are written well, they can still be confusing. If someone reads your words and is confused, there is probably a good reason for that. Take mental notes of the way you explain it to them verbally and see if you can work that in to the original confusing bit. Every time you explain what you meant to say, that means there is an opportunity to improve what you wrote. Iteration is necessary 99.9% of the time. Don't let it get to you and keep writing. But don't let it get to your head--you can always write something better.

5. FORMATTING COMES FIRST AND LAST. This one is tricky. What I mean is that when you block out your ideas just starting out a piece of writing, organize it in a way that makes the most sense for your mental model of what you intend to write. Build the scaffolding. For me, this includes lots of subheadings or bulleted lists. The framework usually lingers as comments. When writing the meat of it, don't get hung up on formatting. At that point your goal is to get the words out and into your scaffold. Finally, take some time to format things well. How words are arranged can have a significant impact on how they are received or understood. In short: Put up the frame, lay the pipes, electrical, and lights. Then put up the drywall and buy your furniture. Then paint the walls and rearrange the furniture. Then keep repainting and rearranging for the next 20 years.

LaTeX tips

LaTeX Quickstart Tutorial ☕️

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How to LaTeX on PC?

Setting up your computer to work with LaTeX ☕️ 👌

My bibliography won't show up!

• Make sure you've created a .bib file and it's properly formatted! There are examples in the COPY_THIS folder. sample-formats.bib sample-with-examples
• Have you made any citations? Whenever you reference an external work such as a textbook or research paper, you must use the \cite{your-reference} command to insert a citation. No matter how many references you have in your .bib file, LaTeX only shows the ones you have cited.
• Are you telling LaTeX to make the bibliography? Insert the following commands after your acknowledgements and before your appendix:

\bibliographystyle{IEEEtran}
\bibliography{YOUR-BIB}

(in this example, I have a file called YOUR-BIB.bib in the same directory as my .TeX file.)

How do I make nice looking tables?

I'm so glad you asked! Here's a great style guide to effective and beautiful LaTeX tables.

The package booktabs is highly recommended. Its usage is also described in the style guide.

Why is my linter yelling at me over periods and dashes?

Because it matters!

• - (hyphen), -- (en-dash) and --- (em-dash) are actually different characters and have different uses.
  • Hyphens (-) are used for word breaks and hyphenated words like "noise-canceling headphones." Don't worry about this one too much. LaTeX automatically hyphenates word breaks and there's no real "proper" rule for hyphenating words.
  • En-dashes (--) are used to delineate ranges like "1991--1995" or "2--3 weeks." Looks goofy in code, but really nice in print.
  • Em-dashes (---) are used to place things like interjections---an uncommon grammar device in research papers---in among other parts of a sentence.
  • More info: https://tex.stackexchange.com/questions/3819/dashes-vs-vs
• Spacing is actually handled differently with periods that appear between letters of an abbreviation, after a word like "etc.", or, of course, at the end of a sentence. There are only a couple special cases to worry about, and even then this is only the "proper" usage (but it's optional).
  • READ THIS FIRST.
  • Non-breaking space (~) - This is used when you don't want two words to be separated if LaTeX wants to push one of them to a new line. It will appear as a space in text, but these~words will be handled like one "chunk." Use this one in between first and last names, or between titles and names like Dr.~John~Smith
  • Interword space (\ ) - The Guide to LaTeX (4e) states that \␣ is a "[n]ormal space between words after a command without arguments or after a period that is not the end of a sentence" (p. 467).
  • Intersentence space (\@) - Read this.