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Project Development Guide

From concept to production: A complete project workflow

Planning & Requirements

Define Project Scope

πŸ“‹ Requirements Gathering

  • What problem are we solving?
  • Who is the target user?
  • What are the must-have features?
  • What are the constraints (budget, time, technology)?
  • What are the success metrics?

Document Requirements

Example Requirements Doc
# Project: Smart Home Temperature Monitor

## Functional Requirements
- FR1: Measure temperature and humidity every 30 seconds
- FR2: Display data on LCD screen
- FR3: Send data to cloud dashboard via WiFi
- FR4: Alert when temperature exceeds threshold
- FR5: Battery life of 48+ hours

## Non-Functional Requirements
- NFR1: Response time < 1 second
- NFR2: WiFi reconnection within 30 seconds
- NFR3: Cost per unit < $25
- NFR4: Operating temperature: -10Β°C to 50Β°C

## Constraints
- Development time: 8 weeks
- Budget: $500 for prototypes
- Platform: ESP32-based

Create Project Roadmap

πŸ“…

Week 1-2: Planning & Design

Requirements, architecture, component selection

πŸ”§

Week 3-4: Prototype Development

Breadboard testing, initial firmware

🎨

Week 5-6: PCB Design & Software

Custom PCB, web dashboard, integration

βœ…

Week 7-8: Testing & Deployment

Validation, bug fixes, documentation

Design Phase

System Architecture

Define high-level system structure.

β”Œβ”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”
β”‚   Sensors   β”‚ (DHT22, BMP280)
β””β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”¬β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”˜
       β”‚ I2C/GPIO
β”Œβ”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β–Όβ”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”
β”‚    ESP32    β”‚ (Main Controller)
β”‚  + WiFi     β”‚
β””β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”¬β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”˜
       β”‚ MQTT/HTTP
β”Œβ”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β–Όβ”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”
β”‚   Cloud     β”‚ (AWS IoT / Firebase)
β”‚  Database   β”‚
β””β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”¬β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”˜
       β”‚ API
β”Œβ”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β–Όβ”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”
β”‚ Web Dashboardβ”‚ (React)
β””β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”˜

Component Selection

ComponentPart NumberPurposeCost
MicrocontrollerESP32-WROOM-32Main processor + WiFi$4
Temperature SensorDHT22Temp & humidity$5
DisplaySSD1306 OLEDLocal display$3
PowerLiPo 3.7V 2000mAhBattery power$8

Software Architecture

Firmware Modules
src/
β”œβ”€β”€ main.c              # Entry point
β”œβ”€β”€ sensors/
β”‚   β”œβ”€β”€ dht22.c        # Temperature sensor
β”‚   └── sensor_task.c  # RTOS task
β”œβ”€β”€ network/
β”‚   β”œβ”€β”€ wifi.c         # WiFi connection
β”‚   └── mqtt.c         # MQTT client
β”œβ”€β”€ display/
β”‚   └── oled.c         # Display driver
└── utils/
    β”œβ”€β”€ logging.c      # Debug logging
    └── config.c       # Configuration

Implementation

Development Process

1

Start with Breadboard

Test individual components and communication protocols

2

Develop Core Functionality

Implement basic features with modular code

3

Integrate Components

Connect modules and test end-to-end flow

4

Optimize Performance

Profile, optimize power consumption and speed

Version Control Strategy

Development Workflow
# Daily workflow
git pull origin main              # Get latest changes
git checkout -b feature/my-work   # Create feature branch
# ... make changes ...
git add .
git commit -m "feat: Add feature"
git push -u origin feature/my-work
# Create PR for review

Testing & Validation

Testing Levels

πŸ”¬ Unit Testing

Test individual functions and modules in isolation

  • Use Unity or Google Test
  • Mock hardware interfaces
  • Test edge cases

πŸ”— Integration Testing

Test component interactions

  • I2C communication
  • WiFi connectivity
  • Data flow end-to-end

🎯 System Testing

Test complete system behavior

  • Long-term reliability (24hrs+)
  • Power consumption
  • Edge cases and errors

Test Documentation

Test Report Template
# Test Report - Temperature Monitor v1.0

## Test Date: 2025-11-06
## Tester: Inderpreet Singh

### Test Cases

| ID | Test Case | Expected | Result | Status |
|----|-----------|----------|--------|--------|
| TC-01 | Power on | Boot in <5s | 3.2s | βœ… Pass |
| TC-02 | Sensor read | Accurate Β±0.5Β°C | Β±0.3Β°C | βœ… Pass |
| TC-03 | WiFi connect | Connect in <30s | 12s | βœ… Pass |
| TC-04 | Battery life | 48+ hours | 52 hours | βœ… Pass |
| TC-05 | Error handling | Graceful recovery | Recovered | βœ… Pass |

### Issues Found
1. LCD brightness too high in dark room (Minor)
2. WiFi disconnect after 12 hours (Fixed in v1.1)

### Conclusion
System meets all requirements. Ready for production.

Deployment

Release Checklist

Versioning

Use Semantic Versioning (SemVer): MAJOR.MINOR.PATCH

v1.2.3
  • MAJOR (1) - Breaking changes
  • MINOR (2) - New features (backward compatible)
  • PATCH (3) - Bug fixes

Maintenance & Support

Issue Tracking

Use GitHub Issues for bug tracking and feature requests.

Issue Template
**Bug Description**
WiFi fails to reconnect after network interruption

**Steps to Reproduce**
1. Power on device
2. Disconnect router for 5 minutes
3. Reconnect router
4. Device does not reconnect

**Expected Behavior**
Device should auto-reconnect within 30 seconds

**Actual Behavior**
Device stays disconnected indefinitely

**Environment**
- Firmware: v1.2.0
- Hardware: ESP32-WROOM-32
- Router: TP-Link AC1750

**Logs**
```
[ERROR] WiFi connection failed: timeout
[INFO] Retrying connection... (attempt 1/3)
```

**Priority:** High
**Labels:** bug, networking

Documentation

πŸ“˜ User Manual

  • Installation guide
  • Quick start tutorial
  • Feature overview
  • Troubleshooting

πŸ”§ Technical Docs

  • Architecture overview
  • API reference
  • Hardware schematics
  • Pinout diagrams

πŸ’» Developer Docs

  • Build instructions
  • Code structure
  • Contributing guide
  • Testing procedures

🎯 Quick Reference: Project Lifecycle

1. Ideation

Brainstorm, research, validate idea

β†’
2. Planning

Requirements, timeline, budget

β†’
3. Design

Architecture, schematics, mockups

β†’
4. Development

Build, test, iterate

β†’
5. Launch

Deploy, document, support

πŸ’‘ Pro Tips:
  • Start small - MVP first, features later
  • Document as you go - don't leave it for the end
  • Test early and often - catch bugs before they multiply
  • Get feedback - show prototypes to users early
  • Version everything - code, hardware, documentation