With Omron, I worked to design an application which would allow the average person to set up a Linux machine with ease.

Context

From June, I spent three months working with Omron Australia as an engineering intern. I used my short time with Omron as an opportunity to build my professional network, and further put my name out as a professional contractor. I was fortunate enough to spend the first two months in-office, and got to know some of the Omron Melbourne staff on a deeper level. As well as completing PLC training, I worked on two small-scale projects:

1. Building a PLC library to handle fuzzy logic.
2. Improving the UI for a bootstrapping software.

Linux bootstrapping software

For someone like myself, setting up a Linux machine from the ground up is fairly easy. The main reason for this is because I’ve become aquainted with the operating system (OS) and already know what tools and software I will need to use. I also already know where to look for additional information. However, for the average person, the task of setting up a Linux machine is challenging, perhaps even frightening! With Omron, I worked to design an application which would allow the average person to set up a Linux machine with ease.

Result

Though I delivered a lot of progress, my main concern is in documentation. If I had kept in mind the criticality of teaching others how to use the new software, then the handover process would have been easier. Overall, there were several improvements to the functionality of the program:

1. Software runtime was greatly improved
2. Some missing functionality was added
3. The UI was much cleaner

Lesson: Setting priorities and deadlines

1. With everyone in the team, establish the criticality of each task.
2. Know, and respect the hard deadline (Usually the delivery date)
3. Decide on soft deadlines for critical tasks