VIP Notebooks
VIP notebooks, whether electronic or hard copy, allow students to track and document their efforts. In turn, VIP notebooks allow instructors to assess student contributions to the team. Notebooks are typically graded twice each semester, and explicit feedback is given in categories including completeness of meeting and design notes, maintenance and check-off of a to-do list, and usability by future students who may need to understand why a particular design decision was made.
An example notebook can be viewed here, courtesy of Georgia Tech VIP alumnus Rich Reece:
VIP teams at the University of Arizona may opt for other collaboration and recordkeeping tools such as Trello, OSF or e-portfolios. Whatever method is used, the below table provides examples of best practices for logging activity.
Notebook Essentials
Notebook Maintenance
To make sure team members can find and use your notebook effectively, include helpful information on the cover or front page, such as your name, project name and contact information. Maintain lists of items you're working on and be sure to regularly update your progress on each.
Meeting Notes
Include detailed meeting notes, giving special attention to any project deliverables for which you are responsible. Include information such as deadlines for yourself and the other team members involved.
Technical Notes
Include detailed information about decisions that were made about key designs, research protocols or other essential elements of the project. Diagrams, copies of code you've written, notes on data locations and other details can be helpful to yourself and others later on. This can also be a good place to note your own ideas, even if they are still in early stages.
Usability
Will your notebook be useful to people who join the team later and need to refer to it? Things to consider include legibility, intelligible technical and meeting notes, and overall organization.