Digital Logbook

To help you stay organized and streamline the documentation process throughout the year, we have implemented a dedicated digital management system using Google Drive. This guide will explain how it works.

How It Works:

  1. Your Project Folder: Your team has a dedicated, shared Google Drive folder.
  2. Your Personal Sub-Folder: Inside your team’s folder, you will find a personal sub-folder with your name on it. This is your private workspace.
  3. Your Logbook & Timesheet: Inside your personal folder, you will find two pre-configured files waiting for you:
    • Student Logbook (Google Doc): This document is your comprehensive digital record for the project. It should contain detailed, long-form entries about your technical progress, challenges, and design decisions. You are encouraged to embed a wide range of media to fully document your work, including figures, photos, tables, equations, and links to your code repositories on platforms like GitHub.
    • Automated Timesheet (Google Sheet): A spreadsheet to log your work hours. You only need to enter the Date, Start Time, and End Time. The sheet will automatically calculate the day of the week, your weekly hours, and your cumulative total for the semester.

The final column, Logbook Document Link, connects your timesheet entry to your detailed notes. Instead of just linking to the main Google Doc, you can link to the specific section for that day’s work. To do this, simply use “Bookmarks” in your Google Doc to mark where a new entry begins (e.g., “October 7th – PCB Design”). You can then copy the direct link to that heading and paste it into the timesheet. This method turns your timesheet into an interactive table of contents for your logbook, making it easy for you and your professor to jump directly from a time entry to the detailed notes about the work accomplished, like going straight to “pages 5-10.”

Example Digital Logbook

View a sample of how to structure and format your digital logbook entries with proper documentation techniques.

View Example Logbook

Example Timesheet

See how the automated timesheet calculates hours and links to specific logbook sections for efficient documentation.

View Example Timesheet

Your Responsibilities:

  • Save individual work (logbooks, timesheets, homeworks, WPRs, TPSs) in your personal sub-folder
  • Save group work (Major Progress Reports, CPR) in the main team folder
  • Keep your timesheet and logbook updated on a weekly basis – crucial part of your grade and project success

This structured approach ensures all your work is organized, easily accessible for grading, and creates a professional record of your capstone journey.