This project demonstrates how AI spatial-audio technology can be built and scaled using large-complex-project principles.
Aleks Kjaer | Natasha Anderson | Robert Grinnell Jr | Sriya Thotakura
This hero canvas turns noisy scenes into a focused soundscape. Move your cursor to see how signals come into clarity while the rest recedes into the background.
Horizontal Relationship Diagram
Clear Roles for Project Success
HearOnly product success will largely depend on meeting regulatory and social requirements, while excelling in the tech space.
Establish a communication process by providing opportunities to share relevant information or concerns
Closely involved in project decision making process to ensure buy-in and alignment with project goals and objectives
Create periodical connect points or via general communication
Ensure that are kept in the loop and consulted on selected interest areas to meet their need, can be potential supporters
Executive Sponsor and the Steering Committee function as the strategic governing body responsible for maintaining alignment between the project's objectives and the organization's innovation strategy.
PMO acts as an integrator across all the functions and drives project governance.
Cross-functional leads representing supply chain, finance, IT, compliance and legal, and marketing/customer experience.
PMO will prepare a RACI framework, specifying who is "Responsible, Accountable, Consulted and Informed" for the major project tasks and deliverables.
Given the innovative and technically complex nature of the project, relying on a single contract type would not adequately account for the differing levels of risk, uncertainty, and development maturity across components. Therefore, it is advisable to draw on multiple contract types from the four broad categories outlined by Maley (2012), selecting the structure that best aligns with the specific needs and stability of each project phase.
Cost-Reimbursement
Fixed-Price
Time-and-Materials
Indefinite Delivery
All partner contracts must include the following clauses to safeguard proprietary methods and prevent unauthorized sharing:
Success depends on strong communication and coordination across engineering, design, marketing, and legal teams.
Technical development, system architecture, and quality assurance
User experience, interface design, and product aesthetics
Brand strategy, market positioning, and customer engagement
Compliance, intellectual property, and risk management
Maintaining open collaboration with external partners (suppliers, research partners, compliance experts, and investors) is essential to reducing risk and sustaining long-term alignment.
Hardware components and materials sourcing
Academic institutions and R&D collaboration
Regulatory certification and testing
Financial backing and strategic guidance
Clear communication and shared governance frameworks help prevent misunderstandings and ensure expectations are synchronized.
The F-35 Jet Project demonstrates the risks of weak stakeholder communication where unclear reporting on costs led to misaligned procurement decisions and unrealistic delivery expectations.
Unclear cost reporting created information gaps between stakeholders
Procurement choices made without complete financial visibility
Delivery timelines set without stakeholder consensus
Cost escalation due to lack of transparent tracking
Project Roadmap serves as a strategic guide to support alignment, transparency and overall governance across all phases of the project lifecycles.
Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) provides a hierarchical decomposition of all major project deliverables required to achieve the project's objectives.
Budget phasing will follow milestone-based funding releases tied to defined deliverables.
The amount should cover identified technical or schedule risks and it provides flexibility for unforeseen strategic adjustments.
| Phase | Major Component | Release Month | Personnel Costs (USD) | Non-Personnel Costs (USD) | Total USD | % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Initiation & Planning | Feasibility Study, PMO setup, governance | 1 | 525,000 | 225,000 | 750,000 | 15% |
| Design & Development | System Design, Supplier engagement, Risk analysis | 7 | 1,375,000 | 1,125,000 | 2,500,000 | 50% |
| Testing & Validation | AI software, hardware pilot, prototype build, QA/testing | 12 | 500,000 | 500,000 | 1,000,000 | 20% |
| Deployment & Transition | User Training and Support, Change Management, Marketing & Launch, Go-Live Audit, small batch manufacturing | 18 | 225,000 | 525,000 | 750,000 | 15% |
| Subtotal | 5,000,000 | 100% | ||||
| Reserves | Risk Buffer - additional 10% of the total budget | As required | 500,000 | |||
| Total budget | 5,500,000 | |||||
Process: Identify → assess (probability/impact) → prioritize → plan responses → monitor & control.
10% budget held in reserves; chart shows how technical, schedule, and scope risks drive variance between planned and actual cost over time.
Regular reviews and stakeholder feedback ensure risks are accurately assessed and managed throughout the project lifecycle.
Risk Assessment Matrix
REAL-TIME FILTERING: TWO-PHASE DEVELOPMENT WITH AN EARLY PROOF-OF-CONCEPT TO REDUCE FAILURE RISK.
REDUNDANT SYNC TESTING PLUS A PROVEN INTEGRATION PLATFORM TO TRANSFER RISK TO A VENDOR
±5% ACCURACY: CONTINGENCY BUDGET AND SCHEDULE RESERVE FOR EXTRA DATA COLLECTION AND MODEL REFINEMENT IF NEEDED.
Visualizing PV vs AC with risk attribution to identify cost overruns and their sources.
Actual Cost (AC) exceeds Planned Value (PV) in the later weeks, indicating a cost overrun driven by accumulated risk.
Overruns are attributed to technical, schedule, and scope risks, which emerge and intensify toward the final project phases.
PV/EV/AC & CPI/SPI charts show cost and schedule performance vs plan (BAC, PV, EV, AC, SPI, CPI).
Reserve and cost-drawdown charts: ~10% budget in reserves, overruns attributed to technical, schedule, and scope risk.
Interactive EVM Dashboard showing project performance metrics
AI metrics table tracks accuracy (±5%), latency (<20 ms), fidelity, and battery efficiency to keep major technical failure unlikely.
UX table measures satisfaction, autonomy, ease of use, and trust across segments to confirm readiness for Phase 2.
Financial exposure breakdown by risk category (scroll to see full chart)
Together these charts act as a diagnostic sensor array for project health and system performance.
| Metric | Prosumer | Student | Nomad | Accessibility |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Satisfaction | 92% | 90% | 88% | 95% |
| Autonomy | 94% | 93% | 89% | 91% |
| Ease of Use | 96% | 95% | 92% | 94% |
| Trust in AI | 89% | 91% | 87% | 93% |
Goal: Make HearOnly's progress, risks, and decisions transparent through clear visuals.
Communication Dashboard Overview
Audience Metrics
Transparency Framework
Near-term growth in North America, with market research on:
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