A List of Skills
 

Hi all -

I had a favor to ask of the CD community. I am looking to compile a master list of skills that a Veteran Team might train a Rookie Team in. This includes everything from the general (Programming in Labview) to the more specific (Using a certain sensor within the Labview environment). It could be about Chairman's Award or about Team Management. Any help would be appreciated.

Re: A List of Skills
 

In no particular order:

1. General
   • How to prepare for kickoff (getting their lab organized, setting a meeting schedule, etc.)
   • Depending on their size, stratification of subteams
   • How the regional/district systems work
   • What to expect at competition
     • General itenerary (Quals, Alliance Selection, Elims)
     • Practice Field Availability
     • Queuing System
     • Ranking System
   • A list of good suppliers
     • McMaster-Carr
     • AndyMark
     • VEXpro
     • BaneBots
     • igus
     • etc.
2. Mechanical/Design
   • Resources like JVN's Mechanical Design Calculator and Copioli's Useful Calculations Sheet.
   • How to break and join chain
   • If applicable, how to CAD
   • Depending on their resources, the proper use of whatever large machinery they may have access to
   • How to properly use power tools such as drills or jigsaws
   • Maybe a link to Kitbot on Steroids
   • A crash course on pneumatics
   • How to tap holes
   • How to rivet
   • How to broach
   • How to properly use and maintain calipers
   • How to make nice bumpers
3. Electrical
   • In general, what everything in the control system does.
   • How to clean up a battery spill
   • How to solder
   • How to crimp
4. Chairman's
   • What it actually is
   • Some examples of previous winners
   • An explanation of different FIRST buzzwords like coopertition and gracious professionalism

Of course, it's a bit difficult to come up with stuff without knowing exactly what the resources of the team are.
Regardless, I hope this helps!

Re: A List of Skills
 

Here's what I have, it's not much:

Team Management
Knowing strengths/weaknesses (a SWOT chart is great for this)
Being able to resolve conflicts
Knowing how to keep the team organized
Assigning captains to each general group (or not)
Staying on task-especially during build
Coordinating meetings with parents for build season food
Coordinating meetings with group leads (or not)
long term planning/goal setting
Keeping team on time/task during build

Chairmans
Encouraging the whole team to participate
Setting up a timeline for Chairmans prep
Finding and using resources (Mechatronics' (3313) site was a main source for our Chairmans info)

Scouting
Knowing scouting importance
At least for a rookie team, having a dedicated team of scouts
Developing an efficient scouting system, either paper or digital
Calculating "top 10 x" teams in regional (Top 10 High Goals Scorers, Top 10 Low Goal Scorers, ect)

I can list off specifics related to fundraising/sponsorships/branding and websites too.

Re: A List of Skills
 

I'd like to add in strategy development. It's usually done right after Kickoff when teams start figuring out what to build.

Done right, it can make for a really good season. Done wrong, you're probably going to end up with what is commonly called a Brave Little Toaster (also see: BrickBot, BoxBot, Dozer). There's a reason many a rookie team bites off more than they can chew.

Re: A List of Skills
 

Fabrication: How to measure and lay out a part for fabrication (e.g., cutting, drilling). (The assumption here is "to tolerances better than +/- 1/8")

Assembling (plumbing) a pneumatic system, including finding & correcting leaks.

Reading: The Rules, finding & reading the myriad bits of info available from FIRST, finding & reading a manufacturer's spec sheet and usage instructions, and Searching ChiefDelphi for answers.

Re: A List of Skills
 

Programming:
-Usage of platforms such as Arduino and RPi
-General knowledge of wiring
-General knowledge of networking
-Mastery of primary language (LabVIEW, Java, C++)
-Knowledge of secondary languages (Python, etc)
-Troubleshooting issues with the programming/wiring
-General knowledge of the control system

Re: A List of Skills
 

responses listed above are great!

I personally would start from training team members (both adults and students) to have fun doing whatever they are doing. Everyone is not a builder, everyone is not a good communicator, encourage them the try something outside their comfort zone. Probably we will learn more as a team when we work in a healthy and friendlier environment without trying to "beat them, they are our nemesis" attitude. Everyone should try to win but not at the cost of fun. Also remember fun is within the normal discipline and team rules.

Re: A List of Skills
 

In addition to lots of the suggestions above, I would make sure to introduce them to the FIRST community online, and in their area. Telling them about FIRST values is certainly important, but they'll much better understand them being part of the community.

If they know the veteran team down the road who stocks lots of extra parts, when they inevitably fry their last victor, or burn out a CIM, or maybe even vice-versa, they'll have the excellent experience of being part of what FIRST is all about.

And on social media, rather than just hearing with other teams do, they can see it, and ask questions. They can see pictures on Instagram or Facebook, or read about events teams have done on blogs or twitter, which caters to non-auditory learning modalities.

Beyond that, I see nothing about business plans, which are a hugely important component of successful teams. I would show them some successful teams' business plans, and make them talk about what they would see working for them, and make at least a simple plan, to keep them on track. I would also make sure they understand it as a living document, that needs updating as their leadership structure ebbs and flows yearly.

Re: A List of Skills
 

What you need, mechanically, to use motors to make something move:

• How to connect an output shaft to a motor
• How to mount a gear or sprocket to a shaft
• How to retain a shaft
• How to mount a motor to power gears or sprockets
• How to mount (and retain) wheels and rollers to shafts / gears / sprockets

I found that, without someone who already has mechanical expertise, the jump from theory to implementation is a huge stumbling block. The fabrication can usually be looked up once you know the design. But coming up with that design (the HOW of your overall design) is an often overlooked challenge.