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Unread 31-08-2013, 21:15
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Director of Programs, GOFIRST
AKA: Nick Aarestad
FTC #9205 (The Iron Maidens)
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Re: Keeping an Eye on the Big Picture

Quote:
Originally Posted by DonRotolo View Post
Good thread. We suffer from the same issues. We think we have a plan to deal with it this coming year, but we don't know if we can get it to work.
My team is in a similar situation. We've taken a step back and are reconsidering and redefining our entire build structure and process with an effort towards focusing more on "engineering" a robot as opposed to "building" a robot.

I'd share more details, but frankly we haven't tested our process at all (other than lots and lots of discussions), but we're actually doing an entire "fall build" season in order to "retrain" the entire team towards our process.

As for the OP's specific situation/problem, my "80% crap" suggestion is that you probably (depending on the team size) need to get your "big picture" designers in a room with your prototyping people (my extrapolation from your post is that these are two distinct subsets in your team) and get a firm picture of where the team as a whole wants to go with the robot. From there break it down into what individual subsystems need to get prototypes and to what requirements those prototypes (and eventually final products) need to be built to. Be prepared to meet often-- the best way to avoid snags in my experience is to talk enough to the people involved that you're all on the same page but avoid talking so much that no work gets done.
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