[tindleroot]

Some advice to any teams that are unsure about how they will scout:

There is no "one size fits all" for scouting. First and foremost, the point of scouting is to (1) gather data and (2) use that data to make decisions (alliance selection, quals match strategy, etc.)

(1) is easily doable with both paper and computer scouting. Paper's advantages are that you don't have to worry about the battery life of paper, and it's less expensive and easier to set up.

(2) is far easier with a computer system. Having a database and a program (excel, app, etc.) to number crunch saves a lot of time.

I would recommend for a team to move towards computer scouting if they have the resources - that's a big IF. However, computer scouting is much more likely to go wrong, so if you choose to do so, be prepared with a paper system just in case the electronics mess up. I have had to do that in the past, and the paper was extremely handy. There are a lot of options for computer scouting, so I won't go into detail, but make sure to get the biggest advantage by writing the data in some way that a computer can parse through it. Otherwise, the computer system is no better than paper.

However, paper is an acceptable option too. It is much easier to create and facilitate, and is much less likely to go wrong. It will be much harder to analyze the information (some scouts may have to sit on excel for a few "minutes"), which is the biggest issue. If you do choose paper scouting, make sure to make organization (in the stands) a priority. One good way to do that is to have on dedicated scout to manage papers, and to keep a manila folder for each team to put their documents in. That way you can quickly distribute and receive papers during the matches.