[KrazyCarl92]

I'll provide an example I am familiar with...

Team 20 has used excel in some form for a number of years to conduct scouting. 2012 was my first year leading that effort, and in each year thereafter in which we used excel for scouting, we set our sights on improving the system to provide more and better information.

I've attached 2 files:
1. Our scouting spreadsheet from the 2013 Connecticut Regional
2. Our paper scouting sheet user/training guide for the 2013 Connecticut Regional (first page laminated and attached to each scout's clipboard!)

In the "Ultimate Ascent Raw Data" tab, the numbers from the right hand margin of the paper scouting sheets are entered in order from left to right. This was designed to streamline the data entry process and make the data entry person's job as easy as possible. This way their job became: <team#> [tab] <match#> [tab] <first letter of color> [tab] <next number down> [tab]... until they reached the end of a row. Hit enter, then proceed to the next paper scouting sheet. 6 sheets per match (one for each robot).

The "Stats" tab in the spreadsheet is where the magic happens. All of the information in the raw data tab is turned into useful summary information. I.e.: average auto points per match, shot accuracy, standard deviation of match scores. To understand how each of these calculations is performed, take a look at the formulas in the cells. Excel functions like "COUNTIF", "SUMIF", and "AVERAGEIF" are your friend here. The way this spreadsheet is set up, these commands search for team numbers in the first column of the raw data sheet that match the corresponding value in the first cell of the row in the "Stats" tab. It then averages, counts, or sums all of the data in the correct rows in the "Raw Data" tab. If the headings for each column are confusing (heck, I don't even remember what IA% or DOAL mean anymore...), try clicking on the cell. All abbreviations have been set up through the cell data validation --> input message to state the meaning of the abbreviation.

You can also filter the "Ultimate Ascent Raw Data Tab" by team number to take a look at an individual team's performance in each of their matches and look at trends. Or sort by match score, etc.

The "Team Lookup" tab allows the user to set up a combination of 6 teams for a match. This is an incredibly useful way of viewing the information when planning for a match or discussing alliance selections.

A few key notes:
-IF you are using paper then entering data into excel, it is crucial to make the data entry person's job as easy and straightforward as possible. This means streamlining your process and limiting the data you're collecting to only what you plan to use. The fewer questions the data enterer has to ask, the better.
-We used data validation extensively to mitigate issues like the wrong team number being entered into a row in the raw data tab. Clearly this would result in missed data if someone accidentally entered "<19> [tab]" when they intended to enter "<195> [tab]", so our spreadsheet kicks it back to the user and prompts them to correct the error. We also used this so that if the user lost track of where they were, they could be alerted when they tried to enter that a robot scored 10 pyramid goals (there was a max of 6), when they meant to enter that the robot had MISSED 10 shots in teleop.

Future improvements included the addition of picture lookup, in which a picture of the robot would appear based on the team# entered in the "Team Lookup" tab, and multiple data entry so that one laptop would enter the data for the blue alliance, while another entered the data for the red alliance. I included our 2013 spreadsheet because it is simpler to follow than multiple spreadsheets with outside references, and strictly takes advantage of basic functions already available within Excel.

I have worked with and seen a number of other scouting systems outside of excel, and most often find that the data presentation is lacking compared to what we have here. That's not to say that these electronic scouting systems don't have their merits, but come on...if you can make a table that summarizes all pertinent information for all 6 teams in a match on a single screen in Excel, don't make an electronic scouting system that cannot meet that same standard.

The biggest problem with paper + excel scouting is efficiency. If you spend the time writing down the data, then later entering it into the computer, you're duplicating efforts. Electronic scouting can be nice if it mitigates this, and can also be used to provide additional useful information, such as heat maps of shooting locations, etc.

If you have any questions on this example, feel free to post here or send me a PM and I'd be happy to share more.