Complete scouting overhaul - where to start?

[gblake]

Originally Posted by Talks Too Much

The way my team scouts is pretty lackadaisical right now. The head scout hands out papers before the start of each match, one sheet per bot, to whomever is around. Scouts don't really get any training and don't necessarily know what they're looking for. Our system is kind of sloppy, as we end up with tons of forms, six per match, floating around, and those forms may or may not contain useful information. So, two main questions:

1) How do you choose scouts? Do your scouts get training? If you answered yes to either, can you describe a bit?

2) How do you scout? Netbooks may be an option for us, but I have no idea what software we would use. A googledoc at first seemed like it could work, but after some thought it seemed it would be too clunky.

You start by asking this question:

0) Who is telling you that they need information, and what information do they want to consume?

Do not assume that you should be doing scouting.

If there is no demand for information within your team, implementing the tips others will give you will just be a frustrating waste of time.

If some part of your team is hungry for information that will allow them to perform better, then scouts collecting that information will feel useful. Scouts who feel useful are usually not lackadaisical.

Once the important info is identified you then can focus on how to gather that information. The info might not be the information most other teams need, or the information that you currently think your team might need. Until you know what is needed, it's hard to pick the right method and tools for collecting it.

So... First, do your market research to identify your consumers, and identify what they really want (and will take the time to use/consume), and then create the product that satisfies their needs.

Blake