Qualitiative Scouting

[robochick1319]

Originally Posted by Jarren Harkema

To hop on what Catherine was saying, in the past we have found it very difficult to provide scouters with qualitative criteria and expect to get back useful information. What kinds of things have you measured like this in the past, and how do you use it on Friday night to help generate a pick list?

Additionally, having qualitative data requires scouters to be 100% invested in the match. How do you encourage scouters to think critically during a match, making notes of important points, and tossing out what's not important.

Throughout the build season, we talk about what we think are important qualities to have in an alliance partner and (maybe more importantly) what are we scared of seeing in an opponent. I encourage my scouters to watch robots initially to place them into categories: fuel dumper, fuel shooter, gear gatherer, climber, or a hybrid combo of multiple areas. Then when we know what categories the teams fit in, watch to see how well they compare to others in that group.

I also try to tap into their competitive nature by saying, if team A is GREAT how can you still beat them? What do they do not so well? Or what can we or an alliance partner do to disrupt what they do so well? This is where those notes come into play. I like to have a mentor or two sitting with the students to point out things like, "Did you see how they pick up from there? Would that be helpful for our partner to do? What if we don't get them though?"

If you encourage your students to constantly think about eliminations and assume they are going to be picking, it helps them focus on taking the notes you need Friday night. Then on Friday night we decide what kind of partner we need. For example, in 2015 we decided we had to have a team who could pick up totes from the floor since we used the chute. So that really narrowed our selection of teams.

Assume you're going to be an alliance captain from the beginning. That's the best way to stay motivated. And even if you aren't a captain, you may still get picked for your scouting info. That has actually happened more than you would think.