Team issues and difficulties?....(not just technical ones)

[Joe J.]

Originally Posted by tribotec_ca88

Hey everybody...I wanted to start a thread discussing team "issues"...for example, what is your team having to deal with @ the moment (not just technical problems but social, emotional) It´s just that I wonder how many other teams go through what we go through...

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Well our team´s not having major technical difficulties...everybody does his/her part well...
This is the scenario: We´re from Brazil. We have 26 students. We only have enough $$$ to send about 6 to 8 people.
**So....everybody wants to go (travel to the States: it´s every kid´s dream!) but there´s not enough for all...people are becoming depressed, and I can say that they have every reason to. I mean, the guy´s working 24/7 during his summer vacation (yes, it´s summer here!) and doesn´t get to experience the best part of the competition? He has every reason to be angry and upset...
Today we´re having a meeting to decide who´s gonna go...I would love to be able to go to new jersey and all but if i were chosen i would feel bad for the guys that are staying...im so confused. Unfortunately we havent been able to get any sponsors so far but lets keep praying huh

Well that´s our team´s major problem at the moment...but learning to solve them is part of the game and the challenge!!!
Hope your problems arent worse than ours!

Feel free to

Here's something you could try next year. The way our team works out who can go to Nationals is everybody gets a "hours" card and it is there respsonsiblity to keep track of it and have one of our mentors sign off that they were there for X number of hours. We set the mimumum to go to Nationals at 35 hours can go to Nationals but we also have it so if space becomes an issue the team members with the most hours can go. It seems to work for our team. It also gives our team members that little extra incentive.
I know this won't help you this year but maybe it might next year.

GOOD LUCK
Joe

[shyra1353]

Originally Posted by 1987

Here's something you could try next year. The way our team works out who can go to Nationals is everybody gets a "hours" card and it is there respsonsiblity to keep track of it and have one of our mentors sign off that they were there for X number of hours. We set the mimumum to go to Nationals at 35 hours can go to Nationals but we also have it so if space becomes an issue the team members with the most hours can go. It seems to work for our team. It also gives our team members that little extra incentive.
I know this won't help you this year but maybe it might next year.

GOOD LUCK
Joe

my view on this is that hours and producivity are two different things. someone can be at a meeting for 6 hours on a Saturday where you just sit there and going to a meeting for 3 hours on a weeknight where you do a lot. I think that the card idea is an awesome idea, and at the same time you should right down what you did for those hours. even if all you did was sit at the computer, programming, and didnt make much progress in the code because you had to delete some stuff and then rewrite (so to a mechanical person .. it seems like you did nothing) or you were correcting simple things that might slow the robot down .. i think that should be written too ...

[Joe J.]

Originally Posted by shyra1353

my view on this is that hours and producivity are two different things. someone can be at a meeting for 6 hours on a Saturday where you just sit there and going to a meeting for 3 hours on a weeknight where you do a lot. I think that the card idea is an awesome idea, and at the same time you should right down what you did for those hours. even if all you did was sit at the computer, programming, and didnt make much progress in the code because you had to delete some stuff and then rewrite (so to a mechanical person .. it seems like you did nothing) or you were correcting simple things that might slow the robot down .. i think that should be written too ...

I see what you mean about the diffrence between hours and producivity. We do try to give everyone at the meetings something to do like makeing buttons, practiceing to be the human player or looking up parts online or in catalogs and that seems to work. shyra1353, I like your idea about writeing out what people did for their hours. I'll recommend that to my team. Thanks for your input.

[Joe J.]

Originally Posted by Akuu

Our biggest problem has nothing to do with the robot but rather with the parents. You see over the summer some of the parents decided that they wanted to be more involved with our robotics team. This is perfectly understandable and we even welcomed this change. We ended up creating a beast, so to speak. They decided that it would be good to collect dues from the students at a cost of $40 a piece. They also decided that these due would be "optional." Now eight months later their new definition of optional means required. Now our Vice President doesn't have $40 just lying around readily available to pay his dues (which are now $50 because they are late). The worst part is that they actually told him that he could not be on the team any longer. Lucky for us he refuses to leave. This is just a small taste of what our parents are trying to pull.

If anyone has any ideas on how to handle this kind of thing, because most of our team is fed up with it, PLEASE let me know.

Well, since that was posted we've been discussing some options within our team, and found that it was a product of miscommunication on all sides. The biggest lesson to be learned from this, and one that I think all teams need to be aware of, is that communication is key. Not just student to student, or student to mentor, but all around, including parents. Our booster club has done a great deal to help us, and to help take some of the monetary load off of our sponsors, as well as to take administrative tasks dealing with such things as travel away from our engineering mentors so that they can concentrate on what they came to do in the first place: to mentor us. Hopefully we, and others, can learn from our mistake, and keep in touch with everyone on their team!

Steve
Team 862 President

[Mike Heinowski]

Originally Posted by Steve
Team 862 President

found that it was a product of miscommunication on all sides. The biggest lesson to be learned from this, and one that I think all teams need to be aware of, is that communication is key.

Steve is right, alot of what we thought were problems were just miscommuniations among team members and our parents.

[Leslie]

OK personally I don´t know what you´re all discussing,seriously.
We all have enough of our own probs to deal with, why spread the ungratefulness? go see a psychiatrist, honestly
I mean this isn´t supposed to be offensive, I´m simply stating that there is a time and place to complain...Chief Delphi is NOT that place.

[Dick Linn]

As long as the thread doesn't degenerate to the point of whining or vindictive griping, I see no reason why it doesn't belong on the forums. Perhaps sharing the experiences of different teams can be useful. I've already found a couple of good pieces of advice here.

[Mike Heinowski]

Originally Posted by Dick Linn

I've already found a couple of good pieces of advice here.

I have also.

[Crop-Circles]

Chances are, any problem you're having, be it with the robot or your team, some other team has dealt with it. Sometimes people get upset and do or say very rash things to team members. I think that this is a great place to talk to people who have had these problems before you do something you'll regret. As long as you don't directly attack someone, I don't see what's wrong with this. Chief Delphi is not the place to bash teams or people and it is not the place to complain. No one is saying it is. It is, however, a place to seek help.

[Al Skierkiewicz]

Originally Posted by Leslie

OK personally I don´t know what you´re all discussing,seriously.

Leslie,
These are real problems for these teams and they are just looking for help. This will get worse as we get closer to ship, it always does. Time gets short, people are working into the wee hours, frustration is running high so tempers natually flare. Make a pact right now to not take anything too seriously, realize it will happen, know that after ship all can be forgiven and forgotten. Ask for help when you feel the need and know that there are many other teams that are gong through the same things every year.

[Rich Kressly]

Al is on the money here. I see it and feel it every year.

Example: Late last night we confirmed what we already knew - we have a serious weight issue with our robot. Everyone put their heads together and came up with ideas. Invariably these ideas will be differing, cost us time we don't have, and push people who are already very tired and drained. Even when done in the best of ways it's a very stressful time. You could certainly feel the tension among the students and adults.

This very scenario my friends IS what FIRST is all about. Robots aside, how we handle these situations, communicate with one another, resolve differences and potential conflict, and overcome obstacles defines us all as people.

Remember the big picture and have fun.