FIRST is really looking into the Einstein problems

[Al Skierkiewicz]

It is important to remind everyone that many First Staffers, GDC and Key Volunteers visit CD often, sometimes daily. Although many do not choose to post, they are reading what you all have to say. It is easy to see that First is taking this very seriously from that facts outlined in Jon's email. Read the letter and think about the investment that is being made by First to insure that everyone (your team) has a great experience in the future.

[Peter Matteson]

Originally Posted by Andy Baker

From what I heard, they have done this. 5-why, Six Sigma, Root Cause experts have been brought in to help with this. Some are FIRST experts, some are new eyes to the situation.

I'm excited to hear how things go this weekend, and wish everyone the best of luck and good fortune to find out the most they can.

Sincerely,
Andy Baker

This was all I wanted to hear. The letter makes me feel better that they had the right people involved and clearly were addressing this thread.

I don't want to go through stories of RCCA investigation gone wrong here but trust me my concern comes from experieince where I have had to clean up bad investigations from well intentioned people so I'm always a little sensetive to these types of issues.

[Rosiebotboss]

Originally Posted by Andy Baker

From what I heard, they have done this. 5-why, Six Sigma, Root Cause experts have been brought in to help with this. Some are FIRST experts, some are new eyes to the situation.

I'm excited to hear how things go this weekend, and wish everyone the best of luck and good fortune to find out the most they can.

Sincerely,
Andy Baker

Not to belabor this, but I am at FIRST HQ now for the FLL/RD/FTC partners conferences and had the opportunity to talk face to face with Bill Miller last night at dinner. (And yes, he reads ALL these posts and is VERY AWARE of the conversation ongoing here on CD)

My point is this: FIRST is doing all the right things. All the key FTAs are here, all the key Vols are here, OUTSIDE engineers that have nothing to do with FIRST are here, (some have been here all week) and the teams are here. (or coming in today) along with FIRST Staff.

Let them do there job and dive in. I am as anxious as the next guy to find out what went wrong. It will take time.

[CalTran]

Originally Posted by Rosiebotboss

My point is this: FIRST is doing all the right things. All the key FTAs are here, all the key Vols are here, OUTSIDE engineers that have nothing to do with FIRST are here, (some have been here all week) and the teams are here. (or coming in today) along with FIRST Staff.

Let them do there job and dive in. I am as anxious as the next guy to find out what went wrong. It will take time.

Quoted for truth. They're doing everything they can to figure out just what happened. They've brought people in from the outside and they funded getting all 12 teams robots and key members of each team to FIRST HQ. <- That tends to require money, and FIRST is paying for all of it.

Just be patient.

[CalTran]

I see 2/3 of the "Eh-Team", namely my favorite blue and red box of a Canadian team...
Looks like it will be an interesting weekend. (Anybody else think the field looks oddly empty without the bridges?)

[Gregor]

I like the nice addition of the garbage can to the field. 30 points of you can balance it on a bridge?

[cgmv123]

Originally Posted by Astrokid248

One thing that they could share with us is their testing procedure. It would be nice to know, and it could be used for educational purposes. It could also allow us to suggest further testing based on what FIRST has already looked for.

They should live stream it.

[Astrokid248]

Originally Posted by JaneYoung

There's a big difference between transparency and a fish bowl. These people need the freedom to think and to work together without the pressure of a reality show atmosphere that the CD community could help to create if they were more transparent with the process.

Agreed; live-streaming, or even posting pictures, might be going a bit too far. Most people I know get weird on camera, and that won't help these guys solve the issue. I still want to know their process, but anything more than a few paragraphs in an email is asking for way too much.

I think they are aware of how much this means to us, and how difficult it is to wait on their results. But I think they also have to consider what's best for the troubleshooting process. That's why they are spending only one weekend on it. It's Thursday, Monday is the soonest we can expect a summary of the tests (but not the conclusions, I give them another week for that). We've done all the speculation we can do (some of us with less knowledge than others, ahem, me); let's rest our minds and keyboards and wait.

[Astrokid248]

Originally Posted by potbelliedyeti

...and the confetti has been removed from the field pieces.

I think we all know that this is the most important part of testing right there!

[RyanN]

I wish FIRST, the teams there, and everyone involved, a good luck replicating and finding the problem so it will never happen to another team again.

I'm anxious to find out what causes this problem and hope it will clear up te problems we faced at the Bayou Regional.

[Bruceb]

Hmm no updates or did I miss something?

[Al Skierkiewicz]

Bruce,
The experts are still reviewing data and filing reports. It will likely be a few weeks before the final report can be compiled. Please be patient.

[Peter Matteson]

Originally Posted by Al Skierkiewicz

Bruce,
The experts are still reviewing data and filing reports. It will likely be a few weeks before the final report can be compiled. Please be patient.

I don't think we are worried about seeing a final report right now. I think the general question is, were the problems replicated?

We can appreciate it will take time to go through the data and come to any real conclusions or resolution.

[Astrokid248]

Originally Posted by EricVanWyk

Earlier this week it took me a little bit too long to realize that the reason my pen wasn't writing correctly was that it was actually a screwdriver. I'm going to have to ask for a few nights of honest sleep before signing off on a report.

Ouch! Yeah, go catch some sleep, get a massage, have a few adult beverages. No need to kill yourself over this. Just remember that for all our whining and complaining, we actually do appreciate all your hard work and incredible effort. (That goes for anyone else present at the testing too.)

[JaneYoung]

In some ways, I think it's easier to be a NEM (non-engineering mentor) in this situation and to trust and support the process that has begun, lacking the technical expertise to fuel impatience and frustration. I have great respect for everyone involved and everyone that has to patiently wait for news and updates.

We'll get through this as a community, this we know.

Jane