Other Resources

Refers to Skillset Levelling Rubric , but less general.

Discussed at 2023-05-25 Leads Meeting Minutes , and in 2023 Comp Debrief (Google Drive: 2023 Post Mortem)

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Purpose

The reason this document exists is based on past faults.

The method and timeline of selecting comp attendees in 2023 was questioned a few times through the winter term leading up to comp. This was because:

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• Lack of visibility in leads meetings - they aren’t locked to just leads, but there is low-to-no attendance of regular members, and no initiative to share meeting events with regular members

• Lack of communication between leads about when or whether or not the travel team names were finalized

• The # of cars was intended to be finalized early, to book enough of them. This pushed forwards the entire decision-making process, albeit unintentionally

Issues seen at competition were:

• During competition, the team was not a fluid unit, and was instead divided into 2 main groups by role - either working on the drone directly, or working on presentation and report

  • Caused communication difficulty and felt like there was a disconnect

  • Members who did not have space in the pit were distant from the rest of the entire competition, and did not network or associate much with other teams or sponsors

  • Uneven distribution of responsibility

    • Even then, some responsibilities were not covered at competition

• Lack of conflict management and a communications rift within the team in January led to an event in which the technical adeptness/ project scope of attendees was questioned

• In the week leading up to comp, it was felt there was injustice in how the travel team was chosen

  • Whether or not attendees should be required to commit to spending time working on the project prior to comp (at least in the week prior to comp, when the team is spending time making fixes, flying, and preparing every day in the bay)

In future competitions, we aim to minimize these faults and provide a more justified, open method of selecting comp attendees!

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Possibly Comp Travel Team Headcounts

Decision Guide

Based on the 2023 competition experience - not intended as a set of rules, but please take these into account when deciding the competition travel team.

Thoughts, to be edited post may 25:

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Guidelines:

• All attendees must have a defined role

  • It’s permissible to be there to learn

  , but

  • however that role

  should be defined

  • must be defined so everyone is on the same page

  • Everyone’s role needs to be clearly defined, communicated, and agreed upon by all parties

• Finalize headcount (numbers) early, then figure out actual names later on. This is because vehicles

  • Vehicles needs to be clarified and booked ASAP

  .However, key members can be chosen earlier.

  • Who ends up going is largely based on commitment which can vary over the course of months

• Finalize key positions early

  • These are people who have long-term buildup of knowledge that are considered either irreplaceable

  , or if they need to commit early to, for example, complete advanced pilot training and practice flying. Includes:

  • Pilots

  • Ground station operators

  • Key management team/person

  Possibly, if the 15-person format is chosen,

  • .

  • Key positions include

    • Pilot(s)

      • Holds Pilot role.

      • Holds advanced license

      • Holds months of experience in flying with WARG

    • Ground station operator(s)

      • Holds meaningful experience working with pilot on flightline

      • Holds irreplacable technical experience

    • Manager(s)

      • Holds director role.

      • Has experience managing the team under high stres environments

  • Obtaining to one of these key positions will be outlined in Skillset Levelling Rubric

• Subteam lead nomination

  • each subteam lead can nominate/select one of their team members

  to attend (with no defined role - just to carry forward the team base knowledge and get people hooked on comp)

  • (including themselves) to attend as a specialist for that subteam

  • this person is expected to be deeply involved in their subteam leading up to competition

  • more details to be included

• to be continued