Troubleshooting, Experimentation, Research

and Development…

Willie Lee

What is Troubleshooting?

• Although definitions vary, most can be narrowed down to:

A form of problem-solving in which one takes a

systematic approach to finding and correcting

problemsCourtesy of IKEA

Troubleshooting in our lives…

• Let’s look at some instruction manuals….

• What do you notice? How is the section set up? What types of words are used? What types of problems do they help with?

Think about this…

• You spend all day baking a cake for your best friend’s birthday!

Then…

• You place it in your locker at school for safe keeping, maybe not the best choice, but the only one available.

Later…

• You realize that you realize that the key is missing… It’s time for the birthday, and your friend is having second thoughts about putting you in charge of the cake!

Now time for Troubleshooting!

• What can you do? Where do you go? What tools do you have available?

• With the only constraint being that the cake needs to stay intact, what are the possible solutions you can think of?

• Remember, troubleshooting is generally reactive… that’s why we need to use it in this situation!

What about this situation…

I can’t live without my flat

carrot!

And I can’t dig through the sidewalk!

So what can

bunny do?

Where else do we use troubleshooting in the design lab?

Research and Development AND

Experimentation

With

o Here we use troubleshooting to come up with new solutions in a very systematic way!

o By trying new ideas, collecting data and analyzing results we can improve designs and solutions.

o Remember… Experiments need to be controlled and fair so that the data collected is valid and applicable

Research and Development AND

Experimentation

Are you ready to try???

Let’s watch…

Basic Windcar (without sail)

Windcars…• Your task is to build a better windcar, by

modifying the original and testing the results of your modifications.

• The goal will be to have the car travel as far as possible with one gust of wind.

• Your final design will be a combination of your experimentation and the work of other teams.

• You will be assessed on your ability to troubleshoot as a team, data collection and record keeping, and create a car that is better than the original.

• Good Luck!