The concept of a rules suggestion thread has been raised elsewhere, so I might give it a go. I would hope that we are mature enough to have this discussion such that the outcome is an improved competition for everyone, not an improved outcome for our individual teams.
I suggest the following format:
1. Existing rule (if any): Describe the existing rule, quoting the rule number
2. Existing shortcoming: Describe the existing shortcoming in the current rule/s, in terms of how the existing rules do not meet the intent of the competition (i.e. missed or inadequate learning outcomes for competitors, or unnecessary difficulty for the officials to provide fair and consistent implementation of the rules)
3. Your suggested improvement: Describe your suggested new ruling, as concisely and succinctly as possible. Provide a balanced argument for its adoption – a good engineer will state potential shortcomings that may occur as well as potential benefits.
4. Summary of your case: Describe how your suggested change will improve the competition as a whole – e.g. improved learning outcomes for competitors, improved ability for the officials to provide fair and consistent implementation of the rules, improved efficiency of running the event)
Some comments:
• Before putting electron to screen, ask yourself:
o How are ALL teams affected by this? Think of your “opposite team” –if you have wings, think of a team without –if you have a carbon tub, think of a spaceframe team. Will your “improvement” be an improvement to them too?
o Would I want to be the competition official implementing this? For example, if your idea is to make the cost report more “real-world” by allowing teams to cost as per receipts rather than standardized costings – then are you willing to volunteer to check every receipt of every report submitted for your competition?
o Why is the rule, or task, or report there in the first place?
o Was my first adverse reaction to this issue because of inconvenience to me? What came first – a desire for a better competition, or annoyance at how the existing rules affect me. I often suspect that the words I read here are the fairest words that fit our own agenda, and not so much the result of an agenda to provide the fairest event.
So, with that out of the way – who would like to suggest changes to the rules that will make this event fairer or easier to manage, or that will improve learning outcomes for all?
I’ve got a suggestion about scoring –but it is past the time I should have hit the hay…