Prototyping: the Lesson of Bob Bastard
Bob Bastard (pictured) was a character, a quality tester, in one episode of the prematurely cancelled, but still in syndication Dilbert TV cartoon. Dressed more-or-less like the Phantom of the Opera, Bob would play an organ while subjecting Dilbert's Gruntmaster 6000 to the vibration setting of "Armageddon." He then placed the Gruntmaster, designed to survive in temperatures up to 5000F ("enough to boil water," says the Pointy-Haired Boss), in a temperature of 5001F. "How did you become such a sadistic bastard?" Dilbert asked. But my students and I had a different view: you can learn how to do things right from observing how things are done REALLY wrong.If you want to test a prototype, here's what you must consider:
- First, if you want to test your prototype to failure (and you might for many reasons, most notably to find out how it breaks), then you should be like the Cylon played by Grace Park (pictured) in Battlestar Galactica, and make sure "there are many copies." Not a good idea to break your only copy. I have an anecdote about that, but that's another story.
- You must run the right tests -- something the thing you are trying to build might actually experience, only worse. Not as bad as what Bob Bastard would put you through, but worse than what your users would put you through.
- You should have more than one person weighing in on what tests to prepare. You'd have a committee to develop a manufacturing plan; why not for this?
- You should run multiple trials too, at different times -- that does a lot to remove time-based biases. Good experiment design calls for you to run experiments in such a way as to minimize the effects of other biases as well, but what might cause those other biases you have to figure out for yourself. (Or with your committee. :-))
- Finally, you need to run field tests as well as test-stand tests. That's Brian Holcombe's plan, and it should be yours too.
Labels: consulting
posted by Ron @ 8:55 PM
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