Commenting in Roadtest and Chances of Getting Selected!

Hello Dixon,

I have felt this in the past but I will add this, when you comment it's often because you have a passion for that product. You might apply to others in a way you feel is the same but that passion that was there for the first product will come across in your proposal. So I would answer comments do lend to you getting selected more but not necessarily because of teh comment but because of the passion you show for the product.

Kas

I agree with what you saykas.lewis but still wanted to know whether I am the only one thinking like this.

Dixon,

I believe I have said in previous discussions that the application isn't the only thing that I consider when recommending applicants to the supplier.

I look at the application first. If it is a one-liner, you probably won't get recommended. My concern is the person is either not serious and thinks roadtest apps are a lottery or a raffle  (I guess) or the person may not be able to follow through on a plan.

I next look at see how active they are. There is a clear correlation that if you have not logged into the community recently, you will not complete the review.

I also look at their points accrued. Participation in the community is another clear correlation on the likelihood that you will complete the review.

I actually will spot check to see if the applicant has completed reviews in the past. If you have not, you will not be selected. If you are in progress on one, I will often email you to see what's your progress and what your availability is before recommending you.

In the activity section of the member profile, I will look at the activity; I believe your comments pop up there. But I don't actively hunt for people in the comments.

But what they say is something I will note. Remember, most of you I have not met personally. (I have only met one member face to face : carmelito   I was at the Bay area Maker Faire and he came over and stopped by our booth to say Hi.) So if I don't know you, I will read what you have to say to get to know you-- my primary interest is to understand your skills and capabilities. I also will note if the roadtester comes off to me as a problem solver.

My biggest challenge is to recommend new roadtesters. They obviously don't have many points so I need to contact them to see if they have the ability to do a roadtest. I try to recommend at least one new roadtester for each roadtest.

Why do I do all these things?

Why can't the application be the only thing I should consider?

Simple answer: that was done in the past before I took over the program and we got only about 13% of the reviews back and some suppliers were holding off on roadtesting.

I try to be fair and give people who have made an honest effort to win the product. But I also am held accountable to the success of the program and I have to be practical. If someone hasn't logged into the community for 5 months and he applied to the roadtest on the same day he become a member and has not come back to the community ever since, what would you think? The practical thing is he isn't particularly involved in the community.

If you or anyone has any questions about this or my approach, feel free to contact me or add a comment here. I'd be more than happy to answer your questions.

Randall Scasny

RoadTest Program Manager

rscasny  wrote:

.......

Simple answer: that was done in the past before I took over the program and we got only about 13% of the reviews back and some suppliers were holding off on roadtesting.

I totally agree, despite what ciorga is saying (https://www.element14.com/community/message/241604/l/re-a-conversation-about-roadtests-missing-reviews-and-the-future#24… ) my impression is that it improved a lot last year.

Thank you rscasny for stopping by and sharing your thoughts. I really felt bad when I was reading the discussions about previous road tests that people use road test to get products for free and does not think to return the favour back through a review. Also what people don’t understand is more than the product when they start writing a review they start leaning new things. Which is priceless compared to the product.

I don’t want you to get demotivated or frustrated by this discussion. You are doing a great job and the explanations you give for questions raised about road tests show the passion you have and the change you wish to bring.

This discussion is just because I wanted to clarify a doubt which I had. I respect your efforts.

We've had discussion in the TM area about asking xyz to join, and one of the things I look at is content.

It's not hard to filter on 'participated' and 'authored' content and then clicking on those posts to get a feel for contribution to the community.

I don't envy rscasny selecting participants.

I had a very brief and filtered look through the applications for the Upcycling Challenge, and it was hard to guage a persons ability based on application alone.

I didn't have the luxury of seeing what other content or involvement they had because there was no names, etc.

My suggestion dixonselvan is keep being involved and do some blogs with content.

Project14 is a great place as the demands are much less than a design challenge, and the hardware requirements are minimal/zero.

Mark

Thanks mcb1 for the suggestion. I was already thinking about putting up content blogs and you will see them in sometime. Regarding Project14, yes that surely is a great place will try to involve in it again. I was actually settling down / setting up a place where I can sit and work constantly. Now it’s done and I hope I can concentrate more on projects.

Perhaps the ones that get selected as a RoadTester and have commented on the product up for a RoadTest are the ones that are the most interested in the product and write a convincing proposal.  However, there have been products that were up for a RoadTest where I have commented on the product as well as submitted proposals for but was not selected as a RoadTester.  This happens and I just move on and I trust that rscasny and all involved in the selection process know what they are looking for with the particular product.  The job Randall and the rest at Element14 have managing these RoadTests from what I have seen is a very tough one and one I certainly do not envy.  Given the number of submittals they get for some of the RoadTests as well as managing the ones that are in progress, the fact that they are able to manage this process as well as they do is nothing short of miraculous.

Hopefully with the low percentage of folks completing the reviews and with the questioning of the process that they can continue to keep the RoadTest program in place.

In the mean time, I'll continue to be appreciative that they allow me to take part in the programs they have available.

Any consideration to a requirement of a bio using a template in the application submission?

You need information to evaluate if the candidate has the skills and the fortitude to deliver a review. I acknowledge technical skills are not the only thing you are looking for.  I'm all about expectations. Clearly knowing what to provide makes your job easier.

Sean

I imagine there could be a few of these.

borrowed from here https://me.me/i/just-finished-my-first-arduino-project-a-bl-inking-led-14470082

Mark