Poll: How Can I Get You More Active In The RoadTest Program?

All of them except fairer selection and RoadTest teams.

Certainly, the tax issues would definitely prevent me from applying to certain products. There also seems to be a large gap between products around 100-200 dollars, and ones around 5-10K.

Obviously, the 5-10K ones are the most interesting, but they aren't interesting to the point I'd pay 3000 dollars in taxes.

Another point is that I don't have the knowledge to do so. For instance: I gave that Bluetooth Cypress Pioneer kit a look, and decided I would flunk the roadtest because I had no idea what to do with it. I'd be surprised if I knew what it was for. That PLC from Eaton? I haven't heard of those things before the roadtest, so... no, I am not applying because I have no idea what it is.

Better communication? Well, I'd say there certainly should be a bit more, but I don't think it's a very big problem. In my first(and current) roadtest, this is how it went.

*doesn't get selected*

Randall: ok someone didn't reply we have one more slot

*messages randall*

Randall: we'll ship you the kit as soon as possible

So, I think that my application certainly was far from top 10, yet I got the kit because... I messaged him.

I'd say this would benefit me but I think there should be more communication with other applicants on this.

I need better equipment to conduct roadtest? Well, I have yet to reach the point I was unable to complete it due to lack of hardware, but there is something: In my roadtest, the software claims to support Windows 7, 8, 10, I have only windows 7 because I usually use MacOS and Linux, and... software did not work. There's images of it working with Windows 10, but I did not have that, so that was certainly an issue.

Better choice of products?

It really does depend. If I wanted a super easy one, I would probably opt for one of those micro:bit ones. However, I don't think spending 10 hours on a review for a 20 dollar item is that worth it.

More time?

I don't think that's an issue, not for me, currently, at least.

If you're not like me, that would be an issue.

Remember how I said software didn't work? Guess what, I gave up on that.

Yes, don't be like me.

I'm technically done with my RoadTest, I'm just adding blog posts now. I'm also procrastinating on that.

I think the selection is fair. There's plenty of chance for new people. If you think that top members get all the attention, that's because they have the smarts, the guts, and the brains.

Lurk and see what others do?

Well, if it's some difficult thing or something I'm not going to apply to that's certainly what I do.

To be perfectly blunt - too much work for too little reward. I'm a consultant and I charge my time at over $100/hr. I estimate that most road tests would take at least 4-6 hours to do a decent job on so unless the item being tested is worth at least $600, I'm not interested.

As usual I am late to the party, but I find this poll important.

I did not know there was over 5K roadtesters in the community, so this adds a lot more complexity to the selection process.

Personally I think more tools would be a great way to go. Most everyone has experience with hand and power tools in the group, they would have to, to be able to build projects. Maybe some bespoke type of tools or hand tools in general.

I Also feel that too much attention is focused on ones background experience, if you want a learning portion added to the content, sometimes learning from a noob is entertaining and valuable, especially if the person doing the review doesn’t think too highly of themselves and has no humility.

Anyhow, this is my 2 cents worth of thoughts.

I have found that general-purpose products, like raspberry, Arduinos, etc... receive a lot of applications, while in other some specific-purpose products like a BLE module, motor-driver or blockchain kit, applications are scarce. In this case, I think that some kind of "draft/suggested/example review plans" would encourage more people to apply. Those who think it is difficult to roadtest those products or think they have a lack of knowledge could find this useful to complete an application.

On the other hand, some of the reasons given in the comments on why people don't apply to roadtest are the lack of time or knowledge. I think those who don't have the time, could have great ideas for the Roadtest, and those who don't have the knowledge could be eager to perform a Roadtest under some guide or help. Following the same line of "Suggested review plans", I wonder if something like a "Joint Application" is feasible. The idea is that one Roadtester proposes a testing procedure but will be executed by a second Roadtester. This could foster collaboration and communication between members of the community in a kind of mentorship scheme, the bad thing is that could be more difficult to evaluate, manage and track these applications.

Just an idea I had.

Thanks Edwin.

Enjoy your retirement and all those projects!

Randall Scasny

RoadTest Program Manager

I haven't submitted any applications because I'm retired and I don't have enough time to devote to a thorough review.  There are way too many other electronics projects in my queue.

I see element14 Road Tests as competitive in that, to my understanding, they are not random draws.  Instead of a random draw where chance determines selection, Road Testers are selected from among the applicant pool based on the merits of the case each applicant presents in their written application.

I see the process as being similar to applying for a job.  Many applicants submit resume's in the hope of being selected for a job offer. Each applicant makes a case that they are the best applicant most suited to be given the job. After a process, if a suitable candidate is found, the job is offered.

In a Road Test, interested applicants submit a test proposal that presents their case for being selected to receive the product on offer.  A selection process ensues where each applicant's case is assessed against criteria established by element14 and the equipment supplier.  Applicants that present the best cases, in the judgement of the process owners, are presented with the opportunity to review the equipment.  All other applicants do not receive an offer to review.  If my description is accurate, then, in my mind, Road Tests exhibit  sufficient criteria to be categorized as competitions.

Mark,

Thanks for your comment. Interesting ideas. While the roadtest program has established policies, there is room for accommodating the needs to students/teachers. Sponsoring more kits for a class would not be a problem. Even doing it over a semester would not be a problem if we received the blogs or review or project at the end.

Let me think about this a bit more. I'll discuss it with my boss as well.

Thanks.

Randall

Cristina,

I'm glad you made the comment about taxes. I have pencilled into my schedule a reminder to discuss this with my boss again.

Randall

Paul,

You said:

"

Randall has stated many times, he has narrowed down the applicants to a certain number, sometimes twice.

Say there are 3 Kits on offer, the applicants are narrowed down to 20 in the first round, then 6 in the second round. The supplier then gets sent those 6 applicants.

Now at no point do we know what pile our application ended up in, were you in the final round or was the application binned the moment it was first read ?"

I must have misread your statement initially. My apoloigies

The suppler gets both the six applicants PLUS all other eligible applicants -- those that completed the application, agree to the 60-day timeline, and are in good standing in the roadtest program. 

Ex. If a roadtest had 100 applicants and 10 did not complete the application, there is a pool of 90 left. I go through those 90 applications, make my selections and send my selections and the remaining 90 apps to the supplier. From there the supplier can choose any on the pool of 90. What usually happens is we discuss their selections and come up with the official roadtesters.

Randall Scasny

RoadTest Program Manager