The Brave Little Tuffsters

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iFixit
Dr. Leslie Bruce
The Brave Little Tuffsters
Group Charter
September 20, 2016

The Company
Team Members

Sydney Alcaraz, Project Manager

Gabby Goymerac, Research Manager
Melissa Gomez, Research Manager
Alexus Reyes, Photo-Design Manager
Adam Dierkes, Editing Manager

Mission Statement

The Brave Little Tuffsters mission is to contribute to decreasing the amount of

waste from devices and electronics through a step-by-step educational repair
guide. We hope to accomplish this by teaming up with iFixit.com, a wiki-based
website that educates people on fixing a variety of different appliances. This
guide will demonstrate to inexperienced do-it-yourselfers how to take apart and
repair electronic appliances. Our specific project will focus on the four-slot Oster
toaster and will aim to educate owners of this toaster and of similar toasters how
to disassemble and assemble for analysis and repair of complications with their
device.

The Norms
Team Meetings and
Communication

The Brave Little Tuffsters team meetings will be held every other Saturday
starting at 10:00 A.M. The length of the meetings will vary depending on our
productivity. We will meet in the Pollak Library on the main CSUF campus in
one of the private study rooms.
When we are not meeting in person, we will be communicating big ideas, project
progress, and group assignments through email and Google Drive. If our group

Memo to iFixit
September 20, 2016
Page 2

has a quick question or a small update, we will communicate through a group text
that connects all team members together. When communicating, responses should
be made within five hours of the sent time recorded. Messages and replies must
be sent to all members of the group. This will ensure that everyone in The Brave
Little Tuffsters is in constant communication with each other and prevents
miscommunication amongst the team.
Expectations

The Brave Little Tuffsters expect all team members to meet all deadlines created
and agreed upon by the team. We also expect that responses be made five-hour
window given to each team member. All work created by team members must be
submitted to the entire team before final submission to go through a team-peer
review to ensure quality work. If team members are not able to keep up with the
demands and goals set by The Brave Little Tuffsters, strict consequences will
follow. It is essential that team members follow the organization set in our
expectations, because according to Sean Maserang, this is what helps create a
stronger relationship between the team and helps with the entire scope of the
project (Maserang, 2002)
These consequences will be based upon the strike system, giving only two
warnings on minor offenses before giving the first strike. To communicate in a
manner that will not create conflict, Mike Markel advises that teams appear
helpful, not critical or overbearing (Markel, 2013). If a minor offense, we will
congregate and communicate with the team member to discuss what issues must
be resolved and this will serve as their first warning. The team member in
question will only have one more warning before receiving their first strike. After
receiving all three strikes, the member will then be in consideration for
termination from the group.
Minor offenses include: not communicating a project related message to the
entire team, unruly or delinquent behavior, and not responding to a message
within eight hours of sent time. Major offenses include: missing a team
meeting, not responding to a message within ten hours of sent time, not
completing work assigned by the deadline set and agreed upon by team, not
submitting work to the team for team-peer review before a final submission, and
not communicating with the team on a regular basis. Any offenses not listed
should be communicated to the Project Manager, so that the team can discuss
whether the offence is minor or major and the consequences to follow.

Resolve Conflict

The Brave Little Tuffsters will resolve conflicts that arise throughout the duration
of this project as follows:
1. The conflict or issue must be brought to the attention of the Project
Manager.
2. The Project Manager must bring the issue to the attention of the entire

Memo to iFixit
September 20, 2016
Page 3

group during an in-person meeting; either at the team meeting, before or

after class, or at a separate time when all team members can meet.
3. After addressing the issue, team members will go one-by-one to give the
teammate in question constructive criticism on how they can improve
their actions and why their actions affect the entire team.
4. Once we have all contributed to the discussion, voicing our opinions on
the subject, we will either agree or disagree on giving out a strike.
Following the final decision, we will discuss our motives and re-inspire ourselves
as a group to keep us going forward. All issues must be documented and
submitted to Dr. Leslie Bruce.
Firing Clause

The Brave Little Tuffsters will consequently fire a team member if they have
received two warnings, if applicable, and three strikes. Following their firing, the
remaining team members must write a letter documenting why the team member
was terminated. This letter will then be signed by the entire team, including the
terminated member, and submitted to Dr. Leslie Bruce for review.

iFixit Project
Timeline
Due Date

Submitter Assignment

September 20 Alcaraz

Group Charter

September 28 Dierkes

Printed draft of Proposal Letter for in-class review

September 29 Alcaraz

Proposal Letter emailed to the iFixit Team

October 1
October 10

Reyes
Alcaraz

October 12

Alcaraz

Toaster disassemble and reassemble with student camera

Troubleshooting page emailed to the iFixit Team, email response post on
Titanium
Device page email to the iFixit Team, email response posted on Titanium

October 26

Alcaraz

November 7

Dierkes

One complete Guide emailed to iFixit team, email response posted on

Titanium
Printed drafts of Eval Memo and online iFixit Guides for in-class review

November 10

Alcaraz

Turn in iFixit Final Project Folder to Titanium

Memo to iFixit
September 20, 2016
Page 4

References
Markel, Mike. (2013). Practical strategies: For technical communication. Boston: Bedford/St.
Martins.
Maserang, S. (2002). Project Management: Tools & Techniques.

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