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 decrease waste from devices and
electronics through a step-by-step repair guide. We hope to accomplish this by
teaming up with iFixit, a wiki-based website that educates individuals on fixing
different appliances. This guide will demonstrate to inexperienced do-ityourselfers how to take apart and repair electronic appliances. Our specific
project will focus on the Oster four-slot retractable cord toaster.

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 meetings will vary. Meetings will take place
in the Pollak Library on the main CSUF campus.
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
has a quick question or a small update, we will communicate through a group
text.
Responses should be made within five hours of the sent time recorded.

Memo to iFixit
September 20, 2016
Page 2

Messages and replies must be sent to all members of the group to prevent
miscommunication.
Expectations

The Brave Little Tuffsters expects all members to meet all deadlines created by
and agreed upon by the team.
Expect that responses to be made within the five-hour window given to
each team member. To communicate in a manner that will not create
conflict, Markel advises that teams appear helpful, not critical or
overbearing (Markel, 2013).
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).
Consequences will be based upon the strike system, giving only two
warnings on minor offenses before giving the first strike.
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
Not responding to a message within eight hours of sent time.
Major offenses include:
Missing a team meeting
Not completing work assigned by the deadline
Not submitting work for team-peer review before a final
submission
Any offenses not listed should be communicated to the Project Manager
to discuss if the offence is minor or major.

Resolve Conflict

The Brave Little Tuffsters will resolve conflicts that arise throughout the duration
of this project as follows:
The conflict or issue must be brought to the attention of the Project
Manager.
The Project Manager must bring the issue to the attention of the entire
group during an in-person meeting. This can be done before or after class,
or at a team meeting.
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.

Memo to iFixit
September 20, 2016
Page 3

Once we have all contributed to the discussion, a decision by the entire

team will be made on whether or not to give a strike.
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

Reyes

Toaster disassemble and reassemble with student camera

October 10

Alcaraz

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

Titanium

October 12

Alcaraz

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

October 26

Alcaraz

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

Titanium

November 7

Dierkes

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.