Technical Resources

Approach is to "componentize" the instructions to make them as reusable as feasible.

Instructions

Approach

Our guidance to construction can be summarized in 4 phrases:

1, Start Slowly. This implies having a plan – requirements, designs, models, project plan, budget – before you actually physically build anything that is significant.

2. Begin Simply – practice first. This one is self-evident. The less experience you have, the more you need to practice the techniques to be used on a simpler component.

3. Confront Risk As Soon As Feasible. I learned this approach in my software development career of 30+ years. What it means is to select the areas of construction that are of the highest risk for the builder and for the end product and build those first after you have gained adequate knowledge in 1 and 2. In this way you will minimize the sunk cost and your time if the worst happens and construction is halted for any reason. Think of the alternative: If you build all of the easier components first, then discover a “show stopper” that cannot be overcome, you have wasted your sunk costs and time with no usable result. Having said this, if you do not stray too far from the base design, this risk is low.

4. Develop and Test Incrementally. A component is not done until it has been tested. Especially if you have little experience with that component. When 1 component inter-operates with another, they must be individually tested, and then tested together. An example is an electrical circuit. Begin with the basic components. For example a battery and a motor. Once the motor runs properly, add a throttle. Once the throttle is tested with that motor and that battery, add a switch. Test the switch in that circuit. Then maybe add an LED gauge that displays the voltage of the battery. Test the completed circuit. The alternative is to wire up everything at once before testing. Then if you finally test, and the motor does not run, you have an array of options for problem resolution – which component/s is/are at fault – rather than the latest addition. As circuits or components get more complicated this incremental technique becomes essential.

5. If