Transcript Invention & Innovation Unit #6 Mrs. Mattson Carl Ben Eielson Middle School ETP 2006—Tanya Mattson This material is based upon work supported by the National.

Invention & Innovation
Unit #6
Mrs. Mattson
Carl Ben Eielson Middle School
ETP 2006—Tanya Mattson
This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation
under Grant No. 0402616. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or
recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not
necessarily reflect the view of the National Science Foundation (NSF).
Unit #6
Troubleshooting, Research,
Development, and
Experimentation
Information for this presentation was taken from
the CATTS curriculum Unit #6 and Valley City
State University Unit #6 readings, unless
otherwise noted.
There are many types of problem solving
including:
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Troubleshooting
Research & Development
Experimentation
These are distinct problem-solving processes
that are utilized at several points during and
after the design process.
Troubleshooting
“The act of pinpointing and
correcting problems in any kind of
system.”
(Kuphaldt, 2003)
Technological Literacy
The ability to use, manage, assess,
and understand technology.
Complex technology is used in every
profession and is found in nearly every job
description.
A 10 step Universal
Troubleshooting Process
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Get the attitude
Get a complete and
accurate symptom
description
Make damage control
plan
Reproduce the
symptom
Do the appropriate
general maintenance
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Narrow it down to the
root cause
Repair or replace the
defective component
Test
Take pride in your
solution
Prevent future
occurrence of this
problem
Address the problem of
specialized knowledge
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One of the first sources you should turn to is…the
manual!
The internet is another source
Libraries
Help menu
Phone support
E-mail
Call in a friend
Etc.
Focus on our personal
demeanor in a time of crises

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The need to troubleshoot often happens at
the worst moment. We need to remain calm
and proceed logically.
Start by asking yourself simple questions
(ex: Is it plugged in?) and then proceed to
more complex methods.
Think through and analyze the
problem


Describe it in writing
Don’t jump to conclusions and tear things
apart
Try to bring the system to a
baseline state and induce the
problem to recur.
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Record the conditions in which the problem occurs
Develop a strategy or hypotheses and repeat it
changing only 1 variable at a time so that the
problem can be connected to an event.
Take good notes
Isolate the problem to a single subsystem
Swap parts if additional parts are available
Stop and employ meta
cognition
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Think about your thinking processes
Ask what approach you haven’t tried
What clues have you missed?
Finally, SLEEP ON IT!!
Give your subconscious problem-solver a
chance to work its magic!
The process of engineering design
takes into account a # of factors:
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Safety
Reliability
Economic
Considerations (cost &
profit)
Service Life
Quality Control
Environmental
Concerns
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Ease of Manufacturing
Human Factors
Engineering
(Ergonomics)
Serviceability
Ease of
Troubleshooting
Many more
It is important in the design process to have
ease of maintenance and ease of
troubleshooting in mind, as this will decrease
costs over the life of the product.

Difficult to repair or service products can be
profitable in several ways:
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Competitors do not have specialized knowledge
and cannot compete profitably
Expensive repairs are a primary reason to buy
new products
As the world of technology becomes more
complex, the issue of reparability and ease of
troubleshooting at the design state is ever
more important.
Troubleshooting is much easier
when a product is in the design
stage
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Test points and steps or elements can be
built in which greatly ease the burden of later
service.
Easy disassembly and accessibility are
obvious items up for discussion.
Many precautions can be taken so that
troubleshooting becomes a step-by-step
process
We have become a throw-away society.
Frascoti Manual
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An international group met in Frascati, Italy in
1963 and proposed many definitions of research,
development, and experimentation. (OCDE,
1994)
The document has been revised many times and
is now known as the Frascoti Manual.
In the U.S.A., Congress has attempted to
encourage more investment in R & D by creating
tax breaks for companies who engage in research.
We will discuss this more in an upcoming activity.
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Basic research is what we all know as
science—the discovery of new knowledge,
but it is knowledge about nature.
It is equally clear that experimental
development is engineering, or technology.
Standards Covered

10: Students will develop an understanding
of the role of troubleshooting, research and
development, invention and innovation, and
experimentation in problem solving.
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10.F: Troubleshooting is a problem-solving
method used to identify the cause of a
malfunction in a technological system.
10.H: Some technological problems are best
solved through experimentation.