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> Install, calibration, and maintenance procedures are required.
Also troubleshooting, though I find it can be hard to get
engineers to anticipate what 'trouble' might occur, especially
for a new product. To get you started:
- document all the possible states of any indicators
- document any messages and codes that can appear on the
LED display (if there is one)
- for each required installation and calibration step, document
what would be the result if that step isn't done correctly
Will there be any day-to-day operational procedures?
> ... I've been limited to 2 hours per week for brain-picking. My
> first meeting with them is next Wednesday. At this point I have
> no specs, nothing except a few high-level design drawings...
Before the first meeting: quick-and-dirty audience analysis. Who
will install this thing--electrical engineers? network admins?
lab technicians? Where will it be installed--office building?
lab? factory floor? nuclear sub?
What to do in your two-hour meetings? This is what I wanted to
say:
At the first meeting: get the engineers to take the prototype
apart then put it back together again while you photograph,
video and ask questions at every step. Then, before the second
meeting you document the procedure as best you can from your
notes and pictures. Then, at the second meeting, you do the
installation from your notes while the engineers watch and set
you straight when you encounter gaps or errors in your notes.
Unfortunately you say that isn't going to happen. For now,
maybe you could concentrate on the calibration and operational
procedures. At some point they're going to have to build a
new unit or take apart the prototype. At that point you can
document the installation procedure.
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