The Brave Little Tuffsters

To:
CC:
From:
Subject:
Date:

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 people 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 depending on our
productivity. We will meet in the Pollak Library on the main CSUF campus in
one of the private study rooms.

Memo to iFixit
September 20, 2016
Page 2
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
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 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. In a minor offense, we will
communicate with the team member to discuss what issues must be resolved.
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 responding to a message or email
not completing work assigned by the deadline
not submitting work to the team 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:
1. The conflict or issue must be brought to the attention of the Project Manager.

Memo to iFixit
September 20, 2016
Page 3
2. The Project Manager must bring the issue to the attention of the entire 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

Reyes

Toaster disassemble and reassemble with student camera

October 10

Alcaraz

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

Titanium

Memo to iFixit
September 20, 2016
Page 4
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

Timesheet
Date Due

Assignment

Team Members

Tasks

Total Time

September 20

Group Charter

Alcaraz, PM

- Logo, complete draft,

collaborate ideas, finalize,
and contributed ideas to
entire Team Charter
- Researching sources,
siting sources, and
contributed ideas to entire
Team Charter
- Constructive ideas
throughout the entire
document, thorough final
edit, and contributed ideas
to entire Team Charter
Researched sources

4.5 hours
2.5 hours
2.5 hours
1 hour

Goymerac, RM
Dierkes, EM
Gomez, RM

September 29

Proposal

October 5

Timesheet #1

October 1

Photo shoot

October 10

Troubleshooting

October 12

Device Page

October 12

Timesheet #2

October 19

Timesheet #3

Memo to iFixit
September 20, 2016
Page 5
October 26

Creation Guide

October 26

Timesheet #4

November 10

Peer Review

Sydney Alcaraz
Project Manager

Gabrielle Goymerac
Research Manager

Melissa Gomez
Research Manager

Adam Dierkes
Editing Manager

Alexus Reyes
Photo and Design Manager

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