Documentation Standards

=Introduction=

June 2011 marks a point of shifting the focus to professional documentation standard development at Factor e Farm. We are at the stage that such documentation is not only indispensable for production runs at Factor e Farm, but also for replication in other places worldwide. Check our Fabrication Procedure Standards.

A proposal for a GVCS documentation template is given in Mark J Norton/GVCS Template.

=Documentation Toolchain=


 * Cinelerra as a free open-source cross-platform video editing software

Cinelerra Home Page


 * Audacity as a free open-source cross-platform audio editing software

Audacity Home Page

=Documentation Standards=

We propose the following procedure for developing documentation based on prototyping work at Factor e Farm.


 * 1) Upload all media to GitHub repository
 * 2) Publish detailed fabrication procedure on wiki
 * 3) Fill in with pictures, jpg of CAD files, and links to actual CAD and CAM files in file repository
 * 4) Develop an instructional video based on wiki fabrication procedure and any additional material from media FTP repository

=GVCS Documentation=

Each GVCS tool should have OSE wiki pages with sections that deal with the following:

Home
 * Overview
 * Detailed Description and Features
 * Components
 * Product Ecology
 * Uses
 * Creates
 * Solution Statement
 * Specifications
 * Status
 * See Also

Research & Development
 * Overview
 * Research
 * Goals
 * General Design Goals
 * Features
 * Advantages
 * Design
 * Funding
 * Peer Reviews
 * Experiments and Prototypes
 * Experimental Results
 * Prototype Notes, Observation, Etc.
 * Failure Mode Analysis
 * Testing Results
 * Recommendations for Improvement
 * See Also

Bill of Materials
 * Google Docs

Manufacturing Instructions
 * Prepare
 * Safety
 * Workspace
 * Tools
 * Raw Materials
 * Component Fabrication
 * Cut
 * Drill
 * Misc
 * Assembly
 * Programming (if any)
 * Finish
 * Paint
 * Test

User's Manual
 * Overview
 * Safety Procedures and Considerations
 * Operation Procedure
 * Maintenance
 * Breakdowns and Repair
 * Assembly
 * Disassembly

=Documentation at Other Locations=

As other locations come online, similar procedures should be implemented to facilitate contributions to the overall project.

=Design Designations and Document Identifiers=

As GVCS and other OSE tools mature, it will become difficult to keep documentation organized. For identification purposes, a standard design iteration naming convention is proposed. Each GVCS tool should be assigned a standard set of initials, LT for LifeTrac as an example. Product iterations (models) can be either identified as P1, P2, etc. or given a descriptive name such as Rear Mounted Engine. Thus, the current LifeTrac-2 would be referred to as a LT-P2 for documentation identification purposes. It is quite possible that several design iterations are needed within a product model, thus the third design of the LifeTrac-2 would be referred to as LT-P2-D3. The first design of the rear mounted engine could be known as LT-REM-D1.

The main point of this identifications scheme is to create a name space that allows all documentation to be grouped together for a single design iteration. Thus, the video that shows how to fabricate the back right wheel mount panel can be called "LT-REM-D1-Back-Rear-Wheel-Mount-Panel.wmv" and the related 3D CAD render could be called "LT-REM-D1-Back-Rear-Wheel-Mount-Panel=CAD-v2.png". Note that this is version 3 of the render.