Let's Catch Up!
over 4 years ago – Wed, Aug 26, 2020 at 06:09:50 PM

Let's Catch Up 

Production Update

In the next couple weeks I should have some production results from the new supplier, so fingers crossed and I'll share the news as soon as I have it. In the meantime, the new image above -- which are from samples with the full set of four dice -- shows what I am hoping to see from production!

The first producer having dropped the ball on quality control (see previous update for details) was a disappointing delay, but things are still looking more or less okay timeline-wise. There's another challenge, though: the USPS is in the middle of... something.

USPS - What Will Happen?

I have no idea what will happen with the United States Postal Service (USPS); the USPS is how the majority of our backers are supposed to get their rewards once shipping starts, but some shipping partners are flat out recommending that USPS be avoided until more is known.  

I'm keeping an eye on this but between a global pandemic that affects nearly every part of business and manufacture, a supplier with misleading quality control, now the USPS being in turmoil, it's easy to feel pretty powerless.  One thing at a time, though.

BackerKit Orders Locking Soon

In the near future (sometime in the next week or two) I will be locking down orders.  There will be plenty of warning before it happens.  Locking means order quantities can no longer be changed and orders will prepare to be charged, but just as a reminder you can always change your address prior to shipping if you need to. Just search your email and use the link BackerKit sent you for the survey, or go here. 

Psst! 5% of Backers Haven't Done Their Survey

If you're one of them, please check your spam folder for emails from "BackerKit". Fill out the survey from the link they provide because it's how I get your shipping address (and you have the opportunity to buy some optional add-ons.) If you haven't filled out your survey, I won't be able to ship to you until you do.

Production Update, and Another Teaser Image
over 4 years ago – Fri, Aug 07, 2020 at 09:57:11 PM

 As part of this update of the DM's Advice Dice, I have a couple new photos to show you all. First, some news about production.

When the Kickstarter campaign for the DM's Advice Dice wrapped up at over 700% funded, I knew that I would need to look into getting some outside help in getting the dice made. Back in early June I shared a photo of a production sample from a supplier that I was very happy with.

Right about now is when I should be sharing photos of some beautiful production units, but that's not going to happen yet. The reason is that the dice my supplier produced aren't up to snuff.

Production Can Be Disappointing At Times

Getting a product made and produced can result in some disappointment, and sadly I encountered some when it came to production quality. In short, their production quality did not match the sample quality I inspected.

It was very disappointing, especially since at every step of the way, I was spending a lot of money to get samples and tests done (and shipped to me by courier.) They seemed knowledgeable and competant, but as soon as I paid money and pressed GO to let the work happen, things went badly. Here is what came out the other end:

What's even worse is that when I communicated to the supplier that I really wasn't happy with the bad alignment and wanted to find out how it can be fixed (I was even open to getting another production run of the "bad" dice done, and swapping them out myself if necessary) it quickly became clear that they didn't think anything was wrong.

But what about the fact that the quality of the samples I paid for (which are expensive) and reviewed -- and based my decisions on -- what about the fact that they clearly do not match the quality of production?  Well, according to them, sample quality isn't indicative of production quality and that's normal because reasons. (What the heck am I paying all this money for samples and trial runs if they don't represent the actual end product, then?)

I want to tell you all, that was a real blow. I couldn't help but feel I had screwed up and let myself and every one of you down -- that I was myself responsible for getting this outcome. I was also upset that despite verifying every step, as soon as I trusted things to be out of my hands, things went wrong.

So, What Now?

That was an expensive and wasteful mess that still isn't sorted out. Thankfully, this update doesn't end there. 

It did take some effort to remind myself that I'm not responsible for what this supplier did with my trust, but I am responsible for what happens afterward.

Happily, they weren't the only supplier I talked to -- far from it. I reached out to another supplier that I liked and had shortlisted earlier. I asked them "is what the first supplier is showing and telling me reasonable and normal?" According to them, it was not. They are more expensive but they assured me that their production would meet or exceed the quality of their samples and explained why. Their explanations made sense.

In short, I had them go ahead with a production run of their own. It's currently in progress.  So things hit a bump and I had a bad time, but we're still rolling. I look forward to showing you all beautiful dice pictures when this wraps up. (Knock on wood)

Let's Close With Another Teaser Image

Thanks for reading this far! If you're still here, have another teaser image for part of the Collector's Box for the Limited Edition!  (As usual, these are development pictures so colors and details may not be final.)

I've had a lot of fun (and it's been a lot of work) designing the Collector's Box. I can't wait to put them into the hands of backers that pledged for the Limited Editions. Thanks, you rock.

Collector's Box Teaser Picture
over 4 years ago – Sun, Jul 26, 2020 at 11:19:03 PM

First Teaser Image for Collector's Box

One thing I haven't spoken very much about yet is the Limited Edition Collector's Box for the DM's Advice Dice, but I'm going to do so now!  Here's a teaser image of one of the development pieces.

The Collector's Box Will Remain a Secret (for now)

You might be curious to see how it all turns out, but I won't be revealing everything about the box, because what is life without a little bit of mystery? Those backers who pledged for a Limited Edition will be the first to see the whole thing when they receive their rewards. 

I'll share more teasers in the coming weeks, but one thing to keep in mind is that these are just development pictures. I don't mind telling you all that I have changed several parts of the design several times by now, either because I think of an improvement, or because I realize an idea I was going for didn't work as well as I had hoped. It's been a lot of work, but at some point every design needs to be frozen, which basically means saying "okay, it's time to stop changing things or this will never get done!" It's definitely that time -- to be honest, even a little past that time -- and I'll share more about how it is all going in the coming weeks.

Thank you for joining me on this journey!

Let's Talk About Product Development (But First, Surveys)
over 4 years ago – Thu, Jul 09, 2020 at 05:44:33 PM

Everyone Should Have Their Surveys By Now

Hello backers!  Those of you who have completed your backer surveys, thank you all so much.  Everyone should have gotten a survey email and link by now, so if you have not then please check your junk mail folder (search for "Backerkit" if you need to.)  If that doesn't help, then please reach out to me directly with a message here on Kickstarter (because messages here don't rely on email just in case email is the problem.) 

Dice Progress

The dice are still in the awkward phase of "lots of work done but none of it makes a good picture or story!"  I can't wait to show you what I've been working on -- but there will be news soon, I promise!

This is a good opportunity to talk a bit more about product development; by which I mean the process of making something new.

Let's Talk More About Product Development

From here on I'll talk about development and prototyping of a thing.  If you're not interested in that, you can skip this update and not miss anything.  I know some of you are interested in this part of things, so I hope you are still with me!

Making Something New is Fun

But let me share something from Amanda Wozniak (Steve Wozniak's daughter, also a brilliant engineer in her own right.)  She once observed that "when you have something working, you are 15% done and the fun part is over." I've found this to be true again and again. There is a huge gulf between making just one thing that (mostly!) works, and the amount of work needed to turn that one thing into something that has all the kinks ironed out. Most people would agree that making something new is the part that is the most fun.

Once all the kinks are worked out there is still a lot of work needed to turn that one thing into many things, because most prototyping methods don't scale well and can't be used to make a lot of something.  That usually means some amount of designing again to account specifically for production methods. (You may recall in an earlier update I talked about how I made the prototype dice, and how it's okay for making one or two sets but it just doesn't scale well.)

Making Something Can Be Easy To Screw Up

Developing something is often "two steps forward, one step back" because in development, one always discovers new problems that need solving to move forward.  This is in fact one of the main purposes of prototyping; forcing hidden problems to the surface. Tackling those problems one by one eventually leads to a finished project.  

But it's also how a project can have trouble: by not realizing there is 85% more work to be done (and the fun part is over!) or failing to account for the fact that there are always hidden problems waiting in the remaining 85% of the work.  That leads to being short on time, which leads to overwork and rushing, which leads to decisions made out of stress (or worse, desperation) and that all leads to nowhere good.

Are YOU Working on Something New and Having Problems?

If so, just remember it does not mean the project is in trouble or that you are in over your head!  Finding and solving problems is the hard work of how things get done.   (But if everything is always a problem that is always taking longer than expected... well than that indeed may be a sign you may be in over your head.)  

Let's do our part to normalize the idea that finding problems is not evidence of dishonesty or incompetence. Are you working on something and want to share it, along with sharing a problem you had?  Whatever it is, I'd love to hear about it, so message me or put it in the comments below!

Pledge Manager Surveys Are Coming!
over 4 years ago – Sun, Jun 28, 2020 at 09:59:08 PM

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