Intent:
Maximize the accumulation of limited resources while concurrently designing a mechanical device in a time-limited, competitive environment.
Problem:
On the television show
JunkyardWars, 2 teams, consisting of 4 members each, are asked to build a mechanical device in 10 hours using materials from a junkyard.
Risk spending too much time on
BigDesignUpFront and the materials needed for the design may already be taken by the competition.
Risk accumulating materials up front without a design and you end up "bodging" materials together at the last moment, producing a poor quality device.
1
Discussion:
The "expert" and team captain iteratively sketch out a design at a white board while 2 other members of the team scavenge about the junkyard, receiving instructions on what items to collect over short range radio.
The 2 "scavengers" are given a high level, first attempt vision of the design before starting to scavenge.
Example:
- [Announcer] OK teams. Build me a snow mobile!
- [Expert] This is gonna be great... reminds me of a trip to Alaska in 1973. Jim Bob's clutch went out in the middle of nowhere and we had to rig up this...
- [Team Captain interrupting] Sounds swell. What do we need?
- [Expert] Oh.... ummmm. A couple skid rails, an engine, and ...
- [Captain to team members 3 and 4] You guys run out and look for anything that looks likes skis, or... something that skids. While you're at it keep an eye out for engines.
- [Later... Expert and Captain refine design and broadcast more detailed instructions to the scavengers. With at least 60% of the necessary materials accumulated, building begins.]
Opinion / Other Strategies:
This isn't a pattern, it's a description of a
specific and
unique television show. You've given one example, you haven't incorporates other examples, and you have described what the forces are and how you've transformed them into a resulting context. See
PatternPattern.
Ohhh .... quit being so pedantic and get a sense of humor already! OF COURSE it's a pattern. Perhaps a ProcessPattern. :-)
A similar (perhaps the same) pattern is found in the
IronChef competition.
Not to mention
ScrapIronChef.
CategoryJoke