With each passing replay, I find myself thinking of the old adage attributed to Albert Einstein, “Once you stop learning, you start dying.” If I ever become stagnant, my passion for this great hobby most certainly would die. So I’m always trying to apply the “Quality Improvement” techniques that I use in the workplace to enhance the planning, execution and reporting of my replays. After a thorough analysis, I realized there was a lot of duplication of effort in my preparation process. For example, I would have to type actual statistics into the “Dice Range Calculator” and then either handwrite onto an index card or type into a locator table. To become more efficient, I enlisted the help of my partner in crime, Mark Zarb, to create a new locator spreadsheet that would allow me to only enter the information once. Another major change was the type of information that I entered into the calculator, I no longer solely rely on “seasonal” statistics.

I’ve also become more efficient “playing the game” by eliminating wasted steps resulting in my ability to complete a game in an average time of 1:20. I’ve revamped my procedures associated with “audibles” and introduced the “QB Sneak” innovation.

Over the last year, I’ve refined my reporting process. I’ve retooled my reporting template with the goal of making it as easy for the reader as possible. Using the “Less is more” philosophy, I wanted the audience to be able to know the answer with a single glance and still provide comprehensive statistics for those parties interested. My primary goal was to improve my reporting process on twitter to be able to reach a greater audience.

With all of these changes, I thought it was time to update my “Method of Play”. I’ve released a new PowerPoint presentation titled apba-football-tutorial 4.1. It’s not a regurgitation of old information but a complete revision describing my current methodology. Its chock full of information and ideas associated with the “preparation” phase of a replay and “pre-game” setup actions. I’ve also incorporated slides from other presentations to eliminate having to view multiple sources.

apba-football-tutorial-4-1