Practical problem-solving.

Yesterday I learned there's curtains you can buy that are controlled by an app. I didn't get into the massive security concerns of this scenario because one of my clients has some and she was paying me to figure out what was wrong with them, not get a lecture. Besides, no small number of the issues involved were laid bare when she explained she'd updated the app and the app said the curtains weren't found on the network.

I knew the first step of figuring out if it's a hardware or a software problem was first making sure the machine's connected to the network - if there was a motor that responded to commands sent by the app, it was essentially working from a more advanced and less secure remote control. To check and make sure the motor had power to run and could connect to the app to begin with, I looked for where the power supply was coming from. It wasn't plugged into anything, instead running on 12 AA batteries. I figured that swapping them out for fresh batteries to see if that'd get them back online would narrow down the possible problems before we'd have to see if the curtains need an update.

My client called the company helpline, and they said that given when she'd installed them, it was probably a power issue and to replace the batteries.

I'd also helped her with a miniature flashlight that wasn't working. When she handed it to me, I pulled at it, inspecting the object, seeing what parts were detachable to find out where its batteries would be located - and in doing so, I got them realigned and working again.

When I explained my problem-solving processes to her and working through the possibilities to try to figure out the issue at hand, she gave me what I hold as a high compliment: "You should've been a mechanical engineer."