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FRC Team Engineering Process — Overview

One-page map of how our team goes from kickoff to competition. Each numbered file expands one stage. Read this first; drill into the file you need.

Guiding Philosophy

  1. Strategy before mechanisms. No CAD, no prototype, no code branch until the priority list is written and signed. What the robot must do is decided before how it does it. See 01_strategy.md.
  2. Students lead, mentors guide. Students own CAD, code, and build. Mentors ask "why", enforce safety, run gate reviews. If a mentor is holding a wrench, a student should be beside them learning — not watching.
  3. Prototype to data, not to a favorite. Every high-risk mechanism gets a kill criterion in writing before build starts. Data ends the debate. See 02_prototyping.md.
  4. COTS first. If WCP, REV, AndyMark, TTB, or ThriftyBot sells it, we buy it. We only machine what we cannot buy. See 04_manufacturing.md.
  5. One design freeze at a time. Subsystems freeze on their own schedule. After freeze, changes go through an Engineering Change Request (ECR). See templates/ecr.md.
  6. Drive practice is a first-class deliverable. Target: 20+ hours of driver practice before first event. A working, boring robot with a practiced driver beats a broken elegant one. See 06_integration_testing.md.
  7. Log everything, review every session. Match logs, build blog, engineering notebooks. Next year's team learns from this year. See 10_retrospective.md.
  8. Outreach is a deliverable, not a hobby. Sponsors, awards, outreach, and social media run on the same board, cadence, and gates as the robot. See 13_business_outreach.md.

Process Map

Robot Process — Kickoff to Competition

flowchart TD
    K([KICKOFF])
    S1["[1] STRATEGY <br/>Week: 0 - 1<br/>game analysis · priority list · archetype · scoring sim"]
    G1{{Gate: Strategy Approval}}
    S2["[2] PROTOTYPING <br/>Week 1 - 2<br/>parallel tracks · kill criteria · cardboard/plywood · data"]
    G2{{Gate: Prototype Down-Select}}
    S3["[3] DESIGN / CAD <br/> Week 2 - 3<br/>master model · subsystem CAD · part release"]
    G3{{Gate: CAD Lock per subsystem}}
    S4["[4] MANUFACTURE <br/> Week 2 - 4, overlaps [3]<br/>COTS orders · machining · assembly · practice-bot spares"]
    G4{{Gate: Bill-of-Materials Complete}}
    S5["[5] SOFTWARE <br/> Week 0 ongoing<br/>simulation-first · autos · log replay"]
    G5{{Gate: Sim Autonomy Passing}}
    S6["[6] INTEGRATION <br/> Week 4 - 5<br/>full-bot assembly · endurance runs · driver practice"]
    G6{{Gate: Field Readiness}}
    S7["[7] COMPETITION <br/> Week 6 to events<br/>scouting · match strategy · pit repairs · retrospective"]

    K --> S1 --> G1 --> S2 --> G2 --> S3 --> G3 --> S4 --> G4 --> S6
    K --> S5 --> G5 --> S6
    S3 -.-> S4
    S6 --> G6 --> S7

Business / Outreach — Parallel Track and Gate Alignment

flowchart TD
    BK([KICKOFF — Week 0])
    B1["Sponsor pipeline<br/>outreach·prospecting·thank-yous"]
    GB1{{GB1: Sponsor Kickoff}}
    B2["Outreach events<br/>demos·mentoring·community"]
    B3["Impact submission drafting"]
    GB2{{GB2: Impact Draft}}
    B4["Impact revisions·interview prep·mocks"]
    GB3{{GB3: Impact Lock}}
    B5["Media kit·social·award interviews"]
    GB4{{GB4: Media Kit Ready}}
    BE([COMPETITION — award interviews])

    BK --> B1 --> GB1 --> B2 --> B3 --> GB2 --> B4 --> GB3 --> B5 --> GB4 --> BE

Gate review templates live in 07_gate_reviews.md. Timeline detail in 09_timeline.md.

File Index

File Purpose
index.md This file. Read first.
01_strategy.md Kickoff game analysis, priority list, archetype selection.
02_prototyping.md Parallel prototype tracks, kill criteria, cardboard-first.
03_design_cad.md Master model, part numbering, CAD release rules.
04_manufacturing.md COTS-first policy, ordering cadence, kanban board.
05_software.md AdvantageKit, simulation, git workflow, autos, log review.
06_integration_testing.md Practice robot, endurance runs, driver practice hours.
07_gate_reviews.md Gate agendas, rubrics, sign-off rules.
08_team_structure.md Subteams, roles, minimum-viable-team variant for small squads.
09_timeline.md Six-week season calendar with concrete milestones.
10_retrospective.md Build blog, engineering notebook, offseason loop.
11_build_session.md Daily build-night ritual: stand-up, work block, close-out, async handoff.
12_tools_and_tracking.md Board tool choice, columns, tag scheme, views, hygiene.
13_business_outreach.md Business subteam scope: sponsors, outreach, social media, media kit.
14_awards_and_submissions.md Impact, Dean's List, Woodie Flowers, judged robot awards — timeline + artifacts.
notion_setup.md Step-by-step to stand up the board from 12_tools_and_tracking.md in Notion.
templates/ ECR, gate review, part release, FMEA, build blog, card, sponsor ask, outreach log, Impact checklist, social post.
examples/ Worked examples from prior seasons.

What Success Looks Like

By end of build season: - Priority list from Week 1 still matches what the robot actually does. - Every subsystem has passed its gate reviews on schedule; no panic redesigns after CAD lock. - Practice robot (or drive base) exists and driver has 20+ hours. - Software runs identical in sim and on hardware; logs are reviewed after every session. - New students can name what they built and why. Seniors have written their subsystem docs. - Impact submission uploaded on time; interview team has run 3+ mocks; sponsor thank-yous sent within 7 days of receipt.