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Tools & Tracking

The daily ritual (11_build_session.md) depends on a shared board that everyone reads and writes. This doc defines that board: which tool, which columns, which tags, which views, and what a valid card looks like.

Principle: one board for the whole team. Not one per subteam, not one for mechanical and one for software. Cross-subteam dependencies are the whole reason a board exists.

Tool Choice: GitHub Projects (v2)

Team is currently trialing Notion on the free plan. See notion_setup.md for step-by-step setup mapping the schema below into Notion databases + views.

Recommended for most teams.

Why: - Software subteam already uses GitHub. Issues link directly to PRs, CAD file paths, and code lines. - Free for organizations. Multiple views (board, table, roadmap) on the same underlying issues. - Custom fields and labels are first-class — needed for the tagging scheme below. - Survives graduation: the team org owns it, not a personal account. - Supports @-mentions, threads, and file attachments per card.

Alternatives:

Tool When to pick it
Trello Team has no GitHub org and won't create one. Simpler board, weaker linking.
Notion Team already lives in Notion for docs. Board view is okay; automation is weaker.
Linear If the team can afford it and has a software-heavy culture. Excellent, but overkill for most FRC teams.
Physical Kanban (index cards + wall) Very small in-person team. Great for stand-ups. Fails on async handoff — do not use as sole source of truth.

Whatever tool is chosen, the column and tag model below applies.

Columns (Workflow States)

Backlog → Ready → In Progress → Blocked → In Review → Done

Column Definition Exit criteria
Backlog Idea identified, not yet scoped. Owner-candidate named, acceptance criteria written, dependencies known.
Ready Fully scoped. Parts on hand (or explicitly not needed). Anyone in the subteam could pick it up. A student takes ownership and starts work.
In Progress Someone is actively working. WIP limit: 1 card per student. Work complete against acceptance criteria; needs review or gate sign-off.
Blocked Waiting on part, decision, or another card. Reason required in card comment. Blocker resolved. Return to In Progress.
In Review Awaiting mentor check, gate sign-off, PR review, or endurance-test pass. Reviewer signs off; move to Done.
Done Installed, merged, or archived. No more work planned. —

WIP limits keep the board honest. If a student "has three things in flight" they actually have zero finished.

Tagging Scheme

Two required axes on every card — Subteam (who owns it) and Type (what kind of work). Cross-cutter tags stack on top.

Use color to distinguish the axes so the board reads at a glance.

Subteam tags (color 1 — e.g. blue)

  • subteam:drivetrain
  • subteam:mechanism
  • subteam:software
  • subteam:electrical
  • subteam:strategy-scouting
  • subteam:business

Type tags (color 2 — e.g. green)

  • type:cad
  • type:fab — machining, printing, cutting, waterjet
  • type:assembly
  • type:wiring
  • type:code
  • type:test — bench test or field test
  • type:driver-practice
  • type:purchase
  • type:doc — engineering notebook, blog, gate artifact, ECR
  • type:sponsor — sponsor ask, thank-you, tracker update, in-kind coordination
  • type:outreach — outreach event, community demo, FLL/FTC mentorship
  • type:social — team social media post, cross-post, event coverage
  • type:award-submission — Impact, Dean's List, Woodie Flowers, judged robot award artifact
  • type:media — photos, video, press release, media kit assembly

Cross-cutter tags (color 3 — e.g. red or yellow)

  • blocked:part / blocked:decision / blocked:other-card — only on cards in Blocked column
  • gate:G1 … gate:G7 — links card to a specific gate deliverable (build)
  • gate:GB1 … gate:GB4 — links card to a business/outreach gate (see 13_business_outreach.md)
  • deadline:<yyyy-mm-dd> — hard external deadline (FIRST submission portal, event date, sponsor commitment date). Sorted view drives Awards + Sponsor Leads.
  • subsystem:<name> — e.g. subsystem:intake, subsystem:shooter, subsystem:elevator
  • priority:P1 (must-have for first event) / priority:P2 / priority:P3
  • rookie-owned — mentor check-in flag
  • safety-critical — bumper, battery mount, pneumatics, high-energy mechanisms. Needs mentor sign-off before Done.
  • needs-order — Purchasing Lead sweeps this daily

Filtering rules

  • Subteam + Type are minimum on every card.
  • blocked:* present ⇔ card in Blocked column. Consistency check.
  • gate:* present ⇒ card is part of gate readiness; Team Lead reviews weekly.
  • safety-critical present ⇒ mentor signature required before Done.

Required Card Fields

Every card, no exceptions:

  • Title — verb-first, specific. "Machine 2 intake side plates" not "intake stuff".
  • Owner — one student. Not "Subteam 2". Not two names.
  • Subteam tag + Type tag — minimum.
  • Acceptance criteria — one sentence, testable. Example: "All four bumper mounts torque to 15 ft-lb without deflection." Not: "Finish bumpers."
  • Estimate — rough size: S (½ session), M (1 session), L (2 sessions), XL (3+ sessions, split it).
  • Links — CAD file, PR, part number, drawing, ECR — whatever applies.

XL cards get split. If a card cannot be split, it is a project, not a card; open a parent card and children.

See templates/card_template.md for the copy-paste checklist.

Views (Saved Filters)

Build these once. Everyone uses them daily.

View Filter Who uses it
Tonight In Progress OR (Ready AND owner ∈ tonight's attendance) Whole team during work block
By Subteam Group by subteam:* Subteam Leads
Blocked Column = Blocked Team Lead, daily sweep
Gate G_n Filter by gate:G_n Gate owner + Lead Mentor
Purchasing needs-order OR blocked:part Purchasing Lead
Rookie work rookie-owned Mentors, weekly check-in
Safety-critical safety-critical in In Review Safety Captain, Lead Mentor
This week gate:<current> OR added-this-week Weekly all-hands
Deadlines any card with deadline:*, sorted ascending Awards Lead, Sponsor Lead, Team Lead
Business subteam:business Business/Impact Lead

Views cost nothing to make and pay back every session.

Board Hygiene

Weekly, Sunday grooming (mentors + Subteam Leads):

  • Anything in Backlog more than 3 weeks with no owner → close or defer.
  • Anything in Blocked more than 2 sessions → escalate to Team Lead or convert the block into a card.
  • Anything in In Review more than 3 sessions → the reviewer is the bottleneck, not the work.
  • Done column: archive weekly so the board loads fast. Do not delete — post-season retro needs the history.

Integrating With Existing Docs

  • Gate reviews (07_gate_reviews.md) — every gate deliverable is a card, tagged gate:G_n. Gate is passed when all its cards are Done and the artifact is signed.
  • ECRs (templates/ecr.md) — an ECR opens a card tagged type:doc + subsystem:<name>. The change itself is one or more child cards.
  • BOM / purchasing (04_manufacturing.md) — every ordered part is a card tagged type:purchase + needs-order. When received, tag drops and card can close or feed an assembly card.
  • Software PRs (05_software.md) — each PR links to its card. Card moves to In Review when PR opens; to Done when merged and merged-to-main runs on sim.
  • Failure log (templates/failure_log.md) — each failure log entry becomes a card in Backlog tagged type:test + subsystem:<name>. Do not lose failures in a doc nobody reads.

Common Failure Modes

  • Two boards. Someone builds a "software board" separate from the main. Cross-subteam dependencies vanish. Kill the second board.
  • Cards without acceptance criteria. Card lives in In Progress forever because nobody defined done. Enforce at intake.
  • Ghost owners. Owner is "Subteam 2" or "TBD". Real name or no card.
  • Tag drift. New tags invented weekly; filters stop working. Lead Mentor owns the tag list; new tags need approval.
  • Board only used at stand-up. If it is not the source of truth during the work block, it is decoration.

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