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Notion Setup Guide

Step-by-step to stand up the board defined in 12_tools_and_tracking.md inside Notion. Written for a first-time Notion user. Trial the free plan; upgrade to Plus (education discount often free for verified schools) if it sticks.

Free-Tier Caveats

  • Personal free plan: unlimited blocks/pages. Up to 10 guests per workspace.
  • Notion Plus: ~$10/member/month. Required for full team-member collaboration + Automations.
  • Notion for Education: free Plus for verified schools. Apply at notion.so/product/notion-for-education. Approval ~1–2 weeks.
  • API / automations: limited on free tier. Manual grooming works fine at this scale.

Start free. Move to Plus (or Education Plus) if team likes it after 2–3 weeks.

1. Create Workspace

  • Sign up / log in at notion.so.
  • Sidebar bottom-left → workspace switcher → Create or join workspace → For my team.
  • Name: Team [####] Build Board (replace with team number).

2. Create the Database

  • Sidebar → + Add a page → title Season Board.
  • On blank page, type /database → pick Database - Full page.
  • Rename database to Cards.

3. Add Properties (Columns)

Click + on right side of database header. Add each one:

Property Type Options
Title (rename default Name) Title —
Status Status Backlog, Ready, In Progress, Blocked, In Review, Done
Subteam Select drivetrain, mechanism, software, electrical, business
Type Select cad, fab, assembly, wiring, code, test, driver-practice, purchase, doc, sponsor, outreach, social, award-submission, media
Subsystem Select intake, shooter, elevator, drivetrain (add as needed)
Owner Person —
Priority Select P1, P2, P3
Estimate Select S, M, L, XL
Gate Select G1, G2, G3, G4, G5, G6, G7, GB1, GB2, GB3, GB4
Deadline Date —
Flags Multi-select blocked:part, blocked:decision, blocked:other-card, rookie-owned, safety-critical, needs-order
Acceptance criteria Text —
Links URL or Text —

Color guidance (edit each option's color): - Subteam → blue palette - Type → green palette - Flags → red / yellow - Gate → purple

Matches the tag-color axis in 12_tools_and_tracking.md.

4. Default Board View

  • Top of database → + Add view → Board.
  • Group by: Status.
  • Reorder columns: Backlog → Ready → In Progress → Blocked → In Review → Done.
  • Properties (eye icon): show Subteam, Type, Owner, Estimate, Gate, Deadline on card face.

5. Saved Views

Click + Add view for each. Mirrors 12_tools_and_tracking.md view list.

View Type Filter Group / Sort
Tonight Board Status = In Progress OR Ready Group by Subteam
By Subteam Board — Group by Subteam
Blocked Table Status = Blocked Sort last-edit desc
Gate G1 … Gate GB4 Table Gate = Sort Deadline asc
Purchasing Table Flags contains needs-order OR blocked:part —
Rookie work Table Flags contains rookie-owned —
Safety-critical Table Flags contains safety-critical AND Status = In Review —
This week Table Gate = Sort Deadline asc
Deadlines Table Deadline is not empty Sort Deadline asc
Business Board Subteam = business Group by Status

Views cost nothing to build and pay back every session.

6. Card Template

  • Database header → ▾ New dropdown → + New template → name Standard card.
  • Template body:
## Acceptance criteria
- [ ] 

## Links
- CAD:
- PR:
- Part #:
- ECR:

## Notes
  • Default property values: leave Owner blank; set Estimate = M as a nudge.
  • Set as default template via template ⋯ menu.

Enforces the rule from 12_tools_and_tracking.md: no card without acceptance criteria.

7. Invite Team

  • Top right → Share → Invite → add student/mentor emails.
  • Free plan: 10 guests max. Prioritize:
  • Team Lead
  • Lead Mentor
  • Subteam Leads (5)
  • Purchasing Lead, Safety Captain, Awards Lead (3)
  • If active roster > 10: apply for Notion for Education. Until approved, put non-guest students on read-only view via public link (Share → Publish → Anyone with link → Can view). Comment access requires guest slot.

8. Hygiene (Manual, Free-Tier)

Notion free lacks automations. Weekly sweeps replace them.

Sunday grooming (Team Lead + Subteam Leads): - Blocked > 2 sessions → escalate or kill. - In Review > 3 sessions → reviewer is the bottleneck. - Backlog > 3 weeks with no owner → close or defer. - Done column: multi-select rows edited > 7 days ago → move to Archive sub-page (create as sibling page). Do not delete; retro needs history.

Daily sweeps: - Purchasing Lead scans Purchasing view. - Safety Captain scans Safety-critical view. - Team Lead scans Blocked view.

9. Plus-Plan Automations (when you upgrade)

Not available on free. Notes for later:

  • Auto-set Flags = blocked:* when Status flips to Blocked.
  • Slack ping when Gate view fills past N cards.
  • Auto-archive Done > 7 days.
  • Recurring template: nightly stand-up page auto-created from template.

On the Season Board page, above the database, embed links to the process docs:

📄 Overview → link to 00_overview
📄 Timeline → link to 09_timeline
📄 Build session → link to 11_build_session
📄 Tools & tracking → link to 12_tools_and_tracking
📄 Business & outreach → link to 13_business_outreach
📄 Awards → link to 14_awards_and_submissions

Type /link to page for internal Notion pages, or paste the GitHub URL if docs live in the repo.

11. First-Week Checklist

  • Workspace created
  • Cards database created with all properties above
  • Board view configured
  • Minimum saved views: Tonight, By Subteam, Blocked, Purchasing, Business
  • Card template created + set default
  • Team Lead + Subteam Leads invited
  • 5 real cards created to test flow
  • Archive sub-page created

Common Failure Modes (Notion-Specific)

  • Multiple databases. Someone creates a second Software Cards database. Kill it. One database, multiple views.
  • Free properties on cards. Person adds ad-hoc property to one card. Restrict property editing to Team Lead + Lead Mentor.
  • View pollution. Every student saves a view. Views are shared, not personal — use filters + sort in the default view instead, or save personal views with a _ prefix and delete weekly.
  • Guest-limit surprise. 11th teammate can't be added → they end up outside the board → decisions vanish. Track guest count; migrate to Education Plus early.
  • Notion becomes a wiki, not a board. Team writes long pages; nobody moves cards. Enforce: work happens on cards, not on standalone pages.

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