[BrendanB]

Learning how to manage the build season isn't easy. This is 3467's 5th build season and we still have areas we struggle in with staying managed but its better than before. For 2011-2013 there was a lot of "design as you go" mentality with a little forethought in CAD but it wasn't concretely implemented. Learning how to quickly prototype and use software like Solidworks or Inventor in the off-season is one of the best things you can do. Establishing what you want to build and how to build it during weeks 1-4 makes weeks 5-6 go by much easier. We finalized our robot much later than we wanted to this year but being able to print off part drawings, make them, and assemble two sets (practice and competition robot) with minimal integration issues is well worth the time to design it all.

This snow has hurt us too and I'm pretty sure we have one more day coming on Sunday.

Most of the days we had to take off and we used those days during the beginning of the season to focus on the 3d design of the robot or using Google Hangouts to re-group and come up with game plans for the week. It was also good to take some time off and relax so we could put more energy into the meetings when we got back to the school. This past weekend we moved offsite so we could still work on the robot which was productive but wasn't as efficient as being in the school.

Whenever you meet next your team needs to be honest with where your progress is and how much needs to get done. Letting go of a design, iterating, or scaling back is never easy but if it needs to be done so you can field a competitive robot for your first event you need to do it. Our team has been there.

You then have what looks like four weeks before your second event which is plenty of time to iterate and make your robot better with your withholding allowance.